EAST TROY - Evansville-Albany senior Michael Johnson rushed for 206 yards and scored five touchdowns as the Blue Devils won a shootout against East Troy 42-32 Friday night to win the Rock Valley North Conference championship.
Evansville-Albany (6-2, 5-2 Rock Valley North) finished tied atop the conference with Jefferson and East Troy. However, due to conference tiebreakers, the Blue Devils earned the conference title based on their record against conference teams they lost to. The Blue Devils lost to Big Foot and Jefferson, which had a combined conference record of 12-2.
"Any time you win a conference championship in the Rock Valley North it's important," Evansville-Albany coach Ron Grovesteen said. "After 43 years, I have been in a lot of shootouts. This team never gave up. It's great to have Albany back. We stayed in the game and made the plays to win it."
Evansville-Albany quarterback David Jenkins was 9-of-19 passing for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Isaiah Shell caught six passes for 114 yards.
The Blue Devils had four turnovers (two fumbles and one interception) but were able to pull out the win even though the Trojans run for 254 yards.
Black Hawk 50, Pec-Argyle 10
SOUTH WAYNE - One look at the box score in Friday's regular season finale will show that Black Hawk may have tremendous momentum going into the WIAA playoffs.
The Warriors scored seven points in the first and second quarters, 10 in the third and exploded for 26 in the final frame, en route to defeating Pecatonica-Argyle 50-10 at home Friday night.
Black Hawk coach Cory Milz was pleased with his team's performance all across the board, especially their intensity.
"They played just an incredibly spirited game," he said. "I thought our defensive pursuit was excellent. Offensively I thought our line did really well. We were real pleased with how physical our team was tonight."
The Warriors (5-2 Six Rivers) were led by junior Tanner Sweeney who racked up 155 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just 17 carries. Fellow junior Jayden Rufenacht also had a big game on the ground, amassing 130 yards on just two carries and scoring a touchdown.
Senior quarterback Merik Meythaler completed three of six passes for 51 yards, connecting with senior Cory Rupnow for a touchdown.
The Vikings (5-2 Six Rivers) were led by junior Alec Treuthardt who rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Senior quarterback Jon Hendrickson was 15 of 27 for 182 yards but threw two interceptions. Black Hawk's Cuyler Meier and Dakota Meier hauled in the two picks.
Milz was pleased with how his defense was able to contain the experienced and talented Hendrickson.
"He started for three years. He understands their offense. I thought he had a good game," Milz said. "I thought our kids did a great job of containing him in the running game. That was a good football team."
Milz hopes the big final game will help give his team valuable confidence heading into the playoffs.
"Confidence is huge with young kids. If they think they can do something, that's a pretty dangerous thing," he said. "I think this game helps to build real confidence in our kids, which could make them a dangerous team."
N.G.-Monticello 49, Belleville 0
NEW GLARUS - The New Glarus-Monticello football team rolled to a 49-0 win over Belleville and crushed any hopes the Wildcats had of making the playoffs.
"It's nice to win a rivalry game," New Glarus-Monticello coach Desie Breadon said. "The boys are peaking at the right time."
New Glarus-Monticello junior Patrick Elzen rushed for 91 yards on three carries and scored three touchdowns (two receiving). The Knights cruised to the victory despite committing four turnovers (three fumbles and one interception). New Glarus-Monticello senior quarterback Gabe Noyce tossed a 35-yard TD pass to Elzen in the first quarter to give the Glarner Knights an early first quarter lead. Elzen scored on a 73-yard run and the Knights recorded a safety when the Wildcats had a snap go out of the end zone to give the Knights a 16-0 first quarter lead.
Noyce, who completed 5 of 8 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns, scored on a 14-yard run in the second quarter. Spencer Jones, who rushed for 79 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns, had a 10-yard TD run to give the Knights a 30-0 halftime lead. Noyce connected with Elzen on a 58-yard TD pass in the third quarter. Casey Severson had a 9-yard TD run and Jones added a 16-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to put the Wildcats away.
The Knights' defense limited the Wildcats to just 98 total yards and only 60 on the ground.
"We knew they have some offensive threats," Breadon said. "We bottled them up."
Brodhead-Juda 21, Parkview 7
ORFORDVILLE - The Cardinals will surge into the playoffs on a five-game winning streak after dashing any hopes the Vikings had of qualifying for the postseason.
Brodhead-Juda (5-3, 5-2 Rock Valley South) racked up 228 total rushing yards. Brodhead-Juda senior Hunter Colden rushed for 69 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns.
"It's probably the best Parkview team we have seen in a while," Brodhead-Juda coach Jim Matthys said. "We didn't play really well in the first half. The kids played through some adversity. We came back and played better in the second half."
Fennimore 27, Darlington 0
FENNIMORE - Turnovers haunted the Redbirds in a SWAL loss to the Golden Eagles.
Darlington sophomore quarterback Cole McDonald was 9-of-19 passing for 119 yards with two interceptions. The Eagles limited the Redbirds to just 6 total rushing yards. Darlington's Jason Singer caught three passes for 56 yards.
