Senior running back Brady Schipper rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns and caught two balls out of the backfield for 86 yards and another touchdown. Still, defense was the story of the game for Stoughton (4-0 overall, 2-0 Badger South), holding the Red Hawks (3-1, 1-1) to 79 total yards.
Milton had one first down in the first half.
“Defense is the staple of our program right now,” coach Dan Prahl said. “Those guys are playing lights-out right now, and they’re super-fun to watch. It’s been amazing this year, how are guys hit that reset button and refocus. All our attention went into Milton and it produced results tonight.”
Already leading 28-0, Schipper slipped out of the backfield on the third play of the drive and made the catch of the season. Wide open in the left flat, Schipper adjusted to a high pass from Malueg, who was hit in the chest but managed to get the ball away. Schipper elevated and stuck out his right hand to snare the pass. The senior then showed his explosiveness once again, kicking in the jets and pulling away from the Red Hawks defense for a 64-yard touchdown.
“I was supposed to be staying in, but I saw him (Malueg) rolling out and a linebacker coming up,” Schipper said. “I slipped in behind him and Jon kinda lobbed it over top. I didn’t mean to come up with one-hand, but that’s where it was. I caught it and just took off. The next thing I knew, my teammates were meeting me in the end zone.”
The touchdown grab gave the Vikings a 35-0 lead and a running clock.
Schipper had already exploded up the middle for a 59-yard touchdown run on the Vikings’ first possession of the game.
Stoughton’s turned up the heat in the second quarter with quarterback Jonathan Malueg connecting on a 27-yard pass and Schipper adding a 3-yard touchdown before halftime to give the Vikings a 21-0 lead at halftime following a Kadin Milbauer interception on the Milton 23-yard line.
“Other than the first touchdown, we didn’t have too many big plays in the first half,” Schipper said. “We call it ‘chunking.’ The more 15- or 20-play drives we get, the more our defense is off the field and it showed, they put up a big goose egg.”
Malueg finished the game 13 of 17 for 175 yards, adding a third passing touchdown from 3-yards out in the third quarter. Sam McHone caught four balls for 66 yards and two touchdowns, which was big, with wide receiver Jordan DiBenedetto injuring himself prior to kickoff.
“Sam stepped up big to help give us a balanced attack,” Prahl said. “We needed that with Milton’s defense. We knew with Brady back they were going to try and load the box.”
Danny Weitzel completed 7 of 17 passes for 57 yards, but was intercepted by Kadin Milbauer and Payton Montgomery.
Chance Nelson was Weitzel’s favorite target, catching six balls for 54 yards. Josh Johnson was Milton’s leading rusher. He picked up 13 yards and a touchdown on four carries.
The Vikings travel to defending conference champion Monroe (2-2, 1-1) on Friday.
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