Antioch, led by Martin Cohen’s 201-yard game, ride fast start past Wauconda

Everything about Wauconda’s offense is a throwback.

Not only the bruising style with three running backs and double tight ends, but it’s pretty much exactly what offensive coordinator Bill Mitz used to run at Stevenson in the 1990s. Heading into Thursday’s showdown at Antioch, Wauconda’s offense had scored at least 37 points four weeks in a row.

In this game, though, the Sequoits dominated the early action, jumped to a 22-0 lead at halftime and rolled to a 38-24 victory. The win put Antioch in command of the Northern Lake County Conference race with a 6-1 overall record, 5-0 in league play. Wauconda dropped to 5-2, 4-1.

“You play them, it’s such a different animal compared to the stuff you usually rep for,” Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said. “In this world of spread and this and that, a double-tight, full-house backfield, you’ve got to change what you’re doing. Having coaches on staff that coached since the ‘70s helps. You kind of go back in time and have to transform your defense.”

While Antioch kept Wauconda off the scoreboard in the first half, running back Martin Cohen was relatively quiet at the start, then finished with 201 yards on 15 carries. His first two attempts of the second half went for 69 and 47 yards.

In the first half, the Sequoits used ball control to keep Wauconda’s unusual offense on the sideline. The passing game gave Antioch the biggest spark. Quarterback Colin Arquilla hit Roddie Rathmann for a 12-yard gain on fourth-and-6 to continue the opening possession, then Rathmann’s 30-yard reception set up another touchdown.

“Short week, only three days of practice. We were on it, every bit of it,” Rathmann said. “I’ve never seen such energy in Antioch. This is my third year on varsity, I’ve never seen such fire and motivation before the game. We were so prepared for this.”

The Sequoits’ first TD came on a 9-yard run by Brooks Welsch, then the second was a halfback pass from Cohen to Mason Bussone for 5 yards.

While Antioch scored on its first two possessions, Wauconda’s luck couldn’t have been much worse. The Bulldogs were hit with a 15-yard facemask penalty on the second play of the game. Their first drive reached the Antioch 28-yard line, but QB Logan Olsen was stopped on fourth down by Wyatt Ertl for no gain.

Trailing 14-0, Wauconda’s second possession began with a 15-yard chop block penalty. On second-and-25, Olsen’s deep pass was tipped and intercepted by Jack Bucar. Wauconda’s defense got a fourth-down stop at the 12-yard line, but the ensuing drive sputtered near midfield. Cohen broke loose for a 34-yard run off a lateral pass, setting up his 1-yard TD plunge with just 19.9 seconds left before halftime.

“We didn’t play very well in the first half. That’s what I just told the guys,” Wauconda coach Chris Prostka said. “(Glashagel) kept it away from us in the first half. He knew we could score quickly and score in bunches like we did in the second half, but it was too little too late.”

Wauconda opened the third quarter with a 12-play, 68-yard touchdown drive to get within 22-8, then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. The momentum flipped right away, though, when Antioch’s Brady Rietschel snagged an interception off a tipped pass. Two plays later, Cohen broke loose on a sweep for a 69-yard TD run and it was 30-8.

Wauconda fullback Jackson Rudolph finished with 91 yards on 19 carries. Olsen threw for 153 yards. Welsch and Marcus Macias each had 40-plus yards rushing for Antioch.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241010/prep-football/antioch-has-answer-for-waucondas-old-school-offense/