Ocon more than “OK”: Raccoons hold off Warhawks and remain undefeated | Waukesha Co. Sports

OCONOMOWOC – The biggest football game Oconomowoc has seen in many years was just five minutes away.

Yes, five minutes away. Raccoons coach Sal Logue found quarterback Austin Munzel and told the rising sophomore he would be making his first varsity start.

“I was a little nervous,” said Munzel, who had split time in the last few games. “But the coach said, 'Are you ready?' And I said, 'I'm ready for it.'” Boy, was he ever? Munzel threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns while helping the host Raccoons to a 2,821 victory over Arrowhead. Senior wideout Kashton Allen was Munzel's favorite target, hauling in four passes for 210 yards, including touchdown receptions of 71 and 97 yards.

Oconomowoc improved to 6-0 overall and is now sole owner of first place in the Classic 8 Conference at 4-0. Arrowhead, which got three total touchdowns from senior quarterback Vance Holtz, fell to 4-2, 3-1 and is tied for second in the league with Mukwonago.

It was also the Raccoons' first win over Arrowhead since joining the Classic 8 in 2017. The Warhawks were 7-0 against Oconomowoc during that time with an average margin of victory of 21.4 points per game.

“It's crazy. Moving to the Classic 8, they have always been one of our biggest competitors,” Allen said. “But we’ve never beaten them. It's just a crazy feeling at the moment. But I knew we could do it.”

Logue felt the same way. “I think we've been knocking on the door in the last few years and people are going to be a little more aware now,” he said. “This is no coincidence. We were close. And it’s the culmination of a lot of hard-working kids.”

One of those kids is Munzel, who worked on a timeshare basis with talented senior Andrew Mirek during the first half of the season. However, when Munzel got his chance to become QB1, he took full advantage, completing 15 of 20 passes, including eight balls of at least 20 yards, and finishing with a passer rating of 156.3.

“I think he's been really composed and throwing the ball well and he's shown that he's consistently putting it on our receivers,” Logue said of Munzel. “He did it again tonight and it’s really impressive that he put in such a performance in his first start of a game.”

The Raccoons struck first when Munzel and tight end Emmett Bork scored a 20-yard TD with just 32 seconds left in the first quarter. Bork, a Michigan State recruit, got behind linebacker Brendan Foley and hauled in a perfectly thrown ball from Munzel into the back left corner of the end zone to give Oconomowoc a 7-0 lead.

The Raccoons extended their lead to 14-0 with just 2:36 left in the first half when Munzel and Allen scored a 71-yard TD strike on a third-and-15 play. Allen lined up wide right, ran a post route and easily intercepted Munzel's strike 20 yards downfield. Two Arrowhead defenders took poor angles, Allen turned the left corner and then outran the remaining Warhawks on the way to paydirt.

“They were in Cover 4 and I was just able to cut in front of my husband’s face,” Allen said. “Then Austin threw a perfect ball and I got past the other one.”

However, Arrowhead responded with an impressive six-play 80-yard drive that Holtz capped off with a 1-yard TD run up the middle. Holtz connected with junior wideout Harper Hughes for gains of 35 and 24 yards on the march, then hit junior wideout Sam Schneider for 20 yards before finishing the drive with his legs, pulling the Warhawks to within 14-7 .

Arrowhead appeared to have momentum on its side when a Holtz punt pinned the Raccoons at their own 2-yard line early in the third quarter. However, on the second-and-9 from the 3, Munzel landed in his end zone and shot deep for Allen just before he was hit. The speedy wideout had sneaked behind the defense, picked up Munzel's pass to his own 40 yards and then ran untouched the final 60 yards to score a stunning touchdown that gave Oconomowoc a 21-7 lead.

“It was pretty close,” Munzel said of almost being fired. “But I saw the outside corner coming down, so I knew 'Kash' would have a great chance to make a play, and he did.”

On the Raccoons' next series, Oconomowoc wideout Cole Sulfur was left alone on the right sideline. He caught a 10-yard pass from Munzel, then ran the next 45 yards without being touched and turned a short pitch-and-catch into a 55-yard score that gave Oconomowoc a commanding 28-7 lead.

That was all many of the Arrowhead students had to see as several Warhawks fans streamed toward the exits.

However, they missed a lot in the last 15 minutes.

Holtz and Hughes connected for touchdowns of 35 and 43 yards – the second came with 3:43 left – as Arrowhead pulled within 28-21.

But Oconomowoc defender Caeden Oppold also intercepted Holtz late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter. Then, on Arrowhead's final play of the night, Holtz's 40-yard Hail Mary into the end zone was intercepted by senior defensive back Sebastian Briggs.

“Our defense was great,” Allen said. “In the second half we couldn’t get much going on offense other than the big plays, so our defense had to step up for us.”

And now the Raccoons could be on their way to a conference title.

“If you can start competing against the top teams in this conference and winning games, that's the right message and we're definitely going to do that,” Logue said. “But in the end we have to take it game by game, enjoy it for one night and then move on.”