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Notre Dame Marches In Win Over Luxemburg-Casco

By Scott Venci - USA TODAY Network, 10/21/17, 7:30AM CDT

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GREEN BAY – Let the run to another state title game begin.

Green Bay Notre Dame’s quest to make it to Madison for the third straight season got off to a nice start with a 33-13 win over Luxemburg-Casco in a WIAA Division 3 first-round game Friday night at Ted Fritsch Field.

The No. 3 seed Tritons (8-2) will play at No. 2 seed Kewaskum (10-0) in the second round next week. It’s the first time they face a higher seed in the postseason since beating Waukesha Catholic Memorial in the D3 state title game in 2015.

A rematch of a quarterfinal showdown last year between L-C and Notre Dame again ended in the Tritons’ favor, but there was nothing easy about this one early.

L-C dominated the opening quarter and led 7-0 entering the second. The Spartans ran 23 plays in the first 12 minutes compared to just four for the Tritons.

It could have been worse for Notre Dame after L-C drove down the field on the first series of the game before losing a fumble at the Tritons' 7 on the 15th play. The Spartans converted on third down twice on the drive and another time on fourth down but came away with nothing.

After forcing a Notre Dame punt and taking over at midfield, L-C needed eight plays to go 50 yards and score the first touchdown of the night on a 21-yard run from junior Nathan Coisman.

The Tritons struggled out of the gate to contain the Spartans’ passing game, with quarterback Garrit Aissen eluding sacks on two occasions in the first half and rolling out for completions.

He also found wide receiver Ian Doell four times in the first quarter. All four went for first downs.

It seemed everything was going wrong at that point for Notre Dame.

“I wouldn’t say it’s going wrong,” Notre Dame coach Michael Rader said. “They were getting those short yardage first downs to extend the series, and that’s not necessarily wrong. They got up there, they got up there quick and it’s guy on guy at that point. A lot of times when they know what they are doing and we don’t, they catch us off guard.

“The first couple times weren’t expected. After that, we need to expect it and step up. It took a little bit longer. It’s not something we saw on film. But once we got it, you just have to be patient.”

Notre Dame didn’t need long to tie the score.

Junior quarterback Wes Glime found junior wideout Cade Vanhout wide open down the field for a 41-yard TD with 10 minutes, 10 seconds left in the opening half.

The defense then came up with a big stop late in the second quarter, stuffing Coisman on fourth-and-1 at the Tritons 14.

Notre Dame took over with 1:40 left and drove the field, the big play coming on a 47-yard pass from Glime to running back Michael Gregoire to the LC 35. The duo hooked up two more times on the drive, helping give the Tritons a 10-7 lead at the half after Andrew Gruesen’s 33-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining.

They would never trail again.

“We knew if we could get our offensive line going, we could come out with a win tonight,” said Gruesen, who also plays on the offensive and defensive lines. “Going into half, I think our offensive line was doing pretty well. I think the field goal and the extra three points helped, but going into half we felt really good about what our offensive line was doing and we were able to come through and get Mikey some rushing yards.”

Notre Dame took a 17-7 lead with 7:48 left in the third quarter on a 28-yard strike from Glime to Jack Allen. After L-C responded with a 59-yard TD catch from Anthony Otradovec — the extra point was no good — the Tritons went up 24-13 on a 2-yard TD from Gregoire on fourth down in the final minute of the quarter.

Gruesen added a 40-yard field goal in the fourth, before Gregoire capped the scoring on a 45-yard TD run in the final minutes.

It’s the fourth time this season Notre Dame has scored 30 or more points, and the first since putting up 38 against Manitowoc in Week 5.

It has not permitted more than 14 points in each of the last four games, which also included contests against playoff teams in Green Bay Preble and Green Bay Southwest.

“I think once our defense stopped them, our offense got the ball back and we started driving on them and eventually scored,” said Allen, who ranked fourth in the Fox River Classic Conference with 31 catches and fifth with 607 yards. “I think that really changed the momentum, and we knew we could play with them. We thought if we just kept doing what we can do, then throughout the game we will end up on top.”

Luxemburg-Casco 7 0 6 0 – 13

G.B. Notre Dame 0 10 14 9 – 33

First quarter

L-C – Nathan Coisman 21 run (Will Derenne kick).

Second quarter

ND – Cade Vanhout 41 pass from Wes Glime (Andrew Gruesen kick).

ND – Gruesen 33 field goal

Third quarter

ND – Jack Allen 28 pass from Glime (Gruesen kick).

LC – Anthony Otradovec 59 pass from Garrit Aissen (kick failed)

ND – Michael Gregoire 2 run (Gruesen kick).

Fourth quarter

ND – Gruesen 40 field goal.

ND – Gregoire 45 run (kick failed, bad snap). 

This article orginally appeared in the Green Bay Press-Gazette