SOUTH WAYNE — Even when inconsistent and sloppy, the Warriors are better than most. Third-ranked Black Hawk-Warren fended off No. 4 Potosi-Cassville 24-12 in Week 3 thanks to blanket defense and some firepower right out of the gun.
“This was a huge game. It’s always a really intense game, and it’s always fun to play these guys because it’s so physical and matches with us,” said senior Cayden Milz after the game played Sept. 6 at Black Hawk High School’s Murphy Field. “To beat them like we did, it just feels outstanding.”
Until the fourth quarter, the Warriors defense flustered Potosi-Cassville. The Chieftains finished with under 30 yards of offense in the first half. In two of Potosi-Cassville’s drives, the Chieftains went backwards, while two other drives saw a net gain of under 10 yards.
“Coach got us ready to play on defense. We knew they were going to be tough to stop, so we just worked on that in practice nonstop,” senior Ethan Williams said.
The Warriors (3-0, 1-0 Six Rivers) converted early on the good field position. On Black Hawk-Warren’s first drive, the Warriors marched 58 yards on eight plays with Ethan Williams scoring on a quarterback option run from seven yards out.
To beat them like we did, it just feels outstanding.Black Hawk-Warren senior Cayden Milz
Cayden Milz blocked a Chieftains punt on the next possession, setting Black Hawk-Warren up at their opponent’s 24-yard-line. Four plays later, Jaylen Rufenacht scored from four yards out. A second Williams 2-point conversion put Black Hawk-Warren ahead 16-0 with 1:23 left in the first quarter.
“To go up 16-0, that’s all on our O-line. They were getting huge holes up there. It was great work,” Williams said.
The Warriors showed flashes of big plays the rest of the night, but mistakes held the home team scoreless for the next four possessions. After getting down inside the Chieftains red zone, a fourth-and-1 run play for a first down turned into a fourth-and-16 after a clipping penalty. A high snap on the short punt attempt then gave Potosi-Cassville (2-1, 0-1) the ball at the Black Hawk 40 — a swing of nearly 40 yards.
An interception gave Black Hawk-Warren the ball back, and Cayden Milz promptly spun off a 60-yard run to get his team deep into Chieftains territory again, only for the Warriors to cough it up on the next play.
The last possession of the first half for Black Hawk-Warren ended with Bruno Sole Manor’s 35-yard field goal attempt sailing wide left at the buzzer.
“Our effort is good. We play with a high energy level; we pursue to the football really well, which cures a lot of ills,” Warriors head coach Cory Milz said. “I thought we did play really hard at the beginning — the first quarter was really good. And then we just got sloppy again. That’s two weeks in a row now we got sloppy, and penalties, turnovers — we’re our own worst enemy.”
On the first possession of the second half, the Warriors marched down the field on 13 plays, completing two fourth down conversions in the process, but Williams was intercepted in the end zone to again keep the Warriors off the scoreboard.
After forcing a punt, the Warriors again had to shake their heads as a 65-yard screen to Rufenacht was called back because of a flag. This time, however, Black Hawk-Warren was able to regroup and ended the drive with William’s second option TD of the game.
The Chieftains wasted no time getting on the board this time around. After muffing the kickoff, Gunnar Stappert picked up the loose pigskin at his own 10 and then found the seam up the middle of the field for a 90-yard score. Two possessions later, Potosi-Cassville again hit pay-dirt after a 13-play, 49-yard drive was capped with a run by quarterback Ben Udelhofen on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 3:28 left on the clock. Black Hawk-Warren had another chance to turn the ball over on downs during the drive on a fourth-and-10 from midfield, but two penalties on one play — roughing the passer and pass interference — kept the drive alive.
Our effort is good. We play with a high energy level; we pursue to the football really well, which cures a lot of ills,.Black Hawk-Warren coach Cory Milz
On the next drive, the Warriors were able to get the two first downs needed to run out the clock and seal the victory.
“I thought our offensive line just did a nice job of allowing us to maintain possession of the football,” Cory Milz said. “It’s nice having that offensive line — they are experienced guys, they’re big guys, they’re strong guys.
“But I’ll tell you what, that Avery Baumgartner is really something — offensive lineman of the year from last year and he deserves every bit of it. If you look in that fourth quarter, it was ‘let’s not mess around and run right behind Avery.”
Williams finished the night 4 of 7 passing for 80 yards. The Warriors gained 367 yards on the ground in the contest, with Milz gaining 156 yards. Blosch (74), Williams (89) and Rufenacht (43) all averaged more than five yards per attempt. Rufenacht had 71 receiving yards on three catches. Reid Raisbeck had an interception.
“We were a little sloppy, but once we clean that up, we’re going to be really good,” Williams said. “We have to stay humble, though. Yeah, we’re feeling pretty good, but once practice comes Monday, we’re going to be focused on Waterloo.”
Up next for the Warriors is a nonconference game against Waterloo in Week 4 at Warren.
