The Mauston Golden Eagles varsity football team continues to look for their first win of the season after falling to Lake Mills Friday night in non-conference action. The Golden Eagles showed much improvement from their week one loss to Onalaska. After getting shut out 42-0 against the Hilltoppers, Mauston was able to get in the end zone for their first points of the season against the L-Cats in Lake Mills. Though the score doesn’t show it, the Golden Eagles played hard and kept themselves in the game until late in the fourth quarter.

Lake Mills took the opening drive 75 yards and got on the board first with a 24-yard run by junior Chad McFarlane. Later in the first, the L-Cats extended their lead to 14-0 with a 13-yard run by junior Kellen Murphy.

It took a while for the Golden Eagles to get their offense going for the first time this season, but they got things rolling late in the first quarter. Mauston got the ball with 3:30 left in the first quarter, and finished by putting the ball in the end zone at the 7:51 mark of the second quarter. It was a long steady drive that ended with a 20-yard run by senior JD Lierman to get the Golden Eagles their first points of the season and to trim the lead down to 14-7.

Lake Mills responded on their next drive by moving down the field and scoring on a 5-yard run by McFarlane. Mauston put together a quick drive in response right before the half, but a fumble on the 5-yard line halted the drive and kept the score at 21-7 at halftime.

The Golden Eagles got the ball to start the second half and they picked up right where they left off. They put together another long drive that took a bunch of time off the clock, and Lierman picked up his second touchdown of the year from 13-yards out. Mauston cut into the L-Cats lead once again, and after a missed extra point attempt the score was 21-13.

It didn’t take long for Lake Mills to respond as McFarlane took the ensuing kick-off 90-yards for a touchdown for his third score of the night. From there the L-Cats built on their lead in the fourth quarter as they added another touchdown from Murphy on a 10-yard pass play. They also got a touchdown run by senior Alex Mickelson late in the fourth followed by an interception returned for a touchdown on the ensuing Golden Eagle possession.

Mauston kept fighting, and even though they were down 36 points with only 1:30 left in the game, Coach Dillin kept his guys playing hard. The Golden Eagles were able to get in the end zone on a 46-yard pass play to senior Ken Waukau from senior quarterback Steve Ferguson with just :09 seconds left in the game. After a penalty on the 2-point conversion, the Golden Eagles failed to convert setting up the final score of 49-19.

The Golden Eagles struggled on special teams as they failed to get off a punt after three bad snaps to senior punter Zach Evans. That set up the L-Cats with great field position for much of the game and resulted in two of their touchdowns. They also gave up the 90-yard kick-off return for a touchdown and had an extra-point attempt blocked. A few turnovers and special team errors were the difference in the ball game, but the offense and defense showed much improvement.

The Golden Eagles fall to 0-2 on the early season while the L-Cats stay undefeated at 2-0. Mauston will travel to Platteville for their week three match-up and will play at the UW-Platteville stadium Friday night.