DE PERE – A sequel is almost never as good as the original, except perhaps when it comes to the West De Pere football team.
Almost one year to the day that West De Pere beat Bay Port on a dramatic 49-yard field goal, the Phantoms somehow found a way to top it with a stunning 48-45 comeback win over the Pirates on Oct. 10.
West De Pere trailed by 17 points with 5 minutes, 42 seconds remaining after Bay Port scored 21 straight to take a commanding lead.
The game was all but over. Most everyone would have agreed.
“You know, I can’t lie,” West De Pere star quarterback Patrick Greisen said. “I kind of stopped believing, but I just put my trust in God, and it was going to work out.”
It was one miracle after another for West De Pere.
Greisen hit junior wideout Darian Acevedo-Ortiz on a spectacular 45-yard throw and catch that made it 45-35 with 3:54 left.
Still, no huge worries for Bay Port.
Even after West De Pere recovered the onside kick — a glaring issue at times in recent years for the Pirates — the drive ended on an interception from defensive back Rex Helms at the Bay Port 7.
The Pirates got one first down and forced the Phantoms to use two of their three timeouts before punting.
West De Pere took over at its 45 with 1:50 left.
Greisen again went to work, his biggest completion coming on a screen pass to running back Ryan Lutz, who took it 30 yards to the Bay Port 11.
One play later, Greisen hit Lutz for an 11-yard TD that cut the Pirates’ lead to 45-42 with 1:21 remaining.
But, still, no big deal for Bay Port. Just recover the onside kick this time and run the clock out.
The kick went up the middle, got touched by the Pirates, bobbled, got loose and was recovered by West De Pere at the Bay Port 48 with 1:18 left.
Uh-oh.
Greisen completed a first-down throw to Judeah Kniskern and then a 21-yard pass to Landon Kibbe to the 16.
Two plays and a holding penalty later that erased a TD, the Phantoms faced a third-and-17 after using their final timeout with 27 seconds remaining.
Greisen took the snap from the shotgun, was flushed out of the pocket and completed a pass down the middle to Kibbe to the Bay Port 4 before 2 yards were tacked on after Bay Port was called for a personal foul on a helmet-to-helmet hit.
The Pirates called a timeout, but it only delayed the pain.
Greisen faked a handoff and threw a 2-yard pass that Braylon Stegall made a beautiful TD catch on to give his team the lead.
Thirteen seconds later, West De Pere completed its improbable comeback.
The Phantoms clinched at least a share of their second straight Fox River Classic Conference-North title with one game remaining, which comes against an Appleton West team that is 3-5.
It was the most points scored against Bay Port since Fond du Lac put up 62 during the alternate spring season in April 2020.
“Shock,” said West De Pere coach Chris Greisen about the epic comeback, not the water his team doused him and his cell phone with in celebration afterward. “You have to first believe that it’s possible before it actually happens, and the guys never stopped believing. They knew if we got the ball, and I don’t want to disrespect Bay Port’s defense, but we didn’t feel like they stopped us. We stopped ourselves with penalties and stuff like that.
“It’s one of those things where we just kept on going and persevering and it was onto the next play. We talk about that all the time. I was really proud of how the kids reacted to that adversity.”
The other sideline wasn’t so giddy. Bay Port had the game and couldn’t finish.
“I told them I feel bad,” Bay Port coach Steven Jorgensen said. “I wanted our guys to win the football game and win the conference title. They worked really hard. Our guys do the right thing on and off the football field.
“We had five minutes there and they made plays. We took the foot off the gas, and that can’t happen. But we will respond. There is a little blueprint for us that we can follow. This team will make their own story here. They are not finished or anything like that. They are hurting right now, but we will be back.”
Offensive fireworks for Bay Port, West De Pere
The Pirates and Phantoms didn’t have much success stopping each other’s offenses.
Bay Port had 564 total yards. It rushed for 271 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry.
Star senior running back Brady Moon rushed for 157 yards and two TDs and caught five passes for 42 yards and two scores.
