SOUTH WAYNE - Black Hawk senior Tanner Sweeney had a knack for making big plays Friday night as the Warriors rolled to a 61-13 win over Shullsburg.
Sweeney rushed for 195 yards on nine carries and scored two touchdowns to help the Warriors (4-0, 3-0 Six Rivers) stay unbeaten. Fellow senior Jayden Rufenacht had three touchdown runs.
"We have a good line," Sweeney said. "We count on them and they count on us to make plays. We have a whole bunch of guys who can make plays. It's not just one or two guys. We have four or five guys who can run the ball. The offensive line caused us to make big plays like that."
The Warriors scored on six of their first seven drives. The Warriors had 10 plays in the game that gained 20 yards or more.
"From the perspective of everyone watching and on the sideline, it looked like we took care of business," Black Hawk coach Cory Milz said. "We will have to watch the film to see the details. I know for the most part our kids played physical. The one thing we have to watch out for is we can't rest on our laurels and get inflated egos."
Early on, it was the Warriors' passing game that set the tone. Black Hawk junior Heath Butler hooked up with Tyler Peterson on a 23-yard TD pass. Black Hawk senior Brett Lovelace then tossed a pass to Brady Meythaler for a two-point conversion to give the Warriors an 8-0 lead early in the first quarter.
On Black Hawk's second possession, the Warriors went to a hurry-up offense and Butler completed 14- and 17-yard passes to Peterson on the drive. The Warriors' five-play, 66-yard drive, culminated in Butler's 26-yard TD pass to Lovelace to give the Warriors a 16-0 lead. Butler completed 7-of-8 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
Milz likes using a hurry-up offense to see how defenses will play against the spread.
"There are many reasons to do (a hurry-up offense)," Milz said. "We do it to jump-start our kids. When you play up-tempo your kids stop thinking and just play. The second reason we do it is to give other teams something to prepare for. They are still great in running our veer and split veer plays. We like to be balanced. We feel like if they stop one part of our game, we feel like we can attack them with another part of our game."
Rufenacht bolted for a 43-yard TD run at the end of the first quarter to give the Warriors a 22-0 lead. The Warriors then capped a five-play, 66-yard drive, with Rufenacht scoring on an 11-yard run. Butler tossed a two-point conversion pass to Peterson to give the Warriors a 30-0 lead. One of the big plays that kept the drive alive was Butler's 24-yard shovel pass to Shawn Woodruff.
Sweeney broke a tackle and rumbled for a 67-yard TD with 4:55 left in the second quarter to give the Warriors a 36-0 lead.
The Miners found some success late in the second quarter running the option. Shullsburg quarterback Brett Matye had a 47-yard run on the option late in the second quarter. The Miners were threatening, but were turned away when Black Hawk senior Seth Butler recovered a fumble. The Warriors cashed in on the turnover when Sweeney raced for a 79-yard TD run to give the Warriors a 43-0 lead with 2:08 to go in the second quarter.
In the second half, the Warriors picked up right where they left off. Sweeney had a 20-yard run on the first offensive play. Rufenacht scored on a 14-yard TD run to give the Warriors a 49-0 lead early in the third quarter. Matye tossed a 30-yard TD pass to Brant Gille to wipe out the Warriors' shutout bid. Black Hawk sophomore Chase Stietz scored on a 1-yard plunge and sophomore Jacob Quinn had a 9-yard TD run on the option to cap the scoring for the Warriors.
Despite being unbeaten, Milz said besides Cuba City quarterback Preston Droessler, the Warriors haven't faced a team with a lot of speed.
"We haven't faced any type of speed like we will see from Pecatonica-Argyle and Potosi," Milz said. "The holes that open we can close down quick with teams that don't have speed. When you have speed, it changes the game on the field."
Black Hawk will play at Cassville Friday, Sept. 20 before a homecoming game against Potosi Saturday, Sept. 28 and then at Pecatonica-Argyle. Black Hawk won't be looking past Cassville after the Comets defeated the Warriors two years ago and ruined their conference title aspirations.
"They (Cassville) have a lot of seniors who had to start as freshman," Milz said. "For three years, they got their teeth kicked in. Now it's their time for some revenge. The loss at Cassville two years ago cost us a conference championship. It's not the same Cassville team we will play."
