By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
It's been a banner season for Catholic Memorial's football team in Waukesha, led by running back Ryan Baez. But Coach Bill Young is confident that his team isn't quite done yet with picking up wins this season.
The Crusaders ripped Waukesha North, 54-14 on Friday to end the regular season at 8-1 and has the top scoring team in Milwaukee with 45.4 points per game. Ryan Baez had 25 carries for 242 yards and two touchdowns for the Crusaders.
Tuesday, in the Division 3 playoffs, Catholic Memorial prevailed over New Berlin Eisenhower, 17-7, in a WIAA Division 3 Level 1 playoff game at Waukesha South. Baez added 100 additional yards in this game. He averaged 8.4 yards per carry in his junior season.
The 242 yards for Baez against Waukesha North was his best performance of the season so far. He also had 225 yards against Waukesha South in only one half of play.
“He was awfully good last year. He's a kid that has good vision. He has a great burst,” Young said. “He has great balance. He's a football-wrestling kid. He's a very good athlete.
“We have five weapons offensively. Andy Jaynes is another running back averaging 8.9 yards a carry. Jack Fleming, our quarterback, missed our last two games because of an ankle injury. Up until then he rushed for 11 touchdowns and threw for eight. He's an outstanding athlete. Wide receiver Mike Jankowski in 10 games has had 32 catches with 13.5 yards per catch. David Smith has 21 catches for 330 yards. We've had good balance behind those kids.”
This weekend, Catholic Memorial plays Wisconsin-Lutheran, 10-0.
“We have to be solid on special teams, have great defense and run and throw the ball effectively and limit the opponent in positions,” Young said.
More Football Standouts
Shawn McKenzie led Germantown against Grafton last weekend with 29 carries for 270 yards and six touchdowns in a 42-7 win.
Zac Moeller rushed for more than 200 yards in Port Washington's 38-22 victory over Milwaukee Lutheran. Moeller had 32 carries for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Teammate Cory Steinmetz scored on a 32-yard pass from Josh Gasser and an 8-yard run. Adam Walker had three touchdown passes and threw for 320 yards for Milwaukee Lutheran.
Port Washington is 7-3 under coach Tim Greisch. But Moeller, a 5-foot-6, 135-pound back, has a unique story.
“He runs around people,” Greisch said. “He's the toughest little guy I know. His previous best was 179 yards. He played last year but he's improved a lot.
“He was awfully effective last year too. We have a new offensive line.”
Right now, Moeller is at 1,179 yards for the season.
More Football
Raymond Ocasio rushed for 200 yards on 22 carries for St. Thomas Moore in a 43-6 victory over Wauwatosa West last weekend. St. Thomas isn't going to the playoffs, having ended its regular season last week.
“Any success we've had can be attributed to good senior leadership,” St. Thomas coach Christopher Clary said. “Lately it's been the junior class stepping up, with Raymond Ocasio being a huge contributor. His strengths are that he always makes something out of nothing on most runs. He also finishes his runs harder that most backs I've seen recently at the high school level.
“He has some of the softest hands, which is very important in our spread passing game. We are a 50-50 run to pass oriented offense. Without his running threat we would not have been able to maintain that style.”
Ocasio started out the season as the team's No. 3 running back. But he quickly moved up as one of the top backs in the area.
“He seized an opportunity. When injuries elevated his position on the depth chart, he took that opportunity and ran with it,” Clary said.
Against Wauwatosa West, Ocasio said he and his offensive line found their rhythm.
“I owe all my success to the O-line, they opened some great holes for me,” Ocasio said. “I've been more successful lately; early on I was only seeing some reps here and there. A couple of injuries to guys in front of me gave me an opportunity to play more.
“I worked out like a mad man in the off-season, I wanted to play so bad this year. The more reps I get in practice the better I feel I'm getting. I've been told that I hit the hole very quickly, so I think that's a plus. I never want to go down on first contact. I finish my runs with power.”
His team could be a future state contender, Ocasio said.
“We will not make the playoffs this year, but we will next year,” he said. “I will lead the team and get them dedicated to a great off-season.”
Volleyball
Keith Milkowski is coaching a Waupun team that is 45-5 going into the late stretches of the season.
“We have a pretty experienced team. We have four starters that have started at least three years and one that is a four-year starter,” Milkowski said.
Leading the way is Michielah Nevis, a four-year starter at setter.
“She's an All-State setter. She does everything well,” Milkowski said. “She distributes the ball well to all hitters. She doesn't just set to one hitter.”
Nevis is approaching 1,000 assists for the year with about nine assists per game.
“It's been pretty much the same for her every year,” Milkowski said. “She's going to go over the 5,000-assist record in her career.”
To keep having success, “we need to score out of the middle more, serve aggressively and pick up our defense,” Milkowski said.
Bridget Nickel, a junior “has put up some good numbers this season,” Milkowski said.
Volleyball Standouts
Kettle Moraine Lutheran, ranked first in the state Division 2 coaches' poll, had a 25-18, 25-12, 25-6 victory over Kewaskum last week with, Rachel Spaeth recording 10 kills and Tori Kroll adding 12 assists to lead the Chargers (30-6-2).
Katie Boyle had 10 kills and Katelyn Stahr provided 26 assists to lead St. Thomas Moore past St. Francis 25-22, 25-13, 25-21 last week.
Burlington Catholic Central, ranked No. 1 in the state Division 4 poll, rolled to a 25-10, 25-8, 25-12 victory over Albany and, at 28-4, got 14 kills from Samantha Oldenburg.
