DARLINGTON — Sophomore Ross Crist and the Darlington Redbirds (10-1, 7-0 SWAL) headed into their Level 2 playoff game against conference rival Belleville (9-2, 6-1) with confidence, having beat the Wildcats 34-24 three weeks ago in the regular season. Darlington proved itself — and its conference championship — with a 28-6 victory Oct. 29 in a WIAA Division 6 playoff game at home.

“We were super hyped up, ready to go,” Crist said. “We wanted to really put our foot down and go at them strong.”

The Redbird defense set the tone early, forcing a three-and-out on Belleville’s opening drive. Reagan Jackson made a tackle at the line of scrimmage, and the defense broke up the subsequent pass on third down.

In its opening drive, Darlington ran down the field for a touchdown. The Redbirds had four consecutive first-down rushes — three from Cadyn Burbach and one from Maddox Goebel — followed by a three-yard TD run by Breylin Goebel. Darlington took the 8-0 with a successful two-point conversion on the ground from Breylin Goebel.

The next three drives — two for Belleville and one for Darlington — resulted in three-and-outs. 

Tye Crist opened the second quarter with a rushing first down, and on third and two, Crist moved the chains yet again for the Redbirds. On the next play, Burbach was stopped just short of the goal line. Crist took the next hand off and found the end zone. Despite a failed two-point conversion, Darlington took a 14-0 lead.

The Redbird offense returned to the field shortly after, as Crist intercepted Aidan Keyes’s tipped pass.

Burbach’s 22-yard pass to Will Murray set Darlington up with a first-and-goal situation. On the next play, Burbach took it to the house by himself and kicked the subsequent extra point for the 21-0 lead. The two scores in the second quarter were just 1:10 apart for the Redbirds.

“We run option, and our quarterback has to be a runner,” head coach Travis Winkers said. “He [Burbach] doesn’t always get the respect since he’s a smaller dude, but he’s a heck of a quarterback.”

After another third-and-out by Belleville’s offense, Darlington looked poised to eat up the remainder of the half with a series of runs. A fumble — recovered by the Wildcats — shifted the momentum, though.

With a first-down pass from Keyes, Belleville set itself up for a first-and-goal opportunity. The offense shot itself in the foot, however, getting called for back-to-back holding penalties. On third and 21, Talan Crist sacked Keyes, setting up a fourth and 38. 

With just 1:40 left in the half, Belleville called a timeout to set up its offense. The timeout proved effective, as the Wildcats scored on the next play. Keyes stepped out of the pocket to avoid a tackle and connected with Kaden DeSmet for a 36-yard TD pass. 

Belleville got another offensive opportunity before the end of the half, as Darlington fumbled yet again.

“I think that’s the first time in three years that Breylin [Goebel] has ever fumbled,” Winkers said of the uncharacteristic turnovers. 

Keyes quickly found Nate Meier for a first down and spiked the ball to stop the clock with 27 seconds remaining in the half. A false start on the offense and key tackle by Bryan Lazaro-Mendoza prompted a Wildcat timeout with 18 seconds left.

Brady Long brought Belleville’s offense to a halt with an interception — Keyes’ second of the game — allowing Darlington to take a knee into the half.

The Redbirds received the ball to begin the second half and relied on Burbach’s legs for another TD. Burbach had three first-down rushes in the drive and scored on a 7-yard run. He completed the score with an extra point. The drive ate up the first six minutes of the third quarter.

Belleville’s offense started to gain momentum, as Keyes and DeMarcus Conner combined for three first downs in the drive. But just as quickly as the Wildcats found their rhythm, they lost it with an interception by Breylin Goebel. 

The remainder of the third quarter — and the beginning of the fourth — was characterized by turnovers. Tye Crist intercepted his second pass of the night, but Darlington fumbled once again on offense.

In what proved to be its final offensive series, Belleville turned the ball over on downs after two fourth-down conversions.

Back-to-back first-down rushes from Ross Crist allowed the Redbirds to set up victory formation, securing the 28-6 win.

“It was close there at the end,” Ross Crist said. “We just changed our mindset and worked hard to the finish.”

Per usual, Darlington relied on its run game, totaling 329 rushing yards. Burbach led the team with 113 yards on 16 carries and two TDs. Breylin Goebel and Ross Crist recorded a rushing TD each. 

Defensively, the Redbirds collected four sacks — one each from Jackson, Breylin Goebel, Talan Crist and Lazaro-Mendoza. Tye Crist snagged two of the team’s four interceptions.

Keyes had thrown just seven interceptions in 282 attempts coming into the game. As a team, the Wildcats led the state with an average of 290.5 passing ypg and 42 TDs. 

“We just had some mental breaks, but I think they did a great job,” Winkers said of his defense. “That’s one of the top offenses in the state, and we held them to six points. Aiden [Keyes], DeMarcus [Connor], Andrew [Ace] and Kaden [DeSmet] are great players. We proved that we are pretty good on the back end, too.”

Up Next: Kenosha St. Joseph (12-0)

Darlington will travel to host Kenosha St. Joseph (12-0, 7-0 Midwest Classic) on Friday, Oct. 4 for Level 3 of the WIAA D6 tournament. The Lancers defeated Lancaster 35-6 in their Level 2 game.

Like Darlington, Kenosha utilizes the run, averaging 246.2 rushing ypg with 41 TDs. Jayden Gordon receives most of the carries, with 1,784 yards and 27 TDs. In comparison, Darlington averages 322 rushing ypg with 55 TDs. The Redbirds have a more balanced run game, though, with four rushers over 500 yards.