WISCONSIN DELLS — In the Kwik Trip game of the week, Mondovi edged Darlington 14-7 to earn its first trip to state since 1990. The Redbirds maintained a 7-6 lead until five minutes left in the game.
“I love our kids; we have great kids,” head coach Travis Winkers said of his squad and its performance. “You get to this level and its tough — its tough to win. We had a great season. I know we wanted to get to Camp Randall, but the kids have to be proud of what they did.”
The Redbirds started off shaky, as the ball went through the arms of their returner on the punt. He was able to recover and run to the 30-yard line. Mondovi’s defense went to work, forcing a three-and-out. It was the first time since Level 1 that Darlington hadn’t scored on its opening drive.
Defensively, the Redbirds responded with their own three-and-out. Brady Long broke up a pass and Reagan Jackson applied pressure to quarterback Jarod Falkner, forcing a poor throw.
On Mondovi’s next drive, the Buffaloes marched down the field with a 17-yard run and 20-yard reception on back-to-back plays. A tackle for loss by Bryan Lazaro-Mendoza and broken up pass by Long set Mondovi up for a deep field goal. With the miss, Darlington started at their 20.
After a 5-yard penalty by the Buffaloes, Tye Crist broke through the seam and ran 73-yards to the end zone. With the successful extra point, Darlington took a 7-0 lead with just over a minute left in the first quarter.
Not to be outdone, Dawson Rud ran for 31 yards on Mondovi’s next series. Falkner nearly ran for another first down but was pushed out of bounds a yard short. He left the field, needing attention on the sideline. Rud took over at the helm, completing the first down and running 14 yards to the end zone. The Buffaloes went for two but were stopped short by Carter Murray.
Falkner returned to the game a few series later.
The next three possessions — two by Darlington, one by Mondovi — resulted in three-and-outs.
With the half winding down, the Buffaloes looked to score and take a lead into the locker room. A 5-yard facemask penalty by Darlington pushed Mondovi up the field, along with rushing first down. The next two passes were tipped at the line of scrimmage by Talan Crist, one of which was almost caught for an interception by Maddox Goebel.
Faced with third-and-ten at Mondovi’s 42, Rud scampered 18 yards, putting the Buffaloes just outside the red zone. On the next play, Falkner’s pass to Cade Fremstad was broken up by Long. He was called for passer interference, though, which gave Mondovi half the distance to the goal. With their backs against the wall, the defense came up with a stop.
The call could have swung momentum in favor of the Buffaloes, but in the end, Darlington came out on top.
“We got a stop,” Winkers said. “It is what it is. It’s karma. We got the stop.”
Darlington received the ball with 49 seconds left in the half and ran the clock out in two plays. They took a 7-6 lead into the locker room.
The third quarter began with back-to-back defensive stops before the half’s first bit of action.
Falkner would have run for consecutive first downs, but a holding penalty brought the second one back. Breylin Goebel kept the momentum in the Redbirds’ favor with a tackle for loss, forcing a punt.
On the offensive end, Darlington had some fog to clear, as the team was penalized for delay of game and fumbled at its 21-yard line.
Luckily, the defense came up big, forcing a turnover on downs. Tye Crist and Murray had back-to-back tackles at the line of scrimmage, followed by a near interception from Maddox Goebel. On fourth-and-ten, Long broke up Falkner’s pass, again.
The Redbirds started to click, as Maddox Goebel caught a 10-yard pass, and Breylin Goebel ran for another first down. Despite an illegal procedure penalty setting Darlington up with a third-and-nine, the Redbirds completed a pass to Breylin Goebel for a first down. After another first-down rush by Tye Crist, Darlington faced an important fourth-and-three decision at Mondovi’s 16-yard line. Winkers elected to have Cadyn Burbach attempt a field goal, which went wide.
The Buffaloes took advantage of the Redbirds’ missed opportunity by going 41 yards in two plays. Falkner completed a 25-yard pass then ran for 16 yards. Monodvi nearly scored on a pass to Fremstad, but he was tackled at the one. Falkner completed the series with a keeper for the score. With a successful 2-point conversion, Mondovi took a 14-7 lead with 2:40 remaining.
On its first play after the score, Darlington fumbled at its own 34-yard line. The Redbirds defense, combined with strategic timeout calling, held Mondovi from scoring, giving their offense another chance with 1:30 left.
Maddox Goebel’s run fell just short of a first down, and, after a tackle for loss, Darlington was unable to move the ball further. Mondovi took a knee to run out the remaining time.
Darlington, which averaged 314 rushing yards per game, was limited to just 142 rushing yards against Mondovi. Tye Crist led all backs with 90 yards on seven carries. Burbach collected 31 yards on 8 carries, while Breylin Goebel totaled 21 yards on 13 carries.
“We weren’t good enough on offense,” Winkers said. “They basically shut our offense down, and that’s credit to them. The adjustments we did make didn’t work.”
In the last four years, Darlington and Mondovi have met three times. With the win, the Buffaloes take a lead in the series, 2-1. Given both team’s returners, Winkers knows Mondovi will continue to challenge his team.
“It’s not going anywhere,” Winkers said of the rivalry. “They are going to be good for a while. We have a good program, too.”
REPEATED SUCCESS
Darlington ended its season with an 11-2 record. Its previous loss came to Saint Mary’s Springs in week two, where the Ledgers scored the winning touch down with 52 seconds left in the game. The Redbirds won the SWAL for the third straight year, going an undefeated 7-0 in conference.
In playoffs, Darlington knocked off the top-ranked offense in Belleville and an undefeated Kenosha St. Joseph. This was the Redbirds second straight year in the state semifinal.
On the season, Darlington outscored its opponents 517-132. The team’s offense operated mostly on the ground, where they averaged 300.8 yards per game. Five rushers had over 500 yards: Burbach (781), Breylin Goebel (672), Tye Crist (641), Maddox Goebel (635) and Ross Crist (547).
The Redbirds’ defense was a large factor to the team’s success. It had 620 tackles for loss, 22 sacks and 15 interceptions, three of which were pick sixes. Jackson led the team with 15 tackles for losses, followed by Maddox Goebel with 14, Murray with 13, Mason Davis with 12 and Breylin Goebel and Talan Crist with 10 each. Jackson also recorded seven sacks. Tye Crist and Roger Volkening III intercepted three passes each.
