Health & Fitness
Panthers Weren't Pretty But Good Enough
The Greendale Panther football team hit the road for their Woodland Conference opener against the Pius XI Popes. Even though Greendale won 35-7, there was disappointment on the player's and coach's faces, as they looked a little sluggish.
You can get a pretty good idea as to how high the bar is set in Greendale for you would think that the team and coaches would be happy after a nice convincing win. That didn't appear so for if you were at the post game field side meeting, you would have thought that they lost.
After fighting the traffic, Greendale finally pulled up to Wisconsin Lutheran College's football field where the Pius XI Popes play their home games. It was a beautiful night with a breeze that was much welcomed. Both Pius XI and Greendale came into the contest undefeated so someone was going to get a loss tonight before the nights over. The Popes did most of their damage on the ground putting multiple play drives together while the Panthers relied on their big play capability. That was evident by the first play of Greendale's second drive when quarterback Josh Ringelberg dropped back to pass from deep in his end zone and found Cody Kmetz getting away from the defender on the left sideline who then scored on a 99-yard touchdown pass.
The Pope's only score came midway in the 1st quarter on an 80-yard drive that Greendale helped with by committing many penalties. The score at the end of the 1st quarter was tied at 7.
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It would be in the 2nd quarter where Greendale did the most damage as Ringelberg connected with Nate Miller for a 58-yard touchdown pass and then Doug St. Onge for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Panther running back Jake Zywicki would score on a 2-yard run and a 4-yard run later in the 4th quarter to end all scoring.
Greendale (3-0) finished the night out gaining Pius XI (2-1) in total yards 491 to 174. Ringelberg finished the night going 11 for 21 for 267 yards.
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The only thing that was different about this game versus the first 2 was that there was a turnover, a lot more dropped balls and errant passes, and a lot of penalties. That will need to be addressed for Greendale will be hosting the Pewaukee Pirates (3-0) next week, which will be the biggest conference game of the year for both teams. The winner will most likely win the Woodland West Conference. That game will be at Greendale and will start at 7:00pm.
For more information on the Greendale football programs, visit the Greendale Panther Touchdown Club's website at www.greendalefootball.com