DARLINGTON - Darlington senior quarterback Alex Erickson understands that playing with pain and injuries comes with the territory in football.
Erickson, who jammed his wrist in a season-opening win against Platteville Aug. 27, showed no lingering effects from the injury as he scored five touchdowns to propel the Redbirds to a 39-7 win over Wisconsin Heights Friday night.
Erickson rushed for 100 yards on nine carries with three touchdowns and completed 6 of 12 passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
"It's good to go now," Erickson said of his wrist.
The win for the Redbirds (2-0) came at a cost. Darlington junior Mitchell Langkamp suffered a shoulder injury and had to leave the game. Langkamp was emerging as a pass rusher on defense. He also is a running back for the Redbirds.
Darlington coach Scott Zywicki said that Langkamp had an X-ray and he didn't know the severity of the injury.
"He has come on like the Tasmanian Devil from the weak side," Zywicki said of Langkamp's pass rushing ability.
The Redbirds scored on their first four drives. Darlington senior Tommy Notter recovered a fumbled kickoff to set up the Redbirds' first scoring drive. Erickson made the turnover count with an 8-yard TD pass to senior Tyler Hardyman with 8 minutes, 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
"As backs, our job was easy," Erickson said. "You just had to go where the play was called, hit the hole and you were gone. They (the line) did a great job working together."
Erickson engineered an eight-play, 77-yard drive capping it off with a 6-yard TD run at 3:38 in the first quarter. The Redbirds followed that up with a 11-play, 55-yard drive culminating in Erickson's 3-yard TD run.
Erickson added a 50-yard TD run in the second quarter to give the Redbirds a 26-0 lead. The Redbirds first-string offense was at their best on third and fourth down. The Redbirds converted 6-of-9 third downs with the first string offense and were 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions.
"Offensively, we are so tough on offense because we have so many kids in the backfield who are athletic," Zywicki said. "All they need is a seam and they can go the distance."
The Redbirds' defense was just as impressive as the offense limiting the Vanguards to 130 total yards and 99 rushing yards. The Redbirds' starting defense limited the Vanguards to just two first downs and one in the first half.
The Redbirds opened up their offense in the second half going to a spread offense which led to a nine-play, 62-yard drive capped off by Erickson's 8-yard TD pass to junior Brandon Hardyman.
"There will be teams we can't pound the ball against," Zywicki said. "We will have to throw the ball to loosen them up."
Darlington senior Colton Hackett intercepted a pass in the third quarter to set up the next scoring opportunity. Darlington junior Tucker Wiegel, who rushed for 94 yards on nine carries, broke a couple of tackles and scored on a 21-yard run to give the Redbirds a 39-0 lead.
One of the areas Zywicki wants to improve is on special teams. He was concerned about a couple of long kickoff returns by the Vanguards.
Zywicki said coaches at halftime stressed staying in their lanes while running down to make a tackle on the kickoff.
"We have a lot of guys who are hungry to make the tackle on the kickoff and sometimes we aren't disciplined," he said.
Zywicki is excited that Darlington alum Trevor Steiner decided to get into coaching at Wisconsin Heights.
"He will turn that program around," he said.
The Redbirds will open SWAL play at Fennimore next week.
"We will have to be ready to play," Erickson said.
Erickson, who jammed his wrist in a season-opening win against Platteville Aug. 27, showed no lingering effects from the injury as he scored five touchdowns to propel the Redbirds to a 39-7 win over Wisconsin Heights Friday night.
Erickson rushed for 100 yards on nine carries with three touchdowns and completed 6 of 12 passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
"It's good to go now," Erickson said of his wrist.
The win for the Redbirds (2-0) came at a cost. Darlington junior Mitchell Langkamp suffered a shoulder injury and had to leave the game. Langkamp was emerging as a pass rusher on defense. He also is a running back for the Redbirds.
Darlington coach Scott Zywicki said that Langkamp had an X-ray and he didn't know the severity of the injury.
"He has come on like the Tasmanian Devil from the weak side," Zywicki said of Langkamp's pass rushing ability.
The Redbirds scored on their first four drives. Darlington senior Tommy Notter recovered a fumbled kickoff to set up the Redbirds' first scoring drive. Erickson made the turnover count with an 8-yard TD pass to senior Tyler Hardyman with 8 minutes, 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
"As backs, our job was easy," Erickson said. "You just had to go where the play was called, hit the hole and you were gone. They (the line) did a great job working together."
Erickson engineered an eight-play, 77-yard drive capping it off with a 6-yard TD run at 3:38 in the first quarter. The Redbirds followed that up with a 11-play, 55-yard drive culminating in Erickson's 3-yard TD run.
Erickson added a 50-yard TD run in the second quarter to give the Redbirds a 26-0 lead. The Redbirds first-string offense was at their best on third and fourth down. The Redbirds converted 6-of-9 third downs with the first string offense and were 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions.
"Offensively, we are so tough on offense because we have so many kids in the backfield who are athletic," Zywicki said. "All they need is a seam and they can go the distance."
The Redbirds' defense was just as impressive as the offense limiting the Vanguards to 130 total yards and 99 rushing yards. The Redbirds' starting defense limited the Vanguards to just two first downs and one in the first half.
The Redbirds opened up their offense in the second half going to a spread offense which led to a nine-play, 62-yard drive capped off by Erickson's 8-yard TD pass to junior Brandon Hardyman.
"There will be teams we can't pound the ball against," Zywicki said. "We will have to throw the ball to loosen them up."
Darlington senior Colton Hackett intercepted a pass in the third quarter to set up the next scoring opportunity. Darlington junior Tucker Wiegel, who rushed for 94 yards on nine carries, broke a couple of tackles and scored on a 21-yard run to give the Redbirds a 39-0 lead.
One of the areas Zywicki wants to improve is on special teams. He was concerned about a couple of long kickoff returns by the Vanguards.
Zywicki said coaches at halftime stressed staying in their lanes while running down to make a tackle on the kickoff.
"We have a lot of guys who are hungry to make the tackle on the kickoff and sometimes we aren't disciplined," he said.
Zywicki is excited that Darlington alum Trevor Steiner decided to get into coaching at Wisconsin Heights.
"He will turn that program around," he said.
The Redbirds will open SWAL play at Fennimore next week.
"We will have to be ready to play," Erickson said.
