Leading by only two at halftime, Sparta was searching for a second-half spark to help them pull away in their season opener against Black River Falls. They got just that with a timely turnover and a dominant rushing attack.
Behind a 274-yard, four-touchdown performance from junior Hunter Huntington, the Spartans (1-0) began their 2026 season on a winning note by beating Black River Falls (0-1) 40-24 this past Friday at Memorial Field in Sparta.
Very pleased with our effort,” said Sparta head coach Nick Kingeter. “We had to overcome adversity. I liked the way we finished the game in the fourth.”
Senior Parker Benish’s five-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter helped propel the Spartans to a 14-0 lead, though the Tigers were quick to answer with Braylon Backaus twice finding fellow BRF senior Mason Meimann on touchdown passes in the second quarter to whittle their deficit to 14-12 at halftime.
Black River Falls had a chance to take their first lead of the night with a drive deep into Spartan territory in third quarter, only for sophomore Anders Tripp to come up with a huge interception in the end zone to quash the threat.
Sparta followed with an 80-yard statement scoring drive, capped off by Huntington’s first of three touchdown runs in the second half. Benish also added another touchdown run as the Spartans pulled away for a 16-point victory.
In addition to Huntington’s 274 yards on 27 carries, junior Simon Schmitz added 62 yards and senior quarterback Everett Laufenberg tacked on 47 yards on the ground. All told, the Sparta rushing attack piled up 409 yards with an average of 8.2 yards per carry.
“Hunter is a patient back. He lets the blocks happen and reads well off those,” Kingeter said. “Over 400 rushing yards as a team is an effort from everyone — line, wide receivers, tight ends. Our line was able to make some great holes. I liked the way we communicated up front.”
Laufenberg completed 6 of 12 passes for 101 yards and an interception, with junior Lucas Walley making two catches for 62 yards. Defensively, Huntington had a team-high 13 total tackles while Tripp and junior Grant Ebert each came down with an interception.
Though Kingeter pointed to turnovers on offense and crisper tackling on defense as areas of emphasis coming out of the team’s season opener, he was pleased with the poise the Spartans showed in closing out Friday’s win.
“The way the boys finished the game as a team,” Kingeter said. “Lots of first-time varsity snaps, so to stretch the lead in the second half was a great experience for them to earn it.”
Up next
Sparta continues non-conference play with another Coulee Conference opponent, hosting the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau Red Hawks (0-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. G-E-T is coming off a 41-6 loss to Mondovi in their first game under new head coach Dan Henken.
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