Pirates running game rampages Falcons in 30-6 decision

Brown Deer - Pewaukee's football team didn't do any great things on Friday against visiting Brown Deer in its Woodland Conference showdown, but the Pirates did a lot of good things and on this night, good turned out to be more than enough to get them a respectable 30-6 victory.

The win vaulted the Pirates to 2-0 on the season, giving them that mark for the first time in three years and fifth time in the last seven seasons. The victory also kept first-year head coach Justin Friske perfect in his brief Pewaukee coaching career.

Senior quarterback T.J. Watt, in just his second varsity game at that position, scored on runs of 1, 67 and 21 yards in leading the Pewaukee offense. George Opelt also scored on a 2-yard run and the Pirates got a fourth quarter safety when the Brown Deer punter kicked the ball into the backs of two of his offensive lineman. Kicker Jacob Stern was a perfect 4 for 4 booting extra points.

"First of all, that's a good team we played tonight," a happy Friske said after the game. "They have some explosive weapons on offense. I'm surprised we held them to six points. They've got playmakers across the board and for our guys to put a six up on the board, that tells you how well our guys on defense did.

Big plays, big period

The Pirates broke the game open with 14 unanswered points in the second quarter. Pewaukee led by a 7-6 score after the first period.

Pewaukee used big plays to set up the first touchdown in the second quarter and then got the play of the night from Watt one series later. Ryan Stepanovich ran for 16 yards on first down and then broke loose on a 35-yard scamper the play before Opelt scored on a 2-yard run. On the 35-yard run by Stepanovich, Dan Kemp delivered a big block at the 10-yard line that allowed him to get to the two-yard line. That score and kick gave the Pirates a 14-6 lead.

Watt breaks game open

Watt then took the game into his own hands by scoring on a brilliant 67-yard run. The touchdown came with just 47.6 seconds left in the half. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Watt broke through the middle of the line of scrimmage and headed for the left sideline. With two Brown Deer defenders bearing down on him, the University of Wisconsin recruit then darted back to the center of the field and easily scored.

"What Watt did there at the end of the first half was a busted play, really," Friske said.

Pewaukee's running game was effective all night combining for 376 yards on 40 carries.

Just as impressive was the play of the Pirates' defense, especially in the final 40:19 of the game. After Brown Deer scored in the first quarter on an impressive five-play, 69-yard drive, they never found the end zone again. Two turnovers did not help. Drew Worth connected on a 38-yard pass to Pietro D'Amato for Brown Deer's only score.

D'Amato finished with six catches for 102 yards.

The Falcons now need to bounce back at home against St. Francis at 7 p.m. Friday. New Berlin West sank the Mariners, 54-13, on Friday.