Fond du Lac almost beat Kimberly twice last year, and under first-year head coach Steve Jorgenson, the Cardinals were ready to give it another try on the first Friday night of high school football to kick off the 2018 season.
As for Kimberly, 18 of its 22 starters from a year ago are gone, so it’s up to a new class to uphold the Papermakers' nation-leading legacy of 70 straight victories.
With a single second on the clock, it all came down to Jared Scheberl from 26 yards out. In dramatic fashion, he split the uprights to end Kimberly's historic streak with a 31-28 victory.
"It feels great. It feels awesome," Scheberl said. "That was probably the easiest field goal I ever kicked. 26 yards? That's nothing."
"You know, one of my weaknesses is I don't celebratetoo much because I know we've got a game next week," said Jorgenson. "But so happy for our guys."
After a strong start, though, the win was in question for Fond du Lac.
The first quarter was all Cardinals as junior back Zavier Ellis carved his way down the field to the outside for a touchdown putting Fondy on top, 7-0.
Then Sam Hernandez stripped the ball from Kimberly, and senior Adam Hopper recovered the fumble. So it was only fitting that Hopper scored the touchdown on the ensuing drive, a 16-yard pass from the Cardinals' new starting quarterback Carson Radatz to give them a 14-0 advantage.
The Papermakers finally got the wheels turning in the second, when Will Fischer broke free from the line of scrimmage, taking the ball inside the Makers' 20-yard line. A few plays later, it was Fischer again with the 1-yard plunge, Kimberly's first touchdown of the season.
Later in the second, Cody Staerkel rolled out and found Zach Lechnir, one of Kimberly's few returning starters, for a leaping grab. That drive was capped with anotherr dime from Staerkel, to the end zone for Jack Kieffer for a 21-14 ball game at halftime.
In the fourth quarter, Kimberly trailed 28-21 when Will Fischer got in for another touchdown. The Makers would storm back to tie the game.
But Raddatz was in it to win it, hooking up with Eben Sauer to get within field goal range.
With a single second on the clock, it all came down to Jared Scheberl from 26 yards out. In dramatic fashion, he split the uprights to end Kimberly's historic streak with a 31-28 victory.
