Prep football: Eau Claire Memorial outlasts weather delay, defeats rival Eau Claire North
Sep. 3—It took the Old Abes a couple of extra hours to get there, but the reward was well worth the wait for the Eau Claire Memorial football team.
Memorial waited out a two-plus hour weather delay and scored a 24-6 victory over rival Eau Claire North on Friday at Carson Park. The victory pushed the Old Abes to 3-0 to begin the season, their best start since 2019.
"We are really proud of our kids," Memorial coach Rob Scott said. "Our theme all week has been mental toughness. ... We had to have it tonight. The kids were all geeked up to play, and then it got shut down and we were in limbo for a while, and then it's like, 'Hey, let's go.' And the way the game went, that's a physical North football team that gave us a lot of shots and a lot of trouble tonight. Our kids persevered, and I'm really proud of them."
The Memorial defense was solid all night, and sealed a 14th straight victory over its rivals with Benji Roberts' pick-six in the closing two minutes of the fourth quarter.
"Everyone's focused on doing their job and trying to win the little situations," Scott said. "Little situations add up. We've been taking care of business defensively."
Memorial took an early lead when Gavin Gerber blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety. The Huskies ran ahead shortly after, marching 67 yards down the field on eight plays to score on a 13-yard dash by Jack Kein.
Walker Woodworth put the Old Abes in front for good on a two-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Memorial added some insurance when Ryan Thompson connected with Peter Albert on a 13-yard score midway through the second quarter to build a 17-6 halftime lead.
"That first delay, we were kind of getting a little nervous," Thompson said. "But once we got back on the field, we put everything out there and were glad to play."
The second half featured plenty of changes in possession but little to show for it on the scoreboard. Roberts' interception return for a touchdown served as the only scoring after halftime.
Thompson completed 21 passes for 229 yards for the Old Abes. Shimar Simmons ran for 73 yards on 15 carries. Kein ran the ball 12 times for 90 yards for North.
The Huskies have battled in all three of their games this season, but have yet to find the elusive victory.
"We come out, we have a mental lapse early with the blocked punt, but we recovered," North coach Matt McGinnis said. "We moved the ball well. We've said it all year: We move the ball, and shoot ourselves in the foot. We get behind the chains, and we're not built to be behind the chains."
Memorial now leads the all-time series between the intracity foes 42-16. This year's entry in the rivalry took place earlier in the season than usual, but it didn't impact the atmosphere at all. The weather didn't thin the crowd much either.
"For as many people that were out here, to have that long of a delay shows how special this game is to the community," McGinnis said.
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Eau Claire Memorial 24, Eau Claire North 6
North;6;0;0;0;— 6
Memorial;9;8;0;7;— 24
First Quarter
M: Safety, 9:25.
N: Jackson Kein 13 run (kick failed), 5:05.
M: Walker Woodworth 2 run (Connor Anderson kick), 2:11.
Second Quarter
M: Peter Albert 13 pass from Ryan Thompson (Leo Lauscher run), 5:41.
Fourth Quarter
M: Benji Roberts 40 interception return (Anderson kick), 1:21.
Team & Individual Statistics
RUSHING (att-yds): North: Jack Kein 12-90, Cameron Olson 9-25, James Jarzynski 4-11, Tyler Everson 1-2, Traeton Goss 1-0. Memorial: Shimar Simmons 15-73, Thompson 6-40, Woodworth 6-11, Jack Conner 3-9, Leo Lauscher 1-5, Julius Clark 1-(-2).
PASSING (comp-att-int-yds): North: Tyler Everson 9-20-1-76, Jack Kein 2-4-0-16. Memorial: Thompson 21-33-0-229.
RECEIVING (rec-yds): North: Goss 2-23, Ryne Hull 1-18, Carter Burns 1-11, Kein 1-10, Gavin Koleski 2-6, Brady Jensen 1-2, Jarzynski 2-(-2). Memorial: Clark 5-41, Tay Ferguson 4-73, Albert 4-57, Conner 3-27, Simmons 2-4, Gavin Gerber 1-23, Reagan Hub 1-10, Alec Tomac 1-5.
