DARLINGTON — Senior quarterback Cadyn Burbach accounted for five touchdowns — three with his legs and two with his arm — as Darlington stormed Platteville, 47-14, in their non-conference season opener on a rainy night at Martens Field on Friday, Aug. 19.
Sophomore running backs Maddox Goebel and Ross Crist each ran for a touchdown in the first quarter to put the Redbirds (1-0 overall) up 12-0 before the first round of storms hit the area and caused an hour long delay. Goebel hit pay dirt from 44 yards out on the second play of the game to put the ‘Birds ahead to stay and Crist punched one in from two yards out on the hosts’ second possession.
The ‘Birds came back strong following the delay, marching 96 yards on just five plays to add to their lead. Burbach connected with fellow senior Carver Fitzsimons on a 74-yard TD strike with 9:20 to play in the second quarter to make it 20-0.
“You never know how kids will respond in situations like that. I think with it being the first game, kids were able to stay mentally dialed in even more so. It helps having good senior leadership too,” said Darlington head coach Travis Winkers. “When a team packs the box as much as Platteville did, you have to be able to pass to keep them honest. This is going to be the theme all year for us.”
The Hillmen got on the scoreboard in the closing seconds of the half on a 62-yard pass from Derek Digman to Lucas Ludlum to cut the Darlington advantage to 20-6.
Burbach extended the lead to 40-14 by the end of third quarter with TD runs of 4 and 74 yards — the second on an option-keeper that fooled nearly everyone in attendance — and he tossed a 21-yard TD pass to junior running back Breylin Goebel.
Digman teamed with Garrison Tashner for a 34-yard TD strike in the third quarter.
Burbach added another 4-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to close the scoring in the game, which was called of with 7:09 remaining when a second set of storms hit the field.
Darlington finished the night racking up over 470 yards of offense after rushing 39 times for 324 yards and adding another 148 passing yards on five completions. The Hillmen managed just 88 rushing yards on 21 carries, while passing for 172 yards on the night.
“Our running game was good. I think it could be better, but there is not a team in the state that thinks they are perfect after the first game. We will need to fix our mistakes and be much better this week if we want to win,” Winkers commented. “I thought (the defense) looked good, but we still gave up 14 points. I know a shutout is not always going to happen, but we think our defense is going to be the strength of our team.”
Burbach went 5-for-5 passing for 149 yards and two scores and also ran 12 times for 108 yards and three scores.
Maddox Goebel finished with 114 yards and a TD on eight carries, while Breylin Goebel rushed eight times for 44 yards and had two cacthes for 24 yards and a score. Ross Crist ran nine times for 44 yards and a TD, and Fitzsimons had one catch for 74 yards and a TD for the ‘Birds.
Digman completed 12-of-26 passes for 172 yards with two TDs and an interception. Tashner had seven catches for 82 yards and a score and Ludlum had two catches for 73 yards and a score, while Jayden Culbertson led the ground attack with 10 rushes for 60 yards.
Defensively, junior Tye Crist led the way for the ‘Birds with 11 total tackles and seven solo stops to go along with a forced fumble and an interception. Junior Reagan Jackson added six tackles and a sack, and junior Brady Long tallied six tackles. Maddox Goebel and Ross Crist each recovered a fumble in the win.
Darlington will head to Fond du Lac’s Fruth Field to meet perennial powerhouse Saint Mary’s Springs (1-0) in a non-conference clash on Saturday, Aug. 27, starting at 1 p.m.
The Ledgers (1-0), who went on to finish as runner-ups in Division 6 after defeating the Redbirds in Level 4 of the WIAA playoffs last season, opened the 2022 campaign with an impressive 27-0 victory over Lake Country Lutheran.
“(Springs) looked extremely dominant against Lake Country Lutheran, who is traditionally a powerhouse program. We will have our work cut out for us if we want to get the win and make up for last year’s two losses,” said Winkers.
“It most likely won’t be the last time we see them this season, so — win or lose — it doesn’t mean we will win it all or that the season is over. We got so much better from playing them week two last year to playing them in Level 4. We want to play really good teams like this because it exposes what we need to fix. The entire program is very excited about playing them. Any time you get to face off a team like them, it is fun.”