With the loss, Darlington drops to 4-4, 4-3 SWAL.
Evansville-Albany (6-2, 5-2 Rock Valley North) finished tied atop the conference with Jefferson and East Troy. However, due to conference tiebreakers, the Blue Devils earned the conference title based on their record against conference teams they lost to. The Blue Devils lost to Big Foot and Jefferson, which had a combined conference record of 12-2.
"Any time you win a conference championship in the Rock Valley North it's important," Evansville-Albany coach Ron Grovesteen said. "After 43 years, I have been in a lot of shootouts. This team never gave up. It's great to have Albany back. We stayed in the game and made the plays to win it."
Evansville-Albany quarterback David Jenkins was 9-of-19 passing for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Isaiah Shell caught six passes for 114 yards.
The Blue Devils had four turnovers (two fumbles and one interception) but were able to pull out the win even though the Trojans run for 254 yards.
Black Hawk 50, Pec-Argyle 10
SOUTH WAYNE - One look at the box score in Friday's regular season finale will show that Black Hawk may have tremendous momentum going into the WIAA playoffs.
The Warriors scored seven points in the first and second quarters, 10 in the third and exploded for 26 in the final frame, en route to defeating Pecatonica-Argyle 50-10 at home Friday night.
Black Hawk coach Cory Milz was pleased with his team's performance all across the board, especially their intensity.
"They played just an incredibly spirited game," he said. "I thought our defensive pursuit was excellent. Offensively I thought our line did really well. We were real pleased with how physical our team was tonight."
The Warriors (5-2 Six Rivers) were led by junior Tanner Sweeney who racked up 155 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just 17 carries. Fellow junior Jayden Rufenacht also had a big game on the ground, amassing 130 yards on just two carries and scoring a touchdown.
Senior quarterback Merik Meythaler completed three of six passes for 51 yards, connecting with senior Cory Rupnow for a touchdown.
The Vikings (5-2 Six Rivers) were led by junior Alec Treuthardt who rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Senior quarterback Jon Hendrickson was 15 of 27 for 182 yards but threw two interceptions. Black Hawk's Cuyler Meier and Dakota Meier hauled in the two picks.
Milz was pleased with how his defense was able to contain the experienced and talented Hendrickson.
"He started for three years. He understands their offense. I thought he had a good game," Milz said. "I thought our kids did a great job of containing him in the running game. That was a good football team."
Milz hopes the big final game will help give his team valuable confidence heading into the playoffs.
"Confidence is huge with young kids. If they think they can do something, that's a pretty dangerous thing," he said. "I think this game helps to build real confidence in our kids, which could make them a dangerous team."
N.G.-Monticello 49, Belleville 0
NEW GLARUS - The New Glarus-Monticello football team rolled to a 49-0 win over Belleville and crushed any hopes the Wildcats had of making the playoffs.
"It's nice to win a rivalry game," New Glarus-Monticello coach Desie Breadon said. "The boys are peaking at the right time."
New Glarus-Monticello junior Patrick Elzen rushed for 91 yards on three carries and scored three touchdowns (two receiving). The Knights cruised to the victory despite committing four turnovers (three fumbles and one interception). New Glarus-Monticello senior quarterback Gabe Noyce tossed a 35-yard TD pass to Elzen in the first quarter to give the Glarner Knights an early first quarter lead. Elzen scored on a 73-yard run and the Knights recorded a safety when the Wildcats had a snap go out of the end zone to give the Knights a 16-0 first quarter lead.
Noyce, who completed 5 of 8 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns, scored on a 14-yard run in the second quarter. Spencer Jones, who rushed for 79 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns, had a 10-yard TD run to give the Knights a 30-0 halftime lead. Noyce connected with Elzen on a 58-yard TD pass in the third quarter. Casey Severson had a 9-yard TD run and Jones added a 16-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to put the Wildcats away.
The Knights' defense limited the Wildcats to just 98 total yards and only 60 on the ground.
"We knew they have some offensive threats," Breadon said. "We bottled them up."
Brodhead-Juda 21, Parkview 7
ORFORDVILLE - The Cardinals will surge into the playoffs on a five-game winning streak after dashing any hopes the Vikings had of qualifying for the postseason.
Brodhead-Juda (5-3, 5-2 Rock Valley South) racked up 228 total rushing yards. Brodhead-Juda senior Hunter Colden rushed for 69 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns.
"It's probably the best Parkview team we have seen in a while," Brodhead-Juda coach Jim Matthys said. "We didn't play really well in the first half. The kids played through some adversity. We came back and played better in the second half."
Fennimore 27, Darlington 0
FENNIMORE - Turnovers haunted the Redbirds in a SWAL loss to the Golden Eagles.
Darlington sophomore quarterback Cole McDonald was 9-of-19 passing for 119 yards with two interceptions. The Eagles limited the Redbirds to just 6 total rushing yards. Darlington's Jason Singer caught three passes for 56 yards.
With the loss, Darlington drops to 4-4, 4-3 SWAL.
