NEW GLARUS - Darlington senior running back Jason Singer has elite speed and seems like a big-play waiting to happen every time he touches the ball. Yet, his coach challenged him to set up his blocks and look for cutback lanes more.
Singer got the message and took advantage of some cutback lanes to rush for 213 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns to power the Redbirds to a 51-24 shootout win over New Glarus-Monticello Friday. He also had three receptions for 94 yards including a 71-yard TD catch and returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown to thwart the Glarner Knights' fourth quarter rally.
"Much of the credit goes to the offensive line," Singer said. "They covered people up and I just had to run and out-run a few people. We just have to use this as momentum going into conference play at Iowa-Grant."
Darlington coach Scott Zywicki was proud of Singer's performance after big plays were hard to come by in a season-opening loss to Platteville.
"He (Singer) showed a little bit of football smarts tonight," Zywicki said. "We have had him working on setting up his blocks better and cutting back instead of running straight with his speed. He did much better with that tonight."
Darlington (1-1) scored 33 points off of seven New Glarus-Monticello turnovers. Despite the seven turnovers, the Knights (0-2) stormed back from a 26-point deficit. New Glarus-Monticello junior quarterback Gavin Binger engineered a fourth quarter rally hooking up with junior Trey Taylor on a 35-yard TD pass on fourth-and-11 and connecting with senior Tanner Hofer on a 42-yard TD pass that cut the Redbirds' lead to 38-24 with about 4 minutes, 30 seconds to go.
"They never stopped fighting," Singer said of the Knights. "We just have to step up our pass defense."
It was a battle of the Redbirds' running game that grinded out 324 total rushing yards against the Knights' passing game. The Knights had five passing plays of 32 yards or more. The Redbirds had seven runs of 15 yards or more in a back-and-forth big-play game.
Binger completed 10 of 16 passes for 267 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Hofer had five receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
"You can't have seven turnovers and missed plays against a good team like Darlington," New Glarus-Monticello coach Desie Breadon said. "They are too good of a team and if you turn the ball over you have to expect they will make you pay for it."
Early on, the Knights looked ready for the non-conference game. On the second play from scrimmage, Binger connected with Hofer on a 51-yard TD pass to give the Knights a 6-0 lead.
The Redbirds answered with a seven-play, 63-yard drive culminating in Slade Norton's 1-yard TD run. After the Redbirds recovered the Knights' second fumble of the second quarter, they cashed in. The Redbirds capped a 10-play, 43-yard drive, with Singer's 1-yard TD plunge to give the Redbirds a 12-6 lead. A fourth fumble by the Knights late in the second quarter led to Darlington senior quarterback Cole McDonald's scramble for a 6-yard TD run to give the Redbirds a 26-6 lead at the half.
Darlington's Hunter Johnson rammed in for a 1-yard TD run to give the Redbirds a 32-6 lead in the third quarter. The Knights answered with senior Dristen Kriebs scoring on a 1-yard run in addition to two touchdown passes from Binger.
The Redbirds answered with Singer's 74-yard TD run and his interception return for a touchdown.
"The biggest thing we have to learn is finish," Breadon said. "You can't have the missed tackles and the mistakes. We had a few times where we hit them in the backfield and we couldn't get them to the ground. We have to stop the explosive plays."
Zywicki had several sophomores in on the Redbirds' defense late in the fourth quarter as he looked to give his two-way starters a break including senior inside linebacker Brett Erickson. The Redbirds limited the Knights to 101 rushing yards.
"They are resilient," Zywicki said of his team after the game. "I thought we were sound against the run. We had a lot of adversity tonight. We had sophomores at defensive end and at inside linebacker with Brett out. We can't get beat deep. We obviously have a lot of corrections and technique work we need to work on."
Singer got the message and took advantage of some cutback lanes to rush for 213 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns to power the Redbirds to a 51-24 shootout win over New Glarus-Monticello Friday. He also had three receptions for 94 yards including a 71-yard TD catch and returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown to thwart the Glarner Knights' fourth quarter rally.
"Much of the credit goes to the offensive line," Singer said. "They covered people up and I just had to run and out-run a few people. We just have to use this as momentum going into conference play at Iowa-Grant."
Darlington coach Scott Zywicki was proud of Singer's performance after big plays were hard to come by in a season-opening loss to Platteville.
"He (Singer) showed a little bit of football smarts tonight," Zywicki said. "We have had him working on setting up his blocks better and cutting back instead of running straight with his speed. He did much better with that tonight."
Darlington (1-1) scored 33 points off of seven New Glarus-Monticello turnovers. Despite the seven turnovers, the Knights (0-2) stormed back from a 26-point deficit. New Glarus-Monticello junior quarterback Gavin Binger engineered a fourth quarter rally hooking up with junior Trey Taylor on a 35-yard TD pass on fourth-and-11 and connecting with senior Tanner Hofer on a 42-yard TD pass that cut the Redbirds' lead to 38-24 with about 4 minutes, 30 seconds to go.
"They never stopped fighting," Singer said of the Knights. "We just have to step up our pass defense."
It was a battle of the Redbirds' running game that grinded out 324 total rushing yards against the Knights' passing game. The Knights had five passing plays of 32 yards or more. The Redbirds had seven runs of 15 yards or more in a back-and-forth big-play game.
Binger completed 10 of 16 passes for 267 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Hofer had five receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
"You can't have seven turnovers and missed plays against a good team like Darlington," New Glarus-Monticello coach Desie Breadon said. "They are too good of a team and if you turn the ball over you have to expect they will make you pay for it."
Early on, the Knights looked ready for the non-conference game. On the second play from scrimmage, Binger connected with Hofer on a 51-yard TD pass to give the Knights a 6-0 lead.
The Redbirds answered with a seven-play, 63-yard drive culminating in Slade Norton's 1-yard TD run. After the Redbirds recovered the Knights' second fumble of the second quarter, they cashed in. The Redbirds capped a 10-play, 43-yard drive, with Singer's 1-yard TD plunge to give the Redbirds a 12-6 lead. A fourth fumble by the Knights late in the second quarter led to Darlington senior quarterback Cole McDonald's scramble for a 6-yard TD run to give the Redbirds a 26-6 lead at the half.
Darlington's Hunter Johnson rammed in for a 1-yard TD run to give the Redbirds a 32-6 lead in the third quarter. The Knights answered with senior Dristen Kriebs scoring on a 1-yard run in addition to two touchdown passes from Binger.
The Redbirds answered with Singer's 74-yard TD run and his interception return for a touchdown.
"The biggest thing we have to learn is finish," Breadon said. "You can't have the missed tackles and the mistakes. We had a few times where we hit them in the backfield and we couldn't get them to the ground. We have to stop the explosive plays."
Zywicki had several sophomores in on the Redbirds' defense late in the fourth quarter as he looked to give his two-way starters a break including senior inside linebacker Brett Erickson. The Redbirds limited the Knights to 101 rushing yards.
"They are resilient," Zywicki said of his team after the game. "I thought we were sound against the run. We had a lot of adversity tonight. We had sophomores at defensive end and at inside linebacker with Brett out. We can't get beat deep. We obviously have a lot of corrections and technique work we need to work on."
