Senior Leads Hamilton Past Non-Conference Rival Mukwonago

Sometimes sibling rivalry can be a good thing.

Just ask John Damato.

The Hamilton head football coach saw senior Nick Patterson one-up his little brother Drew’s performance from last week (14 carries, 147 yards and one touchdown) by rushing for 130 yards on 13 carries and four touchdowns in a 35-14 win over Mukwonago on Thursday night.

“I think that was a little firecracker underneath (Nick),” Damato joked after the game. “He’s a shifty runner, he runs for hard yards as well and we’re blessed to have him.

“He’s a returning second-team all conference pick from last year and he’s all of that this year. I can tell you that much.”

After a scoreless first half, Patterson got the scoring underway on a seven-yard run that capped an 80-yard drive by the Chargers with just over five minutes left in the first half.

Hamilton got the ball back in Mukwonago’s territory just two minutes later and quickly marched down to make it 14-0, this time on an eight-yard run by Patterson.

“It was all in the trenches,” Patterson said. “Offense (and) defensive line, they set the tone. We were getting back into (Mukwonago’s) defensive backfield and offensive backfield and we were just getting the push up front and that’s what you need to run behind.”

After an overall even battle in the first half, the Chargers came out and quickly broke the game open in the third quarter.

Already up two scores, Hamilton took the opening kickoff and methodically marched 63 yards in nine plays for another score, this time a one-yard burst by Patterson.

The Indians then fumbled the ball on their first play from scrimmage in the second half, handing Hamilton the ball on the 33-yard line.

Senior quarterback Matt Judson hit classmate J.J. Flor on the left sideline on the very next play to blow the game open at 28-0 with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter.

“When the wheels started coming off, we just wilted a little bit,” Mukwonago head coach Bill Schulte said. “We’ve got to figure out as a coaching staff how to keep our mental focus up and not get so flat.”

Patterson found the back of the end zone with 29 seconds left in the third quarter on an 11-yard scamper to close out the scoring for the Chargers.

With mostly subs playing in the game’s final quarter for both squads, the Indians finally got on the scoreboard with a pair of late touchdowns but it wasn’t enough to overcome Hamilton’s powerful running game.

“That’s what we do here,” Damato said. “We want to establish the run, mix it up with a little play-action pass, do a little three-step and take a couple shots. That’s what you saw here tonight. That’s our M.O. and that’s what we’ve been doing and that’s what we’re best at so we’re going to stick with it.”

The result was somewhat of a surprise for those who remember this series from previous years.

Two years ago, these two teams played three overtimes before Hamilton finally won, 32-29.

Then last season Mukwonago looked to have gotten its revenge and won the game after scoring a go-ahead touchdown with just 22 seconds left on the clock. However, the Chargers returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards for a score to steal that game from the Indians.

“This game was a lot closer than the score indicated,” Damato said. “We want to keep these guys on the schedule. It’s a great rivalry, it has been for the past three years, it dates back to the Braveland Conference, back in my day, but I think it’s a great game.”