After finishing regular season play with a win against conference rival Logan, the Holmen Vikings ended with an 8-1 record and a share of the Mississippi Valley Conference title an now look to start a playoff run against at home against the Nicolet Knights of the North Shore Conference.
Holmen continues to be a force to be reckoned with on the ground with an explosive rushing attack that finished the regular season with a combined total of 2,528 total yards rushing (8 yds/carry) and 35 total td’s thanks in part to a senior led backfield of QB Colin Williams (529 yds, 9 td’s) and RB’s Eli Kane (727 yds, 13 td’s), Jack Barth (821 yds, 10 td’s) and AJ Alesch (324 yds, 2 td’s) respectively. The Viking Defense that has been stingy all season long only allowing an average of 12.2 points per game (a point differential of over 21 points per game) and is led by Junior LB’s Mason Flury (94 total tackles) and Parker Spah (69 total tackles) and a Senior laden D line led by Jagger Jepson (6 TFL), Tristan Brennan (6TFL) and Ayden Smith (7 TFL & 3 fumble recoveries) will be put to the test as they will need to get pressure on the Knights QB to minimize a passing attack that they have not faced yet this year.
The Knights of Nicolet HS come into this playoff matchup with a very deceiving 2-5 conference record (4-5 overall), after having faced off against multiple conference foes that are ranked in the top 10 in the state in Division 2. The #7 seeded Knights are making the three hour trip across the state and look to upset the #2 seeded Vikings with their air attack led by JR QB Nicholas Bongard (1,588 yds passing, 17 TD’s) & SR WR Aziz Ashour (476 yds receiving, 5 TD’s). The Knights have averaged 22.9 points per game while only allowing 21.3 points per game, an average that may be slightly skewed considering the tough conference competition that they have faced this year.
Can Nicolet stop Holmen’s explosive, big play rushing game and can Holmen stop a pass heavy offense that they have not had to face yet this year? It’s win or go home and both teams look to continue their seasons in this level one matchup which should prove to be interesting to say the least.
If you aren’t able to make it out to Empire Stadium to catch the action live, tune in to catch Teague and Scott call the action on the live stream!
Streams starts at 6:45 pm and kick-off is at 7 pm.
Go Vikings!
Watch all of Holmen’s games online at https://www.wiscosportszone.com/watch-la-crosse/ or on the new Holmen Vikings app on ROKU streaming devices.
Holmen sports are brought to you on WKTY by these great sponsors: WNB Financial, The Grind Lappins LLC, Bernie Buchner, Inc. Andy’s Main Street Auto, Next Level Xteriors LLC, BeaverBuildersSupply.com, bargeberkleychiropractic.com, edi-wi.com, HolmenCheese.com, Mexicanfoodholmen.com and myfirecu.org.
