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Notre Dame quarterback Charlie Rotherham led the Tritons' second-half scoring surge.(Photo: File/Press-Gazette Media) Buy Photo



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There was no Hail Mary this time.


The Green Bay Notre Dame football team made sure of it.


The Tritons beat Green Bay Southwest 31-14 on Friday night, almost one year to the day that it suffered a shocking loss to the Trojans on a 35-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds.


Notre Dame got its revenge, and in the process also ended a four-game losing streak to Southwest.


It improved to 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the Fox River Classic Conference, which means it is now playoff eligible and can clinch a spot with one more win in the final three games.


"We were all heartbroken when it happened," Notre Dame senior running back Adam Wozney said of last year's loss to Southwest. "We really wanted to kind of get back at them. I felt like we got some more energy in that second half."


Which is what the Tritons needed. That and perhaps a motivating kick in the butt speech longtime coach John Nowak sometimes gives when his team isn't playing up to its potential.


Notre Dame scored 21 unanswered points in the second half after trailing 14-10 at the break, taking control behind a sturdy offensive line, the throwing of quarterback Charlie Rotherham and the running of Wozney, who was counted to pick up the slack when standout Jameson Verdegan left the game with a shoulder injury in the first half and didn't return.


The Tritons dominated field possession in the final 24 minutes, starting their first five drives of the second half in Trojans territory.


Rotherham put the Tritons ahead 17-14 with 5 minutes, 33 seconds left in the third quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Nick Martzahl. It's a duo that quickly has become one of the most dominating in the FRCC since Martzahl returned from a broken collarbone in Week 3.


Rotherham was at it again to start the fourth quarter, finding Wozney for an 8-yard TD and a 24-14 lead.


Wozney then put the game away with a 3-yard TD run that capped the scoring with 7:40 remaining.


So, what was the big difference between the first 24 minutes and the last 24?


"We didn't play very well in the first half," Nowak said. "We made some plays on defense or it could have been worse. I didn't think we were ready before the game. There was just something about it. I don't know. …they hadn't had a lot of success against this team, and I don't know if we were doubting ourselves or what.


"For this group, we challenged them pretty good at halftime. After the game I called them 'men.' Because they answered that challenge and they came out and played a great second half."


It certainly was a challenge Notre Dame needed to accept if it wanted to break the losing streak to Southwest.


The first half didn't go anywhere near as well as it hoped, although it got on the board first on an 82-yard interception return by Greg Young with 3:44 remaining in the first quarter.


Southwest tied the game with 40 seconds left in the opening quarter on a 1-yard keeper from junior quarterback Clayton Ladsten. Making matters worse for Notre Dame was the injury to Verdegen on the drive.


The Tritons reclaimed the lead on a 30-yard field goal from Vincent Pallini with 2:53 left in the half, although it appeared they might have had a TD taken away on their previous drive when Rotherham and Martzahl hooked up on a spectacular 30-yard pass on a third and long play.


The officials ruled Martzahl caught the ball out of bounds in the end zone, but television replays showed Martzahl might have gotten one foot down before going out.


Still, the Tritons had a chance to take a lead into halftime until Southwest marched down the field in the final minutes, capping a 7-play, 51-yard drive with a 21-yard TD pass from Ladsten to Graham Salo with 50 seconds remaining.


But everything turned Notre Dame's way soon after.


"Welcome to high school football," Southwest coach Pat Wallace said. "It's a game of momentum. I thought they lived the whole second half on our side of the field. Our poor defense, I think they had it probably 20 minutes of the 24 in the second half. You're not going to win a lot of games that way.


"They had a nice game plan. They ran the ball well inside. Their O-line honestly kind of pounded us physically."


Southwest entered the season with plans of focusing most of its offensive attack on veteran running backs Taylor Van Rite and Kieran Thomas, but neither was available against the Tritons. Thomas tore an anterior cruciate ligament in a knee against Ashwaubenon in Week 3 and is out for the season, while Van Rite injured a knee against Pulaski in Week 4 and has missed the last two games.


The Trojans (2-4, 2-3 FRCC) still have a chance at the playoffs, needing two wins in their final three games against Green Bay West, De Pere and Bay Port.


-- svenci@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter @scottvenci


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