Zimmerman wins in a rout, handing Mound Westonka its first loss

The theory known as Occam's razor boils down to this: When competing theories exist, the simplest solution is almost always the best.

Let's apply that to football.

Zimmerman, the No. 4 seed in the Class 4A, Section 6 playoffs, put a 42-14 walloping on top-seeded and undefeated Mound Westonka on Saturday at Haddorff Field on the White Hawks' campus.

Theories abounded: Mound Westonka (8-1) had a lengthier-than usual idle period, 10 days, since its last game; pressure had ramped up on the No. 3 team in Class 4A; Zimmerman, with two losses in a row heading into the playoffs, was criminally underrated.

All are likely valid, but let's take the Occam's razor approach: Zimmerman (7-3) was the better, more physical team.

"Throughout the year, we had some hiccups and some inconsistencies and some really good players," Zimmerman coach Tom Kish said. "We just ended up finding ourselves at the right time. We played some physical football, some fast football. We executed and we were fortunate enough to get the win."

Fortunate enough to have a pair of terrific running backs in Caden Spence and Matthew Freeberg.

Fortunate enough to have robust linemen who spent Saturday afternoon imposing their will.

And fortunate enough to be taken lightly, at least in the players' eyes.

"We came in with a chip on our shoulder," said Spence, a 6-2, 195-pound amalgam of size, speed and want-to. "We thought we were underrated and we wanted to show what we were about."

Spence scored five touchdowns — four rushing and one receiving — and racked up 211 yards of total offense: 170 rushing and 41 receiving. Freeberg, a slippery 175-pounder, had 10 carries for 114 yards and a 63-yard touchdown.

"They're both really special," Kish said. "We're really lucky to have them."

Neither would have made quite the impact without the work in the trenches by the Zimmerman linemen.

Offensively, they routinely gashed the Mound Westonka defense, most notably on the edges. They spearheaded a defense that forced six punts and stopped the White Hawks on downs four other times.

"They came out and played a physical style we haven't seen this year, and we didn't play our best," Mound Westonka coach Nick David said.