The Mauston Golden Eagles varsity football team battled Pioneer Westfield for three quarters, before they let the game slip away in the fourth quarter on a damp and chilly Friday night.

Westfield struck first on a 1-yard run by senior Kyle Kalish, which capped-off a 25-yard drive, to take a 7-0 lead. The Golden Eagles were pinned deep in their own territory for their first possession of the game, which set-up the Pioneers with a short field after the punt.

Mauston fought back and put together a nice drive, but failed to score down at the goal line on fourth down. The Golden Eagle defense was able to get a stop though, and blocked a punt deep in Westfield territory. It only took one play for Mauston to get senior JD Lierman in the end zone from the 5-yard line. The Golden Eagles tried to take their first lead of the season with a 2-point conversion attempt, but failed to get the ball across the goal line.

It didn’t take long for Westfield to answer, as they drove down the field 82-yards and scored on a nice run by junior Brad Floeter to take a 14-6 lead at the half.

Mauston got back in the game in the third quarter with another touchdown run by Lierman, as he picked-up his fifth touchdown in the last two weeks. The Golden Eagles would continue to trail 14-12 at the end of the third quarter after another failed 2-point conversion attempt.

The wheels started to fall off in the fourth quarter for Mauston with penalties, turnovers, and missed opportunities. Westfield would go on to score three more time in the final quarter to seal the game away. Kalish scored twice, and Floeter also picked-up another touchdown to give Westfield five rushing touchdowns on the night.

Westfield improves to 3-3 and gets to .500 for the first time this season. They also remain undefeated in conference play at 2-0, and are one conference win away from making the playoffs for the first time on more than 10 years. They will be on the road next week to take on the two-time defending conference champion Nekoosa Papermakers who are also unbeaten in conference play this season.

Mauston remains winless and will be looking for some more Week 7 magic as they return home next week for their homecoming to take on rival Adams-Friendship. It was Week 7 last year when the Golden Eagles got their one win of the season on the road at Adams-Friendship to spoil the Green Devils’ homecoming. This year Adams-Friendship will be looking to return the favor. Both teams will enter the game winless on the season.