September 24, 2021 – Hartford, WI – Heading into week six of the 2021 football season, both Hartford and Nicolet are near the top the North Shore Conference we cross over the unofficial mid-point of the season.
As such, this is going to be a vital match that will play a key role in the conference pecking order and who plays where come late October when the playoffs begin. The Orioles (4-1, 3-0) come into this game having survived a shootout against Cedarburg last week, winning 49-32, including 35 points scored in the second half alone against the Bulldogs. Hartford’s lone season blemish came against Germantown on the road, losing 19-6 in week two of the season.
As for the Knights (4-1, 2-1), they won their last game handily with a 41-0 shutout of West Bend West, a nice rebound after suffering their only loss of the season to Whitefish Bay 35-6 the week prior (week 4).
Both teams play Homestead over the final three weeks of the season after this game, and have similar remaining schedules in terms of competition for their final three games, with the Orioles playing teams with a combined 7-8 record and the Knights playing teams whose combined season record is 7-6.
Hartford won last year’s game against Nicolet 27-12 and has not lost a regular season game to the Knights since the Orioles began constantly playing them as a conference opponent dating back to 2017.
Hartford comes into this game with the top offense in the North Shore Conference because of their top-tier rushing attack that has produced a conference best 1512 rushing yards, averaging 302 yards per game, and 20 rushing touchdowns on 208 rushing attempts.
The Orioles lead runner is senior AJ Pepin, who has 707 rushing yards and 8 rushing touchdowns on 85 runs. Pepin is also the team’s leading receiver with 8 catches for 149 yards and 1 touchdown reception. Junior running back Noah Deibert has also had a very good season running the ball, with 398 yards on 62 carries and 8 running touchdowns.
Nicolet is a far more balanced team offensively, scoring 7 touchdowns through the air and 12 on the ground. The Knights are fourth in the conference for total rushing, but also lead the conference in fumbles lost with three (although the Orioles have lost two fumbles this year).
The Knights offense goes through the Ott brothers, senior running back Braeden and sophomore quarterback Ben. Braeden Ott leads the team in rushing with 732 yards on 88 attempts and 9 rushing touchdowns. Ben Ott has passed for 371 yards, throwing 7 touchdowns, while also throwing 5 interceptions. He has had a great role in the Knights rushing attack too, with 232 rushing yards on 42 attempts and 1 rushing touchdown.
Defensively, both teams know how to force turnovers, as both the Knights and Orioles have forced four fumbles this season (the Knights have recovered just two, while the Orioles have recovered all four).
Furthermore, the Orioles have intercepted the ball a conference leading five times, with the Knights tallying up four picks this season. This means that whoever controls the ground game tempo and avoids mistakes should win this game.
