Freedom Rallies Past Little Chute in Top-Two Division 4 Showdown

OriginalGlobal Sportscast deskSep 26, 2026 · 05:46 UTC

The short version

Top-ranked Freedom beat No. 2 Little Chute 49-29 behind Owen Henkel's 306 passing yards and four touchdowns.
Neenah's 21-14 win over Appleton North created a three-way tie atop the FVA with Kaukauna.
Kaukauna rallied from 27-7 down at halftime to defeat Fond du Lac 28-27.
Bay Port beat Appleton West 55-7; Hortonville, Winneconne, St. Mary Catholic and Coleman also won.

Owen Henkel threw for 306 yards and four scores as No. 1 Freedom beat second-ranked Little Chute 49-29 in the County N rivalry game, headlining Friday's Appleton-area results.

The marquee game of Friday night in the Appleton area matched the two highest-ranked teams in Division 4 of the Bound Wisconsin Football Coaches Association poll, and top-ranked Freedom handled No. 2 Little Chute 49-29 in the annual "County N" sign rivalry game. Quarterback Owen Henkel powered the Irish with 306 passing yards and four touchdown throws, connecting with Aidan Aerts from 63 yards, Will Clark from 41 and Charlie Micke on plays of 14 and 52 yards. Freedom improved to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the North Eastern Conference.

Freedom's George VanSchyndel added three rushing touchdowns on 23 carries for 101 yards, finding the end zone from 3, 1 and 11 yards out. Micke led the receiving corps with six catches for 108 yards. Little Chute, now 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference, got a standout performance from Andrew Davis, who returned kickoffs 95 and 88 yards for touchdowns.

Neenah knocked off Appleton North 21-14 behind Talon Fluette's 5-yard touchdown run in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. The Rockets moved to 3-3 overall and 3-1 in league play, pulling into a three-way tie with Appleton North and Kaukauna atop the FVA standings. Matthias Charles caught a 26-yard touchdown pass and Cooper Sieck ran one in from a yard out as Neenah built a 14-0 third-quarter lead; Sieck finished with 110 yards on 21 carries and Charles caught eight passes for 77 yards. Appleton North answered with Cole Hank's 64-yard interception return and Brock Struensee's 15-yard touchdown run, with Struensee adding 70 rushing yards on 13 attempts.

Kaukauna staged the night's biggest comeback, erasing a 27-7 halftime deficit to beat Fond du Lac 28-27. Ryan Carrel found Quentin Gustman on a 12-yard touchdown pass with under a minute to play to complete the rally for the Ghosts (4-2, 3-1 in the FVA). Muhammad Jobe scored on a 1-yard run and Carrel added a 3-yard touchdown run of his own. Fond du Lac (3-3, 2-2) was driven by Eli Michalkiewicz, who ran for touchdowns of 1, 1 and 49 yards and threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Guardian Harris.

Hortonville defeated Appleton East 38-14 at Pickett Field behind a three-touchdown night from Jack Holdren, who reached the end zone on runs of 10, 21 and 2 yards. Appleton East's Maks Chevalier caught a 68-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Hansen, and Evan Schmidt broke off a 59-yard scoring run.

Bay Port rolled past Appleton West 55-7, using a 28-point second quarter to take a 42-0 lead into halftime. Ryder Timmerman contributed two rushing touchdowns and a receiving score, while three Pirates quarterbacks combined to complete 13 of 15 passes for 189 yards. Appleton West's Connor Navis threw for 209 yards and a touchdown, but the Terrors managed minus-26 yards on the ground.

Winneconne held off Xavier 17-16 after the Hawks' late two-point conversion attempt failed. Carson Tylinski caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Porter Meach and also scored on a 17-yard run, with Ethan Bires adding a 22-yard field goal. Winneconne (6-0 overall, 4-0 in the Bay Conference) got touchdown receptions of 32 and 11 yards from Drew Lenz on throws from Henry Chase, plus a 30-yard field goal from Andrew Dorn.

In other action, Luke Fairweather's 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 3:14 left in the fourth quarter lifted St. Mary Catholic past New Holstein 16-13. Fairweather also hauled in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Tarver Trinkner, and Carter Pendergast connected on a 35-yard field goal for SMC (4-2, 3-1 in the Eastern Wisconsin Conference). Coleman improved to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the Northwoods Conference with a 61-12 win over Clintonville, getting two touchdown runs each from Kolton Peters and Wyatt Bieber along with scoring runs of 30 and 23 yards by Robert Lange.