WAUKESHA — Ready or not, the No. 1 Redbirds are rolling to another state championship game.

Darlington (13-0) is hot on the heels of a fifth gold ball following a 37-3 slaughtering of previously-unbeaten Manitowoc Lutheran (12-1) in a Division 6 Level 4 matchup at Waukesha West High School on Nov. 14.

As the state semifinal ticked through its opening minutes, the fellow No. 1 seed Lancers flashed defensive prowess. They held the Redbirds to a four-and-out, and despite being back about five yards from a first down, they went for a fake punt opportunity. ML stuffed the attempt up the gut and won the turnover on downs. Despite the failure, Darlington’s head coach Travis Winkers wasn’t worried.

“There was no concern [with how that would set the tone of the game], otherwise I wouldn’t have called it,” he said. “It was a spot in the field, I felt comfortable calling a fake. I also felt confident in our defense’s ability to help us out if we didn’t get it. If they set-up in a certain punt return formation, we felt our fake would work. They gave it to us, but they still stopped it — kudos to them.”

Winkers’ faith in his defense was well-placed. The Redbirds didn’t know it yet, but almost every time their defense took the field, the Lancers’ drives were fairly identical — give up one big play before forcing ML’s kicker to make a play, punt or field goal. 

Fortunately, the only points Darlington allowed all night came just ahead of four minutes into the contest as the Lancers failed to gain yardage after a 16-yard rush set them up at the Redbirds’ 19. Darlington shut down a run up the middle two yards behind the line followed by two incomplete passes by ML. The Lancers’ lone field goal attempt of the night sailed through the uprights, signaling the early 3-0 deficit, but the Redbirds weren’t about to roll over.

“We knew we had to stop the dive and make their QB beat us with their legs,” Winkers said. “They had some tendencies in certain formations that we tried to exploit.” 

Darlington got more help on their next drive thanks to a poorly-kicked football on the kickoff. The result was a drive starting on its own 38. Despite earning plays of 10 or more yards thanks to Calum Crist (12-yard rush) and a connection from Zeke Zuberbuhler to Peyton Dempsey (10 yards), the Redbirds’ second drive was plagued by errors in the form of a false start, offensive holding, and a fumbled snap. Darlington ultimately punted, giving ML the ball on its own 14 with 3:34 left in the first. 

The Redbirds didn’t take long getting the ball back, allowing just one new set of downs from the Lancers before receiving a punt on their own 41 with 15 seconds left in the first frame, Crist gained around three yards on the first play of the drive that also closed the quarter.

As the second quarter rolled around, Darlington played bully on offense and defense as it posted four touchdowns on five possessions. 

Crist opened the quarter flipping field position on the ground for his team to the ML 42. Moments later, Zuberbuhler cemented the Redbirds’ confidence with 20-yard keeper, and followed with nine more on the ground to the Lancers’ 8-yard line. Dante Glendenning got his hands on the ball and closed the gap to the end zone in one go, though he needed to be flexible as he did so, rotating his body for the score before a defender got him down. A missed PAT from Yasser Andino-Andino following a false start was inconsequential as Darlington earned the only lead change of the night, 6-3, with 10:07 left in the half.

ML didn’t have the ball long after a kneeling blunder on its own 12 on the ensuing kickoff. The Redbirds again gave up a single play of decent yardage, this time through the air, but didn’t break as they forced a punt at the Lancers’ 38. Only, the kick didn’t make it past the line of scrimmage. David Arguelles crashed through the heart of the offensive line and blocked the punt, shooting the ball to the ML 5-yard line where Landon Edgerton fell on it. 

Zuberbuhler needed just two attempts on the ground to put the score at a double-digit advantage with a one-yard rushing touchdown. Andino-Andino avenged his prior PAT miss to put the lead at 13-3 with 7:01 on the clock. 

Darlington quickly got the ball back, but didn’t block the punt this time. It didn’t matter. Ryder Fitzsimons got the nod on the ground first, nearly flipping field position as he took the ball 17 yards to the Redbirds’ 48. Zuberbuhler immediately followed up with a 52-yard rushing score, and Andino-Andino’s PAT made it 20-3. 

The teams traded four-and-out’s, though Darlington earned a final opportunity to score in the half on a turnover on downs at the Lancers’ 43 with 12 seconds to play. Crist got seven yards on first down, followed by a three-yard rush out of bounds to the 33. The Redbirds came out in a three receiver set, and Zuberbuhler fired his last-second attempt to the end zone. Broker Buschor leapt into the air in the end zone and secured his hands around the ball surrounded by defenders. Andino-Andino’s PAT ended the half with the best possible outcome as Darlington enjoyed a 27-3 advantage.

The second half didn’t get any easier for ML. Zuberbuhler intercepted a pass on the Lancers’ second set of downs out of the third quarter to quell any momentum. Despite a false start and a fumble throughout their resulting drive, the Redbirds scored a touchdown thanks to another Zuberbuhler connection with Buschor in the end zone. Andino-Andino’s PAT set the lead at 34-3 with 5:20 remaining in the third.

The seven points would be the only of the third quarter, and Darlington was one point shy of a running clock by the final whistle as Andino-Andino made his only field goal of the night from 31 yards with 10:25 left on the clock for the final score of the game.

The Redbirds played lights out on both ends of the ball, out-gaining ML 411-106. The one area Darlington was beaten in — penalties. The Redbirds were flagged 10 times for a total of 91 yards while the Lancers weren’t flagged once.

“We prepare the same each week regardless if it is the regular season or if it’s playoffs,” Winkers said. “We expect our defense and offense to play at a high level each week. Now the sloppy play from all three phases in regards to penalties is uncharacteristic of us. If we do that [against Edgar], we will more than likely lose.”

High marks for the Redbirds included Zuberbuhler through the air (5-for-5, 73 yds, 2 TD), rushing (12 car, 101 yds, 2 TD), and on defense (1 INT). The ground game was also led primarily by Crist (17 car, 95 yds) while Zuberbuhler’s trio of targets in the passing game were Buschor (2 rec, 57 yds, 2 TD), Dempsey (2 rec, 15 yds), and Fitzsimons (1 rec, 1 yd). Dempsey and Fitzsimons also had a sizable role in the rushing game with 71 and 55 yards, respectively, on five carries apiece.

All that remains now is a meeting with fellow top-seeded Edgar (13-0) as Darlington chases program history with its sixth attempt at an undefeated state championship. The Redbirds’ most recent attempt came in 2016, where a Scott Zywicki-led team fell to Regis (14-0), 27-14.