PALMYRA - Once Alex Erickson got a pass to stick, right between the 2s worn by senior Tyler Shager, it was all but over for the Palmyra-Eagle football team Tuesday night.
Shager, who wears the number 22 for Darlington, hauled in a strike from the Redbirds' junior quarterback on a deep post route for a 52-yard touchdown.
That made the score in the WIAA Division 5 first-round playoff game 21-14 with 8 minutes, 21 seconds remaining and got a lot of Redbird playmakers off the hook.
It also got the cool-headed Erickson rolling, and he moved his team up and down the field as the Redbirds' stole a 28-21, come-from-behind overtime victory on the Panthers' home field.
After the game, he wanted to talk about practice.
"Coach called my number and we work on this stuff all week in practice," Erickson said. "We executed today just like we do in practice."
He was very forgiving of three receivers who dropped passes that would have converted first downs, two of them potentially for 50-plus yards.
"We were off by just a little bit, it could've happened on any of them, but we just kept missing" Erickson said.
On the second play of the Redbirds' drive following Shager's score, Erickson ran a trap left from the shotgun and snapped off a defender while putting his foot in the ground. He cut to the right and found the right sideline for a 75-yard gain before being caught at the 10.
"I didn't have much left in my legs," Erickson admitted.
Two plays later, he showed incredible touch as he lobbed a pass down the seam over linebacker Taylor Poulson and into the hands of senior Tanner Andrews for the score from eight yards out with 4:02 left to play.
Then another senior, Jason Boll, stepped up in emergency kicking duty.
"My heart was racing very fast and it's been since the first game of the season since I've kicked a PAT," Boll said. "The coaches gave me the ball and I knew my job as a senior was to step up."
After the Redbird's first two point-after tries sailed wide, he didn't exactly drill the game-tying point after down the middle.
"No sir, it was just inside the right upright," Boll said. "But when I lifted my head, I just knew it was good."
After the Redbirds forced the Panthers to stall at the Darlington 30-yard line, Erickson capped his 19-carry, 186-yard night with a breathtaking score on the opening play in overtime. He ran off tackle right before bouncing outside and leaving a sea of white jerseys in his wake as he reached the pylon.
"He takes something that might be a few yards here or there for another kid and for him he can take it any moment," Redbirds coach Scott Zywicki said. "He just has to have the seam and he's by the corners. They have great athletes, so if he's running by them ... he's a heck of an athlete himself."
Erickson threw for 130 yards and two scores on 6-of-20 passing.
The Panthers coughed up the ball on their second play in overtime. Colton Hackett scooped it up and led his jubilant teammates to midfield before heaving the pigskin in the air.
It wasn't the scene you would've expected had you watched the Redbirds' line struggle with its blocking assignments in the first half, leading to flurries of penalties and a 14-2 halftime deficit.
"For some reason, early in the game, our kids were questioning their blocking assignments," Zywicki said. "We have rules, and at halftime we had to remind them of the rules."
On the opening drive of the second half, perhaps the Redbirds heard the nearby passing train as Dan Hammer and Seth Rowe led a locomotive-like drive. Darlington hammered the ball inside before capping the 11-running-play drive with a Tucker Wiegel 3-yard sweep left for the score.
Casey Legan, who led Palmyra-Eagle with 83 yards on 10 carries, became the third Panther to score when he went 44 yards on the ensuing possession. But, ultimately, that just meant more time for the Redbirds to come roaring back. They'll hope to come out of the gates sharper Saturday, when they face Pardeeville.
"Tonight, the firsts and 30s, the first and 25s, that's not how you draw it up to start the game, but our kids persevered, they never quit," Zywicki said. "They deserved this win."
Shager, who wears the number 22 for Darlington, hauled in a strike from the Redbirds' junior quarterback on a deep post route for a 52-yard touchdown.
That made the score in the WIAA Division 5 first-round playoff game 21-14 with 8 minutes, 21 seconds remaining and got a lot of Redbird playmakers off the hook.
It also got the cool-headed Erickson rolling, and he moved his team up and down the field as the Redbirds' stole a 28-21, come-from-behind overtime victory on the Panthers' home field.
After the game, he wanted to talk about practice.
"Coach called my number and we work on this stuff all week in practice," Erickson said. "We executed today just like we do in practice."
He was very forgiving of three receivers who dropped passes that would have converted first downs, two of them potentially for 50-plus yards.
"We were off by just a little bit, it could've happened on any of them, but we just kept missing" Erickson said.
On the second play of the Redbirds' drive following Shager's score, Erickson ran a trap left from the shotgun and snapped off a defender while putting his foot in the ground. He cut to the right and found the right sideline for a 75-yard gain before being caught at the 10.
"I didn't have much left in my legs," Erickson admitted.
Two plays later, he showed incredible touch as he lobbed a pass down the seam over linebacker Taylor Poulson and into the hands of senior Tanner Andrews for the score from eight yards out with 4:02 left to play.
Then another senior, Jason Boll, stepped up in emergency kicking duty.
"My heart was racing very fast and it's been since the first game of the season since I've kicked a PAT," Boll said. "The coaches gave me the ball and I knew my job as a senior was to step up."
After the Redbird's first two point-after tries sailed wide, he didn't exactly drill the game-tying point after down the middle.
"No sir, it was just inside the right upright," Boll said. "But when I lifted my head, I just knew it was good."
After the Redbirds forced the Panthers to stall at the Darlington 30-yard line, Erickson capped his 19-carry, 186-yard night with a breathtaking score on the opening play in overtime. He ran off tackle right before bouncing outside and leaving a sea of white jerseys in his wake as he reached the pylon.
"He takes something that might be a few yards here or there for another kid and for him he can take it any moment," Redbirds coach Scott Zywicki said. "He just has to have the seam and he's by the corners. They have great athletes, so if he's running by them ... he's a heck of an athlete himself."
Erickson threw for 130 yards and two scores on 6-of-20 passing.
The Panthers coughed up the ball on their second play in overtime. Colton Hackett scooped it up and led his jubilant teammates to midfield before heaving the pigskin in the air.
It wasn't the scene you would've expected had you watched the Redbirds' line struggle with its blocking assignments in the first half, leading to flurries of penalties and a 14-2 halftime deficit.
"For some reason, early in the game, our kids were questioning their blocking assignments," Zywicki said. "We have rules, and at halftime we had to remind them of the rules."
On the opening drive of the second half, perhaps the Redbirds heard the nearby passing train as Dan Hammer and Seth Rowe led a locomotive-like drive. Darlington hammered the ball inside before capping the 11-running-play drive with a Tucker Wiegel 3-yard sweep left for the score.
Casey Legan, who led Palmyra-Eagle with 83 yards on 10 carries, became the third Panther to score when he went 44 yards on the ensuing possession. But, ultimately, that just meant more time for the Redbirds to come roaring back. They'll hope to come out of the gates sharper Saturday, when they face Pardeeville.
"Tonight, the firsts and 30s, the first and 25s, that's not how you draw it up to start the game, but our kids persevered, they never quit," Zywicki said. "They deserved this win."
