No. 4 UW-La Crosse readies for undefeated, 12th-ranked Aurora, coached by former Packer Don Beebe

Some teams have a swagger about them, that exudes confidence.

For the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team, they have an “it” factor that coach can read, which shows him the team is ready for its upcoming game. Swagger, however, wouldn’t be the best way to describe it.

In fact, some coaches might even frown on the behavior, but UW-L coach Matt Janus knows his team and saw this antic heading into the 62-7, playoff win over Minnesota Morris last weekend.

“I judge how we’re going to play based on how goofy we are on Friday,” Janus said. “As the week goes on they get a little confidence and get loose. Last Friday, they were goofing off a lot and I thought we might play pretty well.”

Now, the fourth-ranked, top-seeded Eagles (10-1) get to host unbeaten, No. 12 Aurora in Round 2 of the Division III playoffs Saturday — a game that will stream on WKTY, beginning at 11:45 a.m.

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The Spartans (11-0) have scored 60 or more six times this season.

Janus was impressed with Aurora freshman quarterback Tyler Adkins, who was making his first career start in last week’s 20-7 Round 1 win over Coe. The Spartans starter is out for the season with nerve damage in his leg.

“To lose their quarterback, and to not have any drop with the freshman coming in and how his arm looked, they’re a really good team,” Janus said.

Adkins was 18 of 21 for 264 yards in the first half. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound freshman did throw two interceptions on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter but finished 26 of 40 for 314 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown.

Prior to last week, Adkins had thrown four passes the entire season.

Former Packers wide receiver, Don Beebe, is the Aurora coach, and had this to say about the performance.

“I told the joke at halftime, ‘It’s the best performance I’ve ever seen by a 15-year-old kid,’” Beebe said. “He looks 15, but he played like Brett Favre. I’ve seen that kind of performance from No. 4.”

With a backup QB, the Eagles, defensively, will key on trying to slow 5-10, 195-pound senior, Jhe’Quay Chretin, who has rushed 190 times for 1,311 yards (6.9 avg.) and 17 touchdowns on the year.

Aurora handed Chretin the ball 32 times for 90 yards and a touchdown in Round 1.

The Spartans also have two wide receivers with a combined 27 touchdown receptions. How they factor, however, will depend on how Adkins does in his second-ever game.

— By Drew Kelly, WKTYSports.com