WAUSAU – While last year is a thing of the past in the minds of the D.C. Everest football team, they remember their last streak-snapping matchup with Chippewa Falls of the Big Rivers Conference vividly.
Chippewa Falls opened their Week 7 matchup against the Evergreens in 2024 with a 27-point first quarter, creating a steep hole the Evergreens would slowly chip away at.
The Evergreens made things interesting, cutting the lead to five with two minutes remaining. They eventually fell 41-36, which snapped a five-game winning streak on Chippewa Falls’ home field.
Not much went right for the Evergreens in the first quarter, who turned the ball over twice in the opening period. The Cardinals’ speed posed monumental issues. One turnover resulted in a 63-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
The Cardinals offense ripped off multiple big-yardage touchdowns, while also returning a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
For the Evergreens that were a part of the 2024 group that would still eventually win the Wisconsin Valley Conference championship, it was a feeling, and a deficit, not to forget.
“We’re leaning on them to be able to remember what that game felt like starting out,” D.C. Everest coach Braden Mitchell said about his returners. “Because our staff does a great job of preparing guys and being ready for things. The hardest thing to replicate, though, is their offense and the speed at which those guys go and how precise they are in their pace.
“Were reminding them that, that first drive, it’s going to be fast, and it took us too long to settle in. Offensively, we’re the only ones that are really stopping ourselves. When we realize that, and when we eliminate our own mistakes, then our offense is successful.”
Chippewa Falls at D.C. Everest, Oct. 3
D.C. Everest is ready to see what they’re made of, entering the closing stretch of the 2025 season.
In 2024, the Evergreens rebounded after their loss to Chippewa Falls with a thrilling 47-41 overtime win over Stevens Point that essentially locked up the WVC conference.
This week is a big opportunity to set a foundation for the remainder of the year.
“It’s hard because last year has a recency bias,” Mitchell said. “But I think that this is the point where we really found out about our guys last year in this Chippewa Falls game and then bouncing back against SPASH.
“We’ll find out where we’re at. We love what we’ve done up to this point, but at the same time, each week, we’re recognizing the areas and the mistakes that we’re making and where we need to improve. So these will be two big weeks to do that.”
Momentum is not to be taken for granted in sports, and D.C. Everest isn’t losing sight of their pre-season repeat WVC champion aspirations. It doesn’t matter if their opponent is in-conference or non-conference, the Evergreens are entering Week 7 laser-focused on the task at hand.
“We can see our goals are in sight,” Mitchell said. “It’s now just still trying to keep the focus on making things about this week and this game. We know that everything that we’ve set out to do is still possible.”
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: Evergreens stress fast start vs Chippewa Falls in Week 7; aim for step closer to goals
Reporting by Alfred Smith III, Wausau Daily Herald / Wausau Daily Herald
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