WIAA Football Playoffs, Level 3
No. 3 seed Darlington (10-1) at No. 1 seed Lancaster (11-0), Saturday, 3 p.m.
DARLINGTON - The Redbirds football team has found itself among the state's elite in Division 5. Darlington is one of just eight teams remaining with a shot at a state championship.
"I told the team today that there is a reason that we have been voted so high all year," Darlington football coach Scott Zywicki said Thursday, talking about the Redbirds' No. 7 ranking in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll.
The Redbirds (10-1) go on the road Saturday to Lancaster (11-0) for the chance to play in the state semifinals. The Flying Arrows, who have won the second most titles in state history (six), have averaged 40 points per game this season while allowing just 15.6 on defense. In its 11 games, Lancaster has scored more than 40 points nine times.
"We're not going to be able to slow them down completely. We're just going to have to slow them down enough to give ourselves a chance offensively to stick with them," Zywicki said.
Darlington has averaged 36.7 points per game on offense and has allowed just 13.6 points defensively. The Redbirds' only loss was to Cuba City in Week 5, 20-14. Lancaster has topped the Cubans twice this season, 41-10 in Week 1, and 50-21 in the opening round of the playoffs.
"(Lancaster) runs basically what we would call a 3-3 or a 3-5 defense. They are going to blitz a ton," Zywicki said. "It's just a matter of catching them in some blitzes and we can have some monster plays. It's a high-risk, high-reward defense. We're just going to see how we can run our regular offense. If that doesn't work we'll go to shotgun."
Darlington's offense has been slightly tweaked since the beginning of the season. Senior fullback Aaron Stauffacher has battled foot injuries, and sophomore Seth Rowe has taken over as the lead blocker.
"He's learning to read his blocks better. He's an aggressive kid, which is why we really liked him even though he's a sophomore. He's a load and he'll work hard," Zywicki said. Rowe ran for 110 yards in the Redbirds' 34-14 win over Pardeeville in last week's Level 2 game.
Lancaster, ranked No. 3 in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll, has its own offensive weapons. The option offense has produced a star in senior QB Nathan Budack, who has gained more than 730 yards rushing and 918 yards passing. Budack has been involved in 24 touchdowns. Junior running back Trevor Landon has rushed for more than 1,300 yards and 26 touchdowns.
"They are going to try to pound the ball to their fullback and if that doesn't work and they can't commit to the run, then they will pull up and throw the ball," Zywicki said. "Their high-powered offense is the biggest reason as to why they score 40 points a game."
Because of the lack of lights, Darlington has been used to playing afternoon games when at home in the regular season. Getting to play on the road in the third round of playoffs in the sunlight means familiarity.
"I wanted the afternoon game, I didn't want to have to face the option at night. It's hard enough to read and react to it, especially at night," Zywicki said. "It's supposed to be a beautiful day and hopefully we can bring a lot of fans out."
One downside to not having lights means limited practice time. While nearly every team can practice under the lights late in the season, Darlington only can stay out as long as the sun is in the sky.
"The first night of practice this week we were in the gym going over plays and things like that. You can't hit a lot in there, but you can make sure the assignments are taken care of," Zywicki said. "Tonight (Thursday) we went until about 5:30 and then we had to pull the plug on it so to speak. And I don't want to practice too long, given that we have an extra day this week."
The short practices just may be all worth it if the Redbirds can upset one of the state's top programs and move into the semifinal round.
"We've been telling the guys that they need to believe that we can win. If they don't believe, then we have no chance. We know that if we stay in the game with them, who knows what will happen?" Zywicki said. "We just have to make sure that we are the aggressor. We can't be afraid of anybody."
"I told the team today that there is a reason that we have been voted so high all year," Darlington football coach Scott Zywicki said Thursday, talking about the Redbirds' No. 7 ranking in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll.
The Redbirds (10-1) go on the road Saturday to Lancaster (11-0) for the chance to play in the state semifinals. The Flying Arrows, who have won the second most titles in state history (six), have averaged 40 points per game this season while allowing just 15.6 on defense. In its 11 games, Lancaster has scored more than 40 points nine times.
"We're not going to be able to slow them down completely. We're just going to have to slow them down enough to give ourselves a chance offensively to stick with them," Zywicki said.
Darlington has averaged 36.7 points per game on offense and has allowed just 13.6 points defensively. The Redbirds' only loss was to Cuba City in Week 5, 20-14. Lancaster has topped the Cubans twice this season, 41-10 in Week 1, and 50-21 in the opening round of the playoffs.
"(Lancaster) runs basically what we would call a 3-3 or a 3-5 defense. They are going to blitz a ton," Zywicki said. "It's just a matter of catching them in some blitzes and we can have some monster plays. It's a high-risk, high-reward defense. We're just going to see how we can run our regular offense. If that doesn't work we'll go to shotgun."
Darlington's offense has been slightly tweaked since the beginning of the season. Senior fullback Aaron Stauffacher has battled foot injuries, and sophomore Seth Rowe has taken over as the lead blocker.
"He's learning to read his blocks better. He's an aggressive kid, which is why we really liked him even though he's a sophomore. He's a load and he'll work hard," Zywicki said. Rowe ran for 110 yards in the Redbirds' 34-14 win over Pardeeville in last week's Level 2 game.
Lancaster, ranked No. 3 in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll, has its own offensive weapons. The option offense has produced a star in senior QB Nathan Budack, who has gained more than 730 yards rushing and 918 yards passing. Budack has been involved in 24 touchdowns. Junior running back Trevor Landon has rushed for more than 1,300 yards and 26 touchdowns.
"They are going to try to pound the ball to their fullback and if that doesn't work and they can't commit to the run, then they will pull up and throw the ball," Zywicki said. "Their high-powered offense is the biggest reason as to why they score 40 points a game."
Because of the lack of lights, Darlington has been used to playing afternoon games when at home in the regular season. Getting to play on the road in the third round of playoffs in the sunlight means familiarity.
"I wanted the afternoon game, I didn't want to have to face the option at night. It's hard enough to read and react to it, especially at night," Zywicki said. "It's supposed to be a beautiful day and hopefully we can bring a lot of fans out."
One downside to not having lights means limited practice time. While nearly every team can practice under the lights late in the season, Darlington only can stay out as long as the sun is in the sky.
"The first night of practice this week we were in the gym going over plays and things like that. You can't hit a lot in there, but you can make sure the assignments are taken care of," Zywicki said. "Tonight (Thursday) we went until about 5:30 and then we had to pull the plug on it so to speak. And I don't want to practice too long, given that we have an extra day this week."
The short practices just may be all worth it if the Redbirds can upset one of the state's top programs and move into the semifinal round.
"We've been telling the guys that they need to believe that we can win. If they don't believe, then we have no chance. We know that if we stay in the game with them, who knows what will happen?" Zywicki said. "We just have to make sure that we are the aggressor. We can't be afraid of anybody."
