Algoma rallies to win first conference title in 10 years
TD pass on 4th-and-goal propels Wolves to thrilling victory
ALGOMA – Wade Vandervest’s 10-year-old shirt was soaking wet by the end of Thursday night.
His players made sure of that by ending a 10-year drought.
The Algoma football team rallied for a 22-20 victory over previously unbeaten Lena/Marinette St. Thomas at Perry Field to claim the Across The Bay Conference title.
It's the Wolves’ first conference championship since 2014.
After getting a bucket of water dumped on him, Vandervest put that time period into perspective for his squad when he removed his drenched Algoma polo to reveal a 2014 conference title t-shirt he had been wearing underneath. He let his team know he’s going to be happy to get a new shirt to add to his wardrobe for the efforts of this year’s team.
“It means a lot,” senior lineman Carson Leist said. “We knew this was going to be our final game, and we just put everything out there that we could.”
Despite missing two of its best players due to injury, seniors Isaac Yunk and John Kirchman, Algoma (7-1, 6-0) still found a way to pick up the program’s biggest win since transitioning to 8-player football in 2019.
The victory marks the first time the Wolves beat Lena/Marinette St. Thomas (7-1, 5-1) since the two squads joined the same conference.
The Titans were ranked No. 4 in the state for the 8-player division. They came out looking like a powerhouse program in taking a 14-0 lead before Algoma’s offense even got a chance to take its first snap of the game thanks to an onside kick after scoring on the opening drive.
“It’s one of those where you think in the back of your mind, ‘Are we going to get steamrolled?’ kind of a situation because everything was going wrong for us,” said Vandervest, whose team also lost a fumble trailing 14-0. “In that situation, we just had to go one play at a time because you can’t get it all back in one play.”
The Wolves defense locked in after that, forcing three turnovers and limiting a Lena/Marinette St. Thomas team that had been averaging 37 points per game to just 6 over the final three quarters of play.
Meanwhile, Algoma’s offense got some big strikes against a Titans defense that had allowed just 34 points all season coming into the contest.
Vandervest credits the tough lessons learned from a season-opening loss at N.E.W. Lutheran/Oneida Nation in triple overtime to pulling out the close victory Thursday.
“They were in a position they hadn’t been in all year, and we were able to come out on top,” Vandervest said.
The tide turned in the Wolves’ favor when Leist and senior Logan Wilson forced a fumble that was recovered by junior Parker Lischka in the first quarter.
A few plays later, junior Lance Cochart and senior Wyatt Fay connected for a 79-yard scoring strike.
Fay would halt the Titan’s next drive with an interception, and Algoma almost tied the game before the half when they drove deep into Lena/Marinette St. Thomas territory.
The Wolves marched down the field on the opening drive of the second half and tied the game at 14-14 with a Cochart touchdown on a 1-yard sneak and then another run by the quarterback on a successful 2-point conversion.
The Titans answered with a scoring drive of their own to take a 20-14 lead midway through the third quarter and before forcing Algoma to punt on its next possession.
That’s when momentum turned in the Wolves’ favor for good when sophomore Cayden Neuzil recovered a fumble with 1 minute, 46 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Cochart found Lischka for a big gain on the ensuing drive to move into Titans’ territory.
Following a seven-yard loss on third-and-goal, the combination of Cochart and Lischka connected again for a 10-yard touchdown on fourth down and a successful 2-point conversion to give Algoma its first lead with 7:42 remaining in the game.
“Someone had to step up,” Lischka said. “They called my number, and I pretty much told coach to run the play.”
Junior Joey Cabino came up with the tackle to force a turnover on downs at the Algoma 30 with less than 2 minutes remaining to help secure the conference title.
Since transitioning to 8-player football in 2019, the Wolves have been ineligible for WIAA postseason play due to having a three-year enrollment average above 200 students.
It created a unique circumstance for Algoma’s 10 seniors to end their careers with a win and conference title in their final game.
To put that into perspective, a majority of conference champions in the state will have their seasons end with a loss at some point in the playoffs. The exceptions are those few teams that run the table in the postseason to win a state championship.
Algoma’s 10 seniors this year were: Wyatt Fay, Hunter O’Hearn, Mark Vera, Isaac Yunk, Tyler Challis, Damian Nolasco, Gavin Bielawski, John Kirchman, Logan Wilson, and Carson Leist.
“I’m proud of this team,” Vandervest said. “Every season is unique and has its own peaks and valleys. We were able to find different guys to fit their roles and get it done.”
