SOUTH WAYNE - After Black Hawk rolled to a 48-0 win over Cassville, Tanner Sweeney and his teammates couldn't wait to see coach Cory Milz's homecoming dance moves.
Sweeney rushed for 102 yards on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns to power the Warriors (4-2) to their fourth straight win and they became playoff eligible.
"It's a pretty big win," Sweeney said. "We have been talking about that (playoffs) the whole year. We have been getting better and better. I hope it continues in the playoffs. We can run inside or outside. It's not just us. It's our linemen too."
Black Hawk racked up 394 total yards and gashed the Comets with 315 total rushing yards. Black Hawk senior Logan Stietz rushed for 86 yards on 11 carries and scored one touchdown. Junior Jayden Rufenacht rushed for 67 yards on six carries.
Stietz had a 15-yard TD run to cap a seven-play, 56-yard drive to give the Warriors a 6-0 lead with 4 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first quarter. The Warriors then cashed in on a five-play, 50-yard drive when Sweeney had a 10-yard TD run at the end of the first quarter to give the Warriors a 13-0 lead. The big play of the drive was Sweeney's 29-yard run.
On the Warriors' next possession, Merik Meythaler put an exclamation point on a seven-play, 60-yard drive with a 14-yard TD run. Meythaler then tossed a two-point conversion pass to senior Kyle Walters to give the Warriors a 21-0 lead with 6:33 to go in the second quarter. The big play of the drive was Rufenacht's 45-yard run. Sweeney then scored on a 7-yard drive that capped a 56-yard drive, in which the Warriors overcame three penalties including two holding calls.
The Warriors were just as impressive on defense limiting the Comets to just 61 total yards and 14 rushing yards.
"We had our growing pains early," Milz said. "We have been giving up some big plays every game. We have up one today, but we kept them out of the end zone. Sometimes when you play man you will get beat deep. We had some problems with multiple formations early in the season. We had alignment problems. I didn't see a lot of alignment problems today. They did a nice job."
The Warriors continued to roll in the second half capping off a 56-yard third quarter drive with Seth Butler's 5-yard TD run. Junior Tyler Peterson then caught a kickoff and ran backwards about five yards to hand off to Walters on a reverse. Walters broke loose for a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown to give the Warriors a 40-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
"I just had to get to the wall and that was it," Walters said of his punt return for a touchdown. "All the right blocks were made to spring me for a touchdown."
Walters was excited to be a playoff eligible team again.
"It's great," Walters said. "Now we have made the playoffs. It's my senior year and it's about extending the year now."
The Warriors capped the scoring with a 12-play, 85-yard drive, culminating in Shawn Woodruff's 10-yard TD run. Woodruff also ran in the two-point conversion.
"We have a stable of running backs," Milz said. "We have a lot of quality running backs. There are a couple of kids - Shawn Woodruff and Seth Butler that don't usually see the field. Any one of them can move the ball."
Sweeney rushed for 102 yards on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns to power the Warriors (4-2) to their fourth straight win and they became playoff eligible.
"It's a pretty big win," Sweeney said. "We have been talking about that (playoffs) the whole year. We have been getting better and better. I hope it continues in the playoffs. We can run inside or outside. It's not just us. It's our linemen too."
Black Hawk racked up 394 total yards and gashed the Comets with 315 total rushing yards. Black Hawk senior Logan Stietz rushed for 86 yards on 11 carries and scored one touchdown. Junior Jayden Rufenacht rushed for 67 yards on six carries.
Stietz had a 15-yard TD run to cap a seven-play, 56-yard drive to give the Warriors a 6-0 lead with 4 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first quarter. The Warriors then cashed in on a five-play, 50-yard drive when Sweeney had a 10-yard TD run at the end of the first quarter to give the Warriors a 13-0 lead. The big play of the drive was Sweeney's 29-yard run.
On the Warriors' next possession, Merik Meythaler put an exclamation point on a seven-play, 60-yard drive with a 14-yard TD run. Meythaler then tossed a two-point conversion pass to senior Kyle Walters to give the Warriors a 21-0 lead with 6:33 to go in the second quarter. The big play of the drive was Rufenacht's 45-yard run. Sweeney then scored on a 7-yard drive that capped a 56-yard drive, in which the Warriors overcame three penalties including two holding calls.
The Warriors were just as impressive on defense limiting the Comets to just 61 total yards and 14 rushing yards.
"We had our growing pains early," Milz said. "We have been giving up some big plays every game. We have up one today, but we kept them out of the end zone. Sometimes when you play man you will get beat deep. We had some problems with multiple formations early in the season. We had alignment problems. I didn't see a lot of alignment problems today. They did a nice job."
The Warriors continued to roll in the second half capping off a 56-yard third quarter drive with Seth Butler's 5-yard TD run. Junior Tyler Peterson then caught a kickoff and ran backwards about five yards to hand off to Walters on a reverse. Walters broke loose for a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown to give the Warriors a 40-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
"I just had to get to the wall and that was it," Walters said of his punt return for a touchdown. "All the right blocks were made to spring me for a touchdown."
Walters was excited to be a playoff eligible team again.
"It's great," Walters said. "Now we have made the playoffs. It's my senior year and it's about extending the year now."
The Warriors capped the scoring with a 12-play, 85-yard drive, culminating in Shawn Woodruff's 10-yard TD run. Woodruff also ran in the two-point conversion.
"We have a stable of running backs," Milz said. "We have a lot of quality running backs. There are a couple of kids - Shawn Woodruff and Seth Butler that don't usually see the field. Any one of them can move the ball."
