Sussex Hamilton quarterback Hatcher shakes off injury to run for four touchdowns in win over Verona
SUSSEX – It wasn't in the game plan for Tyler Hatcher to run the ball. The Sussex Hamilton quarterback had been banged up with a lower-leg issue late in the game against Arrowhead one week earlier, and he didn't practice until Wednesday after struggling to put weight on it.
So, naturally, Hatcher ran for 124 yards on 24 carries and scored all four touchdowns in his team's 26-16 win over Verona at Stan Grove Field on Friday night, a WIAA Level 3 win that put Hamilton into the Division 1 state semifinals for a second consecutive season.
"I was comfortable; a lot of it is the natural adrenaline," Hatcher said. "Sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do, and I wanted to make a sacrifice."
There were some anxious moments for the Chargers, the No. 5 team in the final Associated Press poll among "Large Schools." Verona (No. 6 in that same poll) took a 14-13 lead with 5:52 remaining in the third quarter, meaning the Chargers trailed in the second half of back-to-back games. For a team that averaged 49 points per game in the regular season, that's unusual.
But after the Chargers (12-0) reclaimed the lead at 19-14, Xzavier Mielke's interception shut down the subsequent Verona drive early in the fourth quarter.
And after a bad snap put the Chargers on their own 14-yard line facing second and 23, the Chargers rebounded with a drive that chewed up 7:27 of game clock, ended in a touchdown and put the Chargers on the doorstep of of date with Franklin (12-0) next week for the right to advance to the state final at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
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"Our theme of the week had a lot to do with just playing our brand of football, having a chip on our shoulder for this (Milwaukee) area," said Hamilton coach Justin Gumm, who's led his program to back-to-back Level 4 appearances. "I thought that drive was the definition of that.
"I honestly felt like we moved the ball when we wanted to, except we were shooting ourselves in the foot over and over. We kept beating ourselves; that what was frustrating. That hasn't happened here in a long time, so it was frustrating more than anything, but credit to our kids for ignoring it and having a next-play mentality. Our defense, back against the wall, they kept making plays, too."
Verona intercepted Hatcher three times, including once in the end zone, and held Hamilton to a season-low scoring total. But with the lead at 26-14, Verona's last-gasp drive inside the 10 stalled. The Chargers took a late safety to account for the final points.
"In the regular season, it was a lot of offense, but in the postseason, the defense is really coming out," Hatcher said. "Defense wins championships. It's real."
Hamilton 6-foot-4 senior Andrew Eichmann was lost before halftime with an injury, leaving the Chargers short in the receiving corps and the kicking game. But the game also marked the return of senior Kyle LaVoy, who missed the previous two games with injury and hauled in a 19-yard pass that helped the Chargers convert that second-and-long situation on the decisive drive.
Nick Kihn, one week after an unreal outstretched catch that helped the Chargers ice the game against Arrowhead, had 11 receptions for 90 yards, and LaVoy had four catches for 37. Hatcher finished 22 for 27 passing with 182 yards despite the three picks.
Hatcher said he knows Franklin quarterback Joseph Kallay, and the two share a birthday.
"We've had some big wins over the last couple years, but we haven't gotten those guys," Gumm said of Franklin. "We feel extremely blessed to be playing again."
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sussex Hamilton quarterback ignites Chargers with four touchdowns
