KAUKAUNA — The Kaukauna Galloping Ghosts football team overcame a slow start to advance to Level 2 in the WIAA Division 2 playoffs with a 45-13 win Friday at home over Pulaski.
Aiden Reardon scored three rushing touchdowns and Kyle Kress added two more. Kavanaugh Weyenberg had one touchdown reception from Bron Schaefer.
Linkoln Xiong finished the day 6-6 on extra points, with a 37-yard field goal.
The Red Raiders took the opening kickoff and leaned on aggressive play calling and a strong running attack to score the game’s first touchdown, although a blocked PAT left Pulaski with a 6-0 lead to open the game.
It wasn’t until late in the second quarter that Kaukauna finally got on the scoreboard with a 5-yard Aiden Reardon touchdown run, his ninth of the season.
A Linkoln Xiong extra point gave the Ghosts the lead at 7-6. Kaukauna’s defense stiffened, forcing a three-and-out and giving the offense the ball with 2:14 in the half.
That drive led to a Xiong 37-yard field goal to push the Ghosts’ lead to 10-6 at the half.
The Ghosts shook off any rust at halftime, and with a Reardon 61-yard touchdown run to cap the opening drive, put the Ghosts up 17-6.
A fumble recovery on Pulaski’s next possession put Kaukauna on the Red Raiders 21-yard line, but the Ghosts came up short on a 4th and 2 and turned the ball back over to Pulaski.
That’s when the defense stepped up again, with Luke Tetzlaff forcing a fumble recovered by Reed Wittman, leading to Reardon’s third touchdown of the game and pushing the lead to 24-6.
Kaukauna added another touchdown with a Kyle Kress run late in the third quarter, putting the Ghosts up 31-6 at the end of 3.
But Pulaski wasn’t done yet, opening the 4th quarter with a 63-yard fourth-down run to close the gap to 31-13.
The Ghosts responded with a two-yard Schaefer to Kavanaugh Weyenberg touchdown pass pushing the lead back up to 38-13.
Later in the 4th, Kress scored his second touchdown of the night, putting the game away at 45-13.
