SCHOFIELD – After an early 6 p.m. start due to weather complications, D.C. Everest came out of the halftime break and took over, helping them down Marshfield, 37-15.
The game, played at D.C Everest, was called with just under four minutes remaining due to thunder.
It was a gritty victory for D.C. Everest coach Braden Mitchell and his group, which required adjustments throughout the game. The Evergreens responded with one of their most-balanced performances of the season, shutting out the Tigers in the second half, while continuing to create momentum for their offense on the other side of the ball.
The Evergreens came into the Wisconsin Valley Conference matchup expecting the unexpected, and Mitchell is pleased with how his team responded to adversity.
“We knew it was going to be a factor,” Mitchell said. “We tried to bump the game up so that we could try to avoid it as best we could. But, coming out at halftime, we saw that it was coming and I thought our guys handled it really well and kept pounding the rock and kept getting after it.”
A Evergreen offense
D.C. Everest senior receiver Xavier Edwards was once again crucial to the Evergreens offensive success in the first half, snagging two touchdowns, including a 53-yard haul off a tip that got the Evergreens on the board.
Marshfield punctuated their opening drive with a touchdown and two-point conversion that put the Evergreens on their heels, but they answered every shot the Tigers threw at them.
D.C. Everest led their in-conference rivals 22-15 going into halftime, then came out in the second half with renewed energy.
“The message was we got to finish,” Mitchell said. “We were getting in the right spots. We were getting to the places we needed to be, we just wanted to finish the tackles. So defensively, it was about finishing, and then offensively, it was the same thing.
“They weren’t stopping us. We kept shooting ourselves in the foot with turnovers and not converting, so we just had to finish.”
Evergreen’s running back Corbin Enzenroth got the second half surge going, plowing through defenders to find himself in the end zone for a three-yard touchdown. He snagged another short yardage touchdown run with just under seven minutes remaining to put the score out of reach.
With the help from playmakers spread across the offensive depth chart, the Evergreens offense is beginning to find its rhythm within the passing and ground game. But Enzenroth has long waited for his opportunity to be a difference- maker on the latter.
“I waited my whole life for this,” Enzenroth said. “I had an All-State running back in front of me last season, and I wanted to play, you know, the whole time. But I learned a lot from him, and it was a great thing that he was in front of me.”
WVC race tightens
The victory puts the reigning 2024 WVC champions, D.C. Everest, back to the top of the league’s hierarchy with the most conference wins up to this point.
D.C. Everest, now with back-to-back WVC wins, is now 3-0 in league standings with an opportunity to expand their reach with a win against a struggling Eau Claire North team on Friday, Sept. 26.
The Evergreens are neither taking for granted what tonight means for their overall goals for the season – or lacking in confidence about their chances of becoming back-to-back WVC champions.
“This is a big win,” Enzenroth said with a smile. “You know, the conference runs through us.”
Thursday, Sept. 18 results:
Medford 20, Lakeland 18
Merrill 35, Antigo 0
Mosinee 35, Wausau East 7
Friday, Sept. 19 results:
Spencer 27, Wittenberg-Birnamwood 8
Amherst 34, Loyal 12
Owen-Withee 48, Thorp 12
Tomahawk 49, Rhinelander 7
D.C. Everest 37, Marshfield 15
Fall Creek 58, Neillsville 0
Marathon 40, Colby 0
Wausau West 14, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln 12
Stratford 43, Weyauwega-Fremont 14
Waupun 35, Nekoosa 0
Hudson 24, Stevens Point 14
Marion/Tigerton 48, Newman 38
Abbotsford 36, Assumption 6
Adams-Friendship 20, Mauston 6
Athens 30, Hurley 0
Pacelli 27, Iola-Scandinavia 20
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Reporter Alfred Smith III at alfred.smith@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AlfredS_III.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: D.C. Everest beats Marshfield behind thunderous second half surge
Reporting by Alfred Smith III, Wausau Daily Herald / Wausau Daily Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