Sweeney rushed for 195 yards on nine carries and scored two touchdowns to help the Warriors (4-0, 3-0 Six Rivers) stay unbeaten. Fellow senior Jayden Rufenacht had three touchdown runs.
"We have a good line," Sweeney said. "We count on them and they count on us to make plays. We have a whole bunch of guys who can make plays. It's not just one or two guys. We have four or five guys who can run the ball. The offensive line caused us to make big plays like that."
The Warriors scored on six of their first seven drives. The Warriors had 10 plays in the game that gained 20 yards or more.
"From the perspective of everyone watching and on the sideline, it looked like we took care of business," Black Hawk coach Cory Milz said. "We will have to watch the film to see the details. I know for the most part our kids played physical. The one thing we have to watch out for is we can't rest on our laurels and get inflated egos."
Early on, it was the Warriors' passing game that set the tone. Black Hawk junior Heath Butler hooked up with Tyler Peterson on a 23-yard TD pass. Black Hawk senior Brett Lovelace then tossed a pass to Brady Meythaler for a two-point conversion to give the Warriors an 8-0 lead early in the first quarter.
On Black Hawk's second possession, the Warriors went to a hurry-up offense and Butler completed 14- and 17-yard passes to Peterson on the drive. The Warriors' five-play, 66-yard drive, culminated in Butler's 26-yard TD pass to Lovelace to give the Warriors a 16-0 lead. Butler completed 7-of-8 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
Milz likes using a hurry-up offense to see how defenses will play against the spread.
"There are many reasons to do (a hurry-up offense)," Milz said. "We do it to jump-start our kids. When you play up-tempo your kids stop thinking and just play. The second reason we do it is to give other teams something to prepare for. They are still great in running our veer and split veer plays. We like to be balanced. We feel like if they stop one part of our game, we feel like we can attack them with another part of our game."
Rufenacht bolted for a 43-yard TD run at the end of the first quarter to give the Warriors a 22-0 lead. The Warriors then capped a five-play, 66-yard drive, with Rufenacht scoring on an 11-yard run. Butler tossed a two-point conversion pass to Peterson to give the Warriors a 30-0 lead. One of the big plays that kept the drive alive was Butler's 24-yard shovel pass to Shawn Woodruff.
Sweeney broke a tackle and rumbled for a 67-yard TD with 4:55 left in the second quarter to give the Warriors a 36-0 lead.
The Miners found some success late in the second quarter running the option. Shullsburg quarterback Brett Matye had a 47-yard run on the option late in the second quarter. The Miners were threatening, but were turned away when Black Hawk senior Seth Butler recovered a fumble. The Warriors cashed in on the turnover when Sweeney raced for a 79-yard TD run to give the Warriors a 43-0 lead with 2:08 to go in the second quarter.
In the second half, the Warriors picked up right where they left off. Sweeney had a 20-yard run on the first offensive play. Rufenacht scored on a 14-yard TD run to give the Warriors a 49-0 lead early in the third quarter. Matye tossed a 30-yard TD pass to Brant Gille to wipe out the Warriors' shutout bid. Black Hawk sophomore Chase Stietz scored on a 1-yard plunge and sophomore Jacob Quinn had a 9-yard TD run on the option to cap the scoring for the Warriors.
Despite being unbeaten, Milz said besides Cuba City quarterback Preston Droessler, the Warriors haven't faced a team with a lot of speed.
"We haven't faced any type of speed like we will see from Pecatonica-Argyle and Potosi," Milz said. "The holes that open we can close down quick with teams that don't have speed. When you have speed, it changes the game on the field."
Black Hawk will play at Cassville Friday, Sept. 20 before a homecoming game against Potosi Saturday, Sept. 28 and then at Pecatonica-Argyle. Black Hawk won't be looking past Cassville after the Comets defeated the Warriors two years ago and ruined their conference title aspirations.
"They (Cassville) have a lot of seniors who had to start as freshman," Milz said. "For three years, they got their teeth kicked in. Now it's their time for some revenge. The loss at Cassville two years ago cost us a conference championship. It's not the same Cassville team we will play."
