SOUTH WAYNE — A first quarter touchdown run by Colby Argall was all Black Hawk needed to bump off Potosi-Cassville for the second time this year. The Warriors advanced to Level 3 in the WIAA Division 7 playoffs for the second-straight year with a 6-0 victory Oct. 26 against their conference rival.
Argall had 155 yards rushing on 27 carries to lead the way. Mitchell Quinn had 39 rushing yards on seven attempts and quarterback Kyle Lovelace gained 28 yards on nine runs. Lovelace was also 4 of 6 passing, with Rece Shelton catching three balls for 23 yards.
The Warriors’ defense came up big, holding the Chieftains to 82 rushing yards on 24 carries. Potosi-Cassville quarterback Will Bierman was 12 of 18 passing for 134 yards and an interception to Black Hawk’s Tyler Triem.
In Week 2, Black Hawk (10-0) defeated Potosi-Cassville (8-3) 14-7 in Potosi in a game remembered for the mud and slop on the ground as much as the early-season statement.
The Warriors now host Benton Scales Mound (8-3), another Six Rivers opponent, Friday night in a Level 3 game. Black Hawk overcame a strong first-half in Week 5 by the Zephyrs to win 64-38. BSM upset second-seeded Johnson Creek (9-2) 32-6 in Level 2.
Benton-Scales Mound has a prolific offense that is nearly completely balanced. The Zephyrs have gained 2,236 yards on the ground through 11 games and another 1,817 yards through the air with a combined 53 touchdowns. Black Hawk, meanwhile, has 3,065 rushing yards in 10 games of action with 571 passing yards and 49 total TDs.
The winner will get either fellow Six Rivers foe Highland (7-4) or Bangor (10-1), the defending state champion, in Level 4 Nov. 9.
Highland, which blew out Ithaca 47-0, features an offense based off the run, gaining nearly 1,800 yards on the ground through 11 games compared to nearly 1,100 yards through the air. Quarterback Spencer Linscheid and running back Drew Hennessey pack a potent 1-2 punch for the Cardinals.
Bangor, which defeated Black Hawk at Camp Randall in 2017, lost just one game this season — a 21-7 Week 7 nonconference defeat at the hands of Potosi-Cassville. Bangor bounced back to close out the season and dominated Eleva-Strum 28-0 in Level 2.
Bangor’s offense is very run-heavy, with over 3,500 rushing yards gained and 42 TDs scored on the ground compared to just 272 total passing yards and three touchdowns.
Division 6
Lancaster 42, Darlington 6
LANCASTER — The Redbirds opened up their WIAA Level 2 playoff game with a bang as quarterback Braden Davis connected with Stryker Fitzsimons on a 76-yard touchdown pass just moments into the action.
Darlington wouldn’t reach the end zone again.
Lancaster took a 7-6 lead with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Hayden Knapp to Preston Noethe with 3:10 left in the first quarter and the Flying Arrows never looked back.
The Redbirds trailed 21-6 at halftime and had their backs broken when Knapp snapped off a pair of scores — one running, one passing — in the third quarter to open the game.
Davis finished 8 of 19 passing for 163 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Kolbe Ubersox had seven carries for 35 yards and Carson Evenstad had nine rushes for 29 yards for Darlington. Carter Lancaster hauled in three catches for 62 yards.
Lancaster’s Dawson Bowen had 228 rushing yards and two TDs for Lancaster, which also received big days on the ground from Corey Hahn (159 yards) and Knapp (88 yards).
Darlington’s season wraps up with an overall record of 5-6, while Lancaster (8-3) move on face Fennimore (10-1), which won a Week 1 matchup 14-0 between the two schools.
Division 5
Horicon-Hustisford 48, New Glarus-Monticello 7
HUSTISFORD — After falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, the Glarner Knights pulled to within a score in the second quarter thanks to a 23-yard touchdown pass from Darris Schuett to Trevor Gassmen at the 5:45 mark that made it 14-7.
It would be as close as the Knights (5-6) would get the rest of the game.
Horicon-Hustisford (10-1) scored with 1:49 left in the half on a 28-yard pass to make it 20-7, and then added a back-breaking 1-yard TD plunge with just one second left in the half to go up 27-7 at the break.
To make matters worse, H-H added a pick-6 at the 9:11 mark in the third and rebounded with another score with 6:36 left in the third to start the running clock. A 60-yard punt return for a touchdown with 3:35 left in the third would cap the scoring.
Schuett was just 2 of 6 passing for 51 yards and had -4 yards rushing on three carries. Connor Siegenthaler was 14 of 29 passing for 130 yards and three interceptions for New Glarus-Monticello. Gassman led the team with six catches for 75 yards and Schuett had four catches for 51 yards. The Glarner Knights gained just 19 rushing yards on 17 carries in the game.
H-H had 113 yards rushing on 31 caries and were an efficient 11 of 15 passing for 178 yards. H-H moves on to Level 3 to face unbeaten Lake Country Lutheran.
