SOUTH WAYNE — Black Hawk/Warren proved it belonged in the conference race following a 64-21 win over Riverdale on Oct. 3.
What’s more impressive is that the matchup nearly exited the first quarter without a score by the Warriors (5-2, 4-1 Six Rivers) or Chieftains (4-3, 3-2). Both squads weren’t able to get much going early. It wasn’t until senior BHW running back, Beau Janecke, crossed the goal line from a yard out with 3:21 on the clock that the scoreless stalemate broke. Janecke went on to score twice more across 11 carries totalling 80 yards in the afternoon showdown.
The 6-0 lead stuck through the end of the quarter, and thanks to a Ryan Curran interception on the Warriors’ 19 on the opening play of the second, BHW didn’t need long to get on the board again. It needed exactly one offensive snap to work the magic as senior quarterback Beau Podnar broke several tackles on a run up the middle for an 81-yard touchdown at the 11:34-mark of the second.
The Warriors failed to convert the ensuing consecutive 2-point attempt, but their second score provided just enough buffer to ensure a deficit wasn’t in the cards.
Riverdale’s next offensive drive finally ended its goose egg performance. The Chieftains nearly turned the ball over on downs, but their athletic quarterback, Bevyn Dennis, used his legs to stay upright long enough to get a 63-yard passing score.
BHW remained effective offensively to the break as it outpaced Riverdale 2-1 in scoring. Janecke had the first touchdown on a 1-yard rush with 4:20 on the clock, followed by a Podnar-to-Trent Bidlingmaier 30-yard passing score with three minutes to the break. Both of the Warriors’ 2-point attempts were successful. Meanwhile, the Chieftains’ effort came via Dennis through the air with under a minute before the end of the half.
“I said all week that Bevyn [Dennis] is hands down the best pure athlete in the conference,” BHW head coach Desmond Breadon said. “Hes a dude. At no point before or during the game did I feel comfortable, regardless of the score, when he was in at quarterback. He was exactly what we knew he was going to be. He’s a weapon in a number of ways.”
Thankfully, by the time another Dennis-led touchdown found its way to the scoreboard with a little over two minutes left in the third, the Warriors had already put the game on ice. Dax Paquin and Janecke broke off big scoring runs of 67-and-31 yards respectively to open the second half.
Just to make the win extra certain, three more touchdowns in the final frame sent away the game, including a 42-yard pick-6 from Bowen Wilson with just under two minutes left on the clock.
“I think we had really good moments on defense, and some moments we were not playing at our best, and with our best discipline,” Breadon said. “I was really proud of how the backups performed when they came in and played. To keep Riverdale off the board and continue to score as a second unit is exactly what you want to see as a coach. Those guys work their tails off, and to see them get in the game and have success is awesome.”
When the carnage was finally complete, Podnar completed 3-of-5 passes for 72 yards and one score, with receptions split between Paquin (38 yds), Bidlingmaier (30 yds, 1 TD), and Brody Argall (4 yds). The ground game saw similar names. In addition to Janecke’s leading effort in scores, Paquin (13 car, 193 yds, 2 TD) and Podnar (4 car, 100 yds, 1 TD) both eclipsed the century mark in yards. Everyone who got tallied a carry also yielded positive yards as the BHW rushed a total of 35 times for just shy of 450 yards and seven scores.
“Our running backs, Dax [Paquin] and Beau [Janecke] had standout performances, as well as our offensive line,” Breadon said. “I felt overall we played well on the offensive line, and our running backs ran well. It was nice to get another big passing touchdown to our tight end, which is starting to be a big weapon for us.”
A conference title wasn’t decided, yet, but the picture becomes a bit more clear with two weeks to the end of the season. The Warriors knocked off one of the other four, 1-loss teams in conference play in the Chieftains, and BHW had an opportunity to knock off two more over the final two weeks of the regular season.
First up is a trip to Potosi/Cassville (5-2, 4-1) on the Chieftains’ homecoming night on Oct. 9, followed by #6-River Ridge (6-1, 4-1) a week later.
“I was happy with the win, but not satisfied with the performance,” Breadon said. “We’re still improving, but still have work to do. Overall,we’re celebrating the win as a team. It comes from the smallest guy on the scout team, to the guy that scores to get a win against good teams like Riverdale.”
