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Spartans Cruise in Win Over Crusaders
Fond du Lac – With its playoff spot secure, the Wauwatosa Spartans (5-4) traveled to Fond du Lac on Saturday to take on the Fond du Lac Crusaders (1-7) in Ironman Football League (IFL) action.
The week before, the Spartans locked up the two seed in the American Conference playoffs, beating the Milwaukee Storm at Hart Park, 7-6. The Crusaders had been eliminated from the playoff race several weeks back and were intent on playing spoiler. But behind a dominant run game and stingy defense, the Spartans were in control all night and left town with a 34-0 win.
The Spartan defense didn’t allow much, blanking the Crusaders and forcing four turnovers to set up the offense with field position, including three interceptions. Cornerback Scott Lang had two interceptions and defensive end Joe Flick added one. Defensive tackle Nick Corgiat controlled the line of scrimmage all night, effectively putting a stop to the Crusader run game.
On offense, the offensive line gelled quickly and the ground game took over, opening up a 24-0 lead at the half. Running back Cedric McFadden was the workhorse, running behind a makeshift trio of fullbacks when defensive end Joe Flick, linebacker Darrell Jack and defensive lineman Eric Zilisch all took turns filling in and leading McFadden. McFadden ripped off run after run and ended the game with 200 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns.
Kicker Paul Schroeder put on a show with booming punts and two field goals, one from 35 yards and the second from over 45 yards. The lone passing score came in the second half when quarterback Tony Henner found his brother wide receiver Jim Henner for a 30-yard touchdown strike, and a 34-0 lead.
The win puts the Spartans at 6-4, with a bye this weekend entering the playoffs. On August 14th at 7:00 p.m., the Spartans will host the Rock County Gladiators at Hart Park in Wauwatosa.
The winner will advance to play either the Burlington Blue Devils or the Shorewood Monarchs in the American Conference Championship game for the right to advance to Iron Bowl XIV, which will be played at Hart Park on August 28th.
