The Homestead boys football team seems to have improved in different aspects of its game every week of its eight-game win streak, and on Friday, Oct. 6, it was no different, coming out with a 35-25 victory over Brookfield East.

This win puts the Highlanders one step closer to the state championship at Camp Randall, the same place where the 2012 team brought home the state title.

Homestead got the ball first to start the game and brought the excitement and the energy right away. The score of the drive came from Jack Popp, senior wide receiver, not giving up on a play and keeping his eyes on the ball the whole time.

Eric Zoeller, junior quarterback, threw the ball into coverage and it looked as if the pass was going to go for an interception, but the ball bounced off the defender and Popp was there to catch it and run it in the rest of the way, putting the Highlanders up 7-0 early.

“It was kind of a crazy play. I just looked back and saw the ball was still in the air and made a play on it ,” Popp said.

The Highlanders’ defense was up against one of the top running backs in the state and knew that in order to win the game, they would have to control the damage Sam Santiago could do. The defense came up with a huge stop when Brookfield East went for it on fourth down, causing a turnover on downs.

After a couple of three-and-outs for both teams, Homestead took to scoring again, this time from Matt Winters, senior running back. The drive consisted of mostly running plays, one in which the offensive line helped push Zoeller pass mid field for the first down.  A defensive pass interference brought Homestead even further down the field, ultimately setting up a two-yard touchdown run for Winters. The score was now 14-0 with 10:43 left in the half.

Brookfield East responded by driving down the field, with the help of Santiago, and scored a one-yard touchdown run from Santiago; however, the extra point hit the goal post and bounced out making the score 14-6.

After an impressive kick return by Tyler Woldt, senior, the Highlanders had the ball on their 40-yard line. This drive resulted in another two-yard touchdown run for Winters, his second and final of the night. This touchdown set up the score going into the half, 21-6 Highlanders on top.

“It felt great to come out with the win. Brookfield East is a very physical team on both sides of the ball, but we were able to execute our game plan the way we wanted. The offensive line did a really good job of making some gaps for me and the other running backs and that helped us get the win,” Winters said.

The defense came out with the same energy it had in the first half, forcing another turnover on downs for Brookfield East, who was on Homestead’s 10-yard line, but the offense had a quick three-and-out afterwards.

Santiago scored on the next drive for East. After converting a fourth down on Homestead’s 16, Santiago took it the ball into the endzone from 11 yards out, putting the score at 21-13.

The Highlander offense took over on its own 10-yard line due to an illegal block in the back call that canceled out a huge kick return for Woldt. This drive brought the game into the 4th quarter. On the second play of the drive, Zoeller fumbled the ball and East was able to recover on Homestead’s 30.

This set up another touchdown run for East, but the defense came up with one of the biggest stops of the game when East went for the two point conversion, keeping Brookfield from tieing the game at 21. The score was now 21-19.

It was now the offense’s turn to come up with a big drive, and it did just that. Patrick Minkin, senior, had a huge first down that brought the ball to East’s 45. After another big run from Winters, the Highlanders had the ball on the 11 and Bradley Woldt, sophomore, took it into the endzone, making the score 28-19 with four minutes left to play, but the excitement was not over yet.

After a huge forced fumble and recovery by Robert Day, senior defensive back, Homestead took over on East’s 28-yard line. A penalty call pushed the Highlanders back, but Winters carried the ball 20 yards back to East’s 20-yard line. This set up another rushing touchdown, this time from Michael Fehrenbach, junior running back, putting the score at 35-19.

Although Brookfield was able to score one more time, a missed two-point conversion and a failed onside kick attempt ended its hopes of making a comeback. The Highlanders took a knee to end the game with a score of 35-25.

Brookfield East relied heavily on Santiago throughout the whole game, giving him the ball 41 times; he ran for a total of 271 yards and two touchdowns, but that was not enough to come away with a win. Winters led the Highlanders with 129 yards on 19 carries.

Homestead did not trail once in this game and that can be accredited to the incredible defense that was shown throughout the entirety of the game.

“Im very proud of the way the defense played. We were really effective in the first half with some of our stunts and things we had planned, but that is the best offense we have played all year with a fantastic running back, quarterback and receiver. I’m very proud of the job we did and the offense played great. It’s a really good team win for us,” Mr. Matt Wolf, defensive coordinator, said.

The team is set to take on Chippewa Falls next week at UW-Stevens Point in the state semifinals game. The time and day of the game has not yet been determined, but regardless of that, the team will be preparing day in and day out for this game. Last season, the team reached this same point in the season, but fell to a very talented Menasha team. This season they hope the outcome will be different.

“It’s great to get back to level four of the playoffs for the second year in a row. We’ve worked so hard and want to make up for the loss last year and get back to Camp Randall,” Popp said.

Gallery • 14 Photos

Hannah O'Leary

Sam Brink, senior, holds up a sign while cheering for the Highlanders. On one side, the sign is a whiteboard, where Brink directs cheers for the student section. On the other side, the sign displays this year's mantra, "Eat or starve."