Senior quarterback Matt Stevens completed 14 of 18 passes for 246 yards and two TDs and rushed for 119 yards and two scores on 18 attempts.
While Bay Port intercepted Greisen two times, he and his receivers did plenty of damage to a Bay Port secondary that didn’t have enough answers.
Greisen completed 31 of 45 passes for 471 yards and seven TDs, one shy of the career-high eight he had against Oshkosh North last season when he became the ninth player in state history to accomplish the feat.
Kibbe had eight receptions for 118 yards and a score and Kniskern nine catches for 105 yards and a TD. Lutz added 97 yards and two TDs on six catches and Acevedo-Ortiz 90 yards and a score on five receptions.
Greisen completed TD passes to six players.
There were times during the game when he heard the chants from the Pirates faithful that he was overrated. The South Dakota commit instead showed he is as good as advertised.
“I hear it,” Greisen said. “And it fires me up a lot.”
In two career starts against Bay Port, Greisen has thrown for 803 yards and 12 TDs.
“He was very good,” Jorgensen said. “That’s why he’s the best passing quarterback in the state of Wisconsin. No doubt. He’s a great football player, and we didn’t do enough to slow him down.
“That’s just what it is.”
Bay Port must close out good opponents
This was the second time this season Bay Port had a commanding lead late in the game only for things to get bad in a hurry.
It led Middleton by 25 points with just more than 7 minutes remaining in Week 1 but had to hang on for a 39-36 win.
That near comeback also included an onside kick recovery.
“It’s been an emphasis,” Jorgensen said. “Those are really good kicks that (West De Pere) kid made. We work on it every day and put time into it. Yeah, it hurts that they recovered it. We recovered one also. I guess it was the night of onside kicks.
“But, obviously, you want those plays back. They made the plays, we didn’t. Tip the cap. It’s a well-coached team, it’s an unbelievable football game and we just came out on the other side just like last year.”
Luxemburg-Casco loses big showdown
The Spartans entered the week as one of only three local teams along with Green Bay Notre Dame and West De Pere to be undefeated after seven games.
Not only did they lose for the first time in a 42-27 defeat at Little Chute, but it likely cost them the chance to earn a share of the North Eastern Conference championship.
Little Chute improved to 6-0 in league play and is one game ahead of both L-C and Freedom for the top spot with one contest remaining.
The Spartans and Irish play in Week 9 while the Mustangs host a Two Rivers squad that has only two victories and is 0-5 against winning teams this season.
L-C’s defense had been extremely difficult to score against until this week, allowing eight or fewer points in each of the first seven games.
But the Mustangs rushed for 367 yards, including a 49-yard TD from Jaden Hermsen on the opening play of the game. They remained in control for the rest of the night.
The 42 points surrendered by the Spartans were the most they have allowed in the regular season since Denmark put up 42 against them in October 2019.
Pulaski takes another step toward playoffs
The Red Raiders beat Green Bay Preble 63-35 and are firmly entrenched as one of the 32 teams for the D2 playoffs.
Pulaski scored a season high in points, one week after scoring 55 in a win against Appleton West.
It’s the second straight season the Red Raiders have topped the 60-point mark after beating the Terrors 77-38 in 2024.
Week 8 scores
West De Pere 48, Bay Port 45
De Pere 43, Appleton West 6
Ashwaubenon 16, Green Bay Southwest 7
Pulaski 63, Green Bay Preble 35
Green Bay Notre Dame 44, Green Bay West 7
Seymour 28, New London 6
Waupaca 34, Shawano 21
Wrightstown 31, Denmark 7
Little Chute 42, Luxemburg-Casco 27
Kewaunee 49, Peshtigo 8
Southern Door 54, Sturgeon Bay 0
Oconto Falls 32, Northland Pines 0
Bonduel 48, Oconto 13
Marinette 51, Mishicot 30
Crivitz 63, Clintonville 0
Coleman 71, Manawa 7
Crandon 25, Shiocton 6
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: West De Pere football celebrates improbable comeback over Bay Port for second straight year
Reporting by Scott Venci, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
