Franchise ResourcesVenom defeat Hitmen 14-0 in the 2010 Hall of Fame Game
Franklin, WI – The pre-season battle between the Milwaukee Venom and the Muskego Hitmen was billed to be more than just a pre-season game and more then just a pre-season game it was! The day’s festivities included the induction of the IFL Class of 2010 Hall of Fame and a fight that looked more like two teams positioning themselves to make a playoff run, than just a pre-season game!
The Milwaukee Venom started the game on offense, taking the ball all the way down to the Hitmen 19 yard line, but ended up coming away with no points against the stingy Muskego defense. On the Hitmen's first drive, there looked to be some miscommunication and the Hitmen found themselves in a three and out situation. On the punt, the Hitmen would get another chance as the Venom was called for twelve men on the field. After taking the ball to midfield, the Hitmen found themselves moving backwards and were forced to punt again. The Milwaukee Venom offense came out fired up but disaster struck on the first play of the drive, fumble! Muskego looked poised but ended up getting called for twelve men on the field, giving Milwaukee the ball back and new life.
The Venom took advantage of it and walked downfield, when from the Hitmen fourteen yard line we saw the first points of this defensive struggle hit the scoreboard. Venom WR #15 Nick Bekeris found himself on the ground after a sliding catch and a Hitmen defender in close range. As the defender closed in, Nick somehow got back to his feet, spun around, broke a tackle, and made a dash into the endzone! Coming back with something to prove, Muskego drove the ensuing kickoff back to midfield, but once again were forced to punt. On third down from scrimmage, Muskego came away with a big interception by CB #1, giving them the ball back! Milwaukee's defense, now with their backs to the wall, pinned their ears back and forced a Muskego fumble on the very next play! After trading possessions again, the Venom worked their way downfield, but to no avail as another interception was picked off by Muskego! With twenty seven seconds left in the half and on third down from Milwaukee's thirty yard line, LB #28 Andy Kozlowski came away with a huge sack pushing the Hitmen out of scoring range leaving the score at Venom 7 - Hitmen 0.
The third quarter started with the Hitmen getting the ball, but was forced to punt in another third and out situation. After trading possessions, the Venom ended up with the ball on their own 19 yard line. A big pass was thrown and an untimely pass interference was called on Muskego's aggressive defense, which seemed to breathe life back into Milwaukee's offense, giving them the ball on the Muskego twenty two yard line. On the very next play, big FB #25 Eric Hansen saw a lane the size of Kentucky open up as he ran the distance and broke two tackles on his way into the endzone! With eight minutes left to go in the third quarter, Venom 14 - Muskego 0. The score seemed to fuel Milwaukee's defense who forced yet another three and out situation from Muskego. Feeding off of one another’s fire, Milwaukee seemed to be firing on all cylinders as they took the ball all the way down to the one yard line. Muskego, finding their backs against the wall again and not wanting to allow another score, stepped up and quickly landed on the fumbled exchange on a Venom run play.
From the one yard line, Milwaukee's defense could smell a safety, but settled for a Hitmen three and out. After the punt, the Venom worked their way down to the eighteen yard line again when Muskego's defense started to tighten up and came away with another interception! With all this defensive play, the Hitmen offense seemed to finally get it together and traveled all the way down to the Venom seven yard line. A pass play from Muskego gave the Milwaukee defenders a chance to push the ball back and push back they did. Another big sack put Muskego on the seventeen yard line as they called for a timeout with just 0:09 left in the game. Attempting a reverse play seemed to be a good call on Milwaukee's speedy defense, but Muskego ended up loosing another fourteen yards and along with it the game.
These two franchises have the longest standing rivalry in the league. Their proximity adds fuel to the fire and offseason developments (head coach Carter Robbins was hired by Muskego from Milwaukee) makes things more interesting between these two playoff powerhouses. Both teams showed class and poise during the heated game and this was just the preseason!
