DARLINGTON - One play. Usually not enough to win a football game, but enough to turn the tide.
With 1:08 left in the second quarter Friday, Platteville quarterback Kyle Fatzinger released a perfect fade pass to Ross Martin in the corner of the end zone to put the Hillmen on the board for the first time and steal all the momentum away from Darlington.
Platteville answered Darlington's 14 first-half points with 24 unanswered for a 24-14 victory; the rally started with the fade pass.
"I thought we had them down. They were questioning whether they had a chance to win," Darlington head coach Scott Zywicki said. "One score, and they realized, 'hey, we're one play away.' We let them back into the ballgame."
Darlington was dominant in the first half, using 18 plays to score on its first possession. Quarterback Alex Erickson connected with Trynton Schwartz on a 3-yard touchdown pass.
The Redbirds turned a botched extra point attempt into a two-point conversion. Nik Geissbuhler dove over two defenders to reach the end zone.
Darlington had controlled the ball. The plan was working.
On their third possession of the first half, the Redbirds struck again, with Jeff Reichling plunging in from 1 yard out to make it 14-0.
"We felt very confident at that point," Reichling said. "We were dominating, and we were being real physical."
That confidence wavered a little with Platteville's late second-quarter score.
"That touchdown was huge for our confidence," Platteville coach Scott Statz said. "It was big on a number of fronts for us."
Statz said the Hillmen made many defensive adjustments at halftime, including deciding to pass the ball more.
It paid off. The Hillmen blocked a Darlington punt on the Redbirds' first possession of the third quarter. On the first play from scrimmage, Fatzinger threw another fade for a touchdown to Lucas Ware from 16 yards out.
It took 1:41 for Platteville to swing the momentum fully on their side, and that's where it stayed.
"They came out in the second half and took it to us," Erickson said. "We had no answer."
Schwartz returned the ensuing kickoff to the Platteville 39, but the play got called back for clipping. Four plays later, the Hillmen had the ball off a punt. They ended the drive by kicking a 19-yard field goal to take the lead for good with 5:43 left in the third quarter.
The Hillmen ended the scoring streak with a 22-yard pass from Fatzinger to Martin with 4:20 left in the game.
"They killed us down the stretch," Erickson said. "We ran out of gas."
With 1:08 left in the second quarter Friday, Platteville quarterback Kyle Fatzinger released a perfect fade pass to Ross Martin in the corner of the end zone to put the Hillmen on the board for the first time and steal all the momentum away from Darlington.
Platteville answered Darlington's 14 first-half points with 24 unanswered for a 24-14 victory; the rally started with the fade pass.
"I thought we had them down. They were questioning whether they had a chance to win," Darlington head coach Scott Zywicki said. "One score, and they realized, 'hey, we're one play away.' We let them back into the ballgame."
Darlington was dominant in the first half, using 18 plays to score on its first possession. Quarterback Alex Erickson connected with Trynton Schwartz on a 3-yard touchdown pass.
The Redbirds turned a botched extra point attempt into a two-point conversion. Nik Geissbuhler dove over two defenders to reach the end zone.
Darlington had controlled the ball. The plan was working.
On their third possession of the first half, the Redbirds struck again, with Jeff Reichling plunging in from 1 yard out to make it 14-0.
"We felt very confident at that point," Reichling said. "We were dominating, and we were being real physical."
That confidence wavered a little with Platteville's late second-quarter score.
"That touchdown was huge for our confidence," Platteville coach Scott Statz said. "It was big on a number of fronts for us."
Statz said the Hillmen made many defensive adjustments at halftime, including deciding to pass the ball more.
It paid off. The Hillmen blocked a Darlington punt on the Redbirds' first possession of the third quarter. On the first play from scrimmage, Fatzinger threw another fade for a touchdown to Lucas Ware from 16 yards out.
It took 1:41 for Platteville to swing the momentum fully on their side, and that's where it stayed.
"They came out in the second half and took it to us," Erickson said. "We had no answer."
Schwartz returned the ensuing kickoff to the Platteville 39, but the play got called back for clipping. Four plays later, the Hillmen had the ball off a punt. They ended the drive by kicking a 19-yard field goal to take the lead for good with 5:43 left in the third quarter.
The Hillmen ended the scoring streak with a 22-yard pass from Fatzinger to Martin with 4:20 left in the game.
"They killed us down the stretch," Erickson said. "We ran out of gas."
