DARLINGTON - Necedah football players placed their school flag on Martens Field before a WIAA Division 6 Level 2 playoff game against Darlington on Saturday.
It was an ominous sign for the Cardinals as Darlington sophomore Myles Leahy rushed for 103 yards on 20 carries and scored one touchdown and Kyle Johnson had a key interception in the fourth quarter to lead the Redbirds to a 17-7 win over the Cardinals.
"I'm sure they didn't feel very impressed in the end with what they did," Leahy said. "There is no reason to have a big head. You just have to come out and play football."
Darlington (6-4) did just that after Necedah senior Kris Manning broke loose for a 46-yard TD run. The Redbirds answered with a 16-play, 79-yard drive, culminating in sophomore Cole McDonald's 8-yard TD pass to sophomore Tanner Wiegel on fourth down. McDonald completed 6 of 8 passes for 96 yards and one touchdown. The key play of the drive was Wiegel's short run and lateral to McDonald for a 25-yard gain.
"We knew they were going to stack the box with about nine guys," McDonald said. "We had to connect on some of those passes to give Myles and the other running backs some more room to run."
The Redbirds had a 7-minute, 30-second drive in the third quarter that ended in Hayden Black's 22-yard field goal that gave the Redbirds a 10-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. The big play of the drive was McDonald's 60-yard pass to Jason Singer.
Manning, who is the state's second leading rusher averaging 243 yards per game, rushed for 106 yards in the first half. Manning rushed for 171 yards on 21 carries and scored one touchdown. The Redbirds bottled Manning up in the second half limiting him to just 20 yards until a 45-yard run to end the game.
"We focused on stopping the run and that is our team's strength," Darlington coach Scott Zywicki said. "We made an adjustment and moved our ends outside more to keep him (Manning) from getting the edge. If he gets the edge, he's is gone. We stacked the box and we dared them to beat us with the pass."
The Redbirds had another fourth-quarter drive that spanned more than 7 minutes. Leahy had 12 and 31-yard runs on the drive. However, with the Redbirds facing fourth-and goal from the Cardinals' 11-yard line, McDonald's 10-yard pass to Michael Ruf came up just short of the end zone and the drive ended in a turnover on downs.
The Redbirds' defense came through for the second straight week. Facing fourth-and-5 from their own 6-yard line, Johnson intercepted a pass to seal the win. Leahy then rammed his way in for a 6-yard TD run. Necedah (7-3) entered the game with only attempting 16 passes this season. Before the play, Zywicki shifted Johnson over to the side with Manning so he could cover him on whatever route he ran.
"I was surprised by how much they passed," Johnson said. "I think we were doing a good job of stopping their run. Our coach told us what they were going to run. We just had to get back and wait on it. I was just thinking I had to catch it. I wanted to get as close to the end zone as I could so the offense could run the clock down and we could punch it in."
Zywicki was surprised the Cardinals called a pass play even though it was fourth down.
"I was hoping for a pass because they don't do it as well," he said.
Leahy was excited to score the touchdown to put the Cardinals away.
"Like coach Bastian says, we always have to be every down players," Leahy said. "You just give it your all and hope you can get it."
For the second straight week, the Redbirds won the turnover battle. Darlington didn't commit a turnover and Johnson's interception was a game-changer.
"I think our defense played extremely hard," Zywicki said. "We had no turnovers and that is critical in a game like this."
It was an ominous sign for the Cardinals as Darlington sophomore Myles Leahy rushed for 103 yards on 20 carries and scored one touchdown and Kyle Johnson had a key interception in the fourth quarter to lead the Redbirds to a 17-7 win over the Cardinals.
"I'm sure they didn't feel very impressed in the end with what they did," Leahy said. "There is no reason to have a big head. You just have to come out and play football."
Darlington (6-4) did just that after Necedah senior Kris Manning broke loose for a 46-yard TD run. The Redbirds answered with a 16-play, 79-yard drive, culminating in sophomore Cole McDonald's 8-yard TD pass to sophomore Tanner Wiegel on fourth down. McDonald completed 6 of 8 passes for 96 yards and one touchdown. The key play of the drive was Wiegel's short run and lateral to McDonald for a 25-yard gain.
"We knew they were going to stack the box with about nine guys," McDonald said. "We had to connect on some of those passes to give Myles and the other running backs some more room to run."
The Redbirds had a 7-minute, 30-second drive in the third quarter that ended in Hayden Black's 22-yard field goal that gave the Redbirds a 10-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. The big play of the drive was McDonald's 60-yard pass to Jason Singer.
Manning, who is the state's second leading rusher averaging 243 yards per game, rushed for 106 yards in the first half. Manning rushed for 171 yards on 21 carries and scored one touchdown. The Redbirds bottled Manning up in the second half limiting him to just 20 yards until a 45-yard run to end the game.
"We focused on stopping the run and that is our team's strength," Darlington coach Scott Zywicki said. "We made an adjustment and moved our ends outside more to keep him (Manning) from getting the edge. If he gets the edge, he's is gone. We stacked the box and we dared them to beat us with the pass."
The Redbirds had another fourth-quarter drive that spanned more than 7 minutes. Leahy had 12 and 31-yard runs on the drive. However, with the Redbirds facing fourth-and goal from the Cardinals' 11-yard line, McDonald's 10-yard pass to Michael Ruf came up just short of the end zone and the drive ended in a turnover on downs.
The Redbirds' defense came through for the second straight week. Facing fourth-and-5 from their own 6-yard line, Johnson intercepted a pass to seal the win. Leahy then rammed his way in for a 6-yard TD run. Necedah (7-3) entered the game with only attempting 16 passes this season. Before the play, Zywicki shifted Johnson over to the side with Manning so he could cover him on whatever route he ran.
"I was surprised by how much they passed," Johnson said. "I think we were doing a good job of stopping their run. Our coach told us what they were going to run. We just had to get back and wait on it. I was just thinking I had to catch it. I wanted to get as close to the end zone as I could so the offense could run the clock down and we could punch it in."
Zywicki was surprised the Cardinals called a pass play even though it was fourth down.
"I was hoping for a pass because they don't do it as well," he said.
Leahy was excited to score the touchdown to put the Cardinals away.
"Like coach Bastian says, we always have to be every down players," Leahy said. "You just give it your all and hope you can get it."
For the second straight week, the Redbirds won the turnover battle. Darlington didn't commit a turnover and Johnson's interception was a game-changer.
"I think our defense played extremely hard," Zywicki said. "We had no turnovers and that is critical in a game like this."
