Bulldogs seek upbeat ending

West Allis - Continuing to play gamely right through to the end, the injury-riddled West Allis Central football team came up short against powerful Sussex Hamilton, 45-12.

"I really thought our defense held up pretty well considering," said Bulldogs coach Dax Rodriguez. "On the opening drive, they were heading in and held them to a field goal, but as has been the case most of the year, our offense struggled."

The Bulldogs (0-7) will close out their official regular season at home against Marquette (2-5) at 7 p.m. Oct. 12. The Hilltoppers have struggled mightily this season and will not be in the WIAA state playoffs for the first time in their history.

Rodriguez said that the Bulldogs are in the process of finalizing plans for a ninth game the weekend of Oct. 19.

Hamilton (5-1, 6-1), which can claim a share of the Greater Metro Conference title with a win against unbeaten Brookfield East (6-0, 7-0) on Friday, took a 24-0 lead on the Bulldogs and never looked back.

Central got a touchdown right before the half on a Will Konecny to Darren Walker 7-yard pass and then Konecny connected with Waige Fischer from 73 yards out in the fourth quarter. Konecny hit nine of 18 passes for 126 yards.

The Bulldogs could not contain likely all-state running back Drew Patterson, as he rambled for 254 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns for the Chargers.

Central entered the game having lost 10 players to injury throughout the season and then lost another this night. Rodriguez was pleased with the effort though.

"One thing I do know is that West Allis Central kids are not quitters," he said. "Everyone is disappointed in how things are turning out, but we do take a lot of pride in the fact that our kids do come out to play every week."