DARLINGTON - With a big fullback in Brady Tibbits, Mineral Point likes to play smash-mouth football.
"(Mineral Point's offense) is our offense, so our kids see it every day in practice," Darlington head coach Scott Zywicki said. "We read guards, so when the guards pull they follow them. We got out of position twice, and we paid for it."
Darlington, ranked in the top three in the state in two separate polls, not only went facemask-to-facemask with the Pointers - the Redbirds metaphorically punched them in mouth en route to a 44-7 win Friday.
"We're explosive. It's very important that we can score in all phases," Zywicki said. "We scored on two runbacks and a safety - we didn't even have to put our offense on the field. We are very dangerous and people have to be aware of that."
After stopping Mineral Point (4-2, 2-1 SWAL) on three plays to open the game, Alex Erickson grabbed a rolling punt at his own 18, cut to the right and got behind a wall, scoring from 82 yards out.
"It wasn't punted very far, so I peaked up and saw that no one was close so I scooped it and off I went," Erickson said.
The biggest momentum swing wasn't just the return, but how it happened. As Erickson crossed his own 30-yard line, teammate Brandon Heins de-cleated Tibbits on a clean block, opening a big hole for Erickson.
"Heins set the tone for everyone right there. Alex set an even bigger tone with returning that," Redbirds senior Tucker Wiegel said.
Erickson nearly returned another punt for a score minutes later, but stepped out of bounds at the Mineral Point 17-yard line. Five plays later, Wiegel crossed the goal line to make it 14-0.
"We knew what we had to do on offense to beat them," Erickson said. "We knew we had to execute. Our offensive line has been doing this every week. Our hats all have to go out to them. When they do our job, it make's our job that much easier."
Erickson connected with Brandon Hardyman on the Redbirds' next possession for 20 yards down the left sideline inside the red zone. Erickson waltzed in from a yard out to put the Pointers on their backs in the second quarter, 21-0.
Mineral Point's had a possession end with a blocked punt in the end zone late in the second, resulting in a safety.
After Wiegel returned the ensuing kickoff across midfield, junior fullback Seth Rowe, playing in his second-straight game with a broken foot, carried the ball five-straight times for 46 yards - scoring from 15-yards out.
"Defensively, we knew what we had to do and that was to stop Tibbits. That was our game plan and we executed it to perfection," Erickson said.
The Redbirds' defense held Mineral Point to 58 yards on 27 plays in the opening half, with 30 yards coming on one carry by Tibbits, who finished with 111 yards on 10 carries.
Darlington continued to attack on offense in the second half, as Erickson threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Notter, turning on a mercy-rule running clock with the score 37-0.
"Everybody has that perfect chemistry going," Erickson said. "We came out and we executed."
Tibbits scored from 74 yards out moments later to put Mineral Point on the board, but Wiegel returned the ensuing kickoff 74 yards for a score of his own.
"We were supposed to run to the left side, but I saw a huge opening to the right so I just took off and hoped for the best," said the speedy and shifty Wiegel. "God gave me the right skills to do that."
In the game, the Pointers collected just 154 yards of offense on 42 plays - with two Tibbits runs resulting in 104 yards. Darlington had just 239 yards on 34 plays, but field position and special teams scores allowed the offense to stay off the field.
Darlington (6-0, 3-0), which broke its five-year homecoming drought with the win, will look to keep up the momentum Oct. 8 at home against Boscobel (2-4, 2-2).
"(Mineral Point's offense) is our offense, so our kids see it every day in practice," Darlington head coach Scott Zywicki said. "We read guards, so when the guards pull they follow them. We got out of position twice, and we paid for it."
Darlington, ranked in the top three in the state in two separate polls, not only went facemask-to-facemask with the Pointers - the Redbirds metaphorically punched them in mouth en route to a 44-7 win Friday.
"We're explosive. It's very important that we can score in all phases," Zywicki said. "We scored on two runbacks and a safety - we didn't even have to put our offense on the field. We are very dangerous and people have to be aware of that."
After stopping Mineral Point (4-2, 2-1 SWAL) on three plays to open the game, Alex Erickson grabbed a rolling punt at his own 18, cut to the right and got behind a wall, scoring from 82 yards out.
"It wasn't punted very far, so I peaked up and saw that no one was close so I scooped it and off I went," Erickson said.
The biggest momentum swing wasn't just the return, but how it happened. As Erickson crossed his own 30-yard line, teammate Brandon Heins de-cleated Tibbits on a clean block, opening a big hole for Erickson.
"Heins set the tone for everyone right there. Alex set an even bigger tone with returning that," Redbirds senior Tucker Wiegel said.
Erickson nearly returned another punt for a score minutes later, but stepped out of bounds at the Mineral Point 17-yard line. Five plays later, Wiegel crossed the goal line to make it 14-0.
"We knew what we had to do on offense to beat them," Erickson said. "We knew we had to execute. Our offensive line has been doing this every week. Our hats all have to go out to them. When they do our job, it make's our job that much easier."
Erickson connected with Brandon Hardyman on the Redbirds' next possession for 20 yards down the left sideline inside the red zone. Erickson waltzed in from a yard out to put the Pointers on their backs in the second quarter, 21-0.
Mineral Point's had a possession end with a blocked punt in the end zone late in the second, resulting in a safety.
After Wiegel returned the ensuing kickoff across midfield, junior fullback Seth Rowe, playing in his second-straight game with a broken foot, carried the ball five-straight times for 46 yards - scoring from 15-yards out.
"Defensively, we knew what we had to do and that was to stop Tibbits. That was our game plan and we executed it to perfection," Erickson said.
The Redbirds' defense held Mineral Point to 58 yards on 27 plays in the opening half, with 30 yards coming on one carry by Tibbits, who finished with 111 yards on 10 carries.
Darlington continued to attack on offense in the second half, as Erickson threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Notter, turning on a mercy-rule running clock with the score 37-0.
"Everybody has that perfect chemistry going," Erickson said. "We came out and we executed."
Tibbits scored from 74 yards out moments later to put Mineral Point on the board, but Wiegel returned the ensuing kickoff 74 yards for a score of his own.
"We were supposed to run to the left side, but I saw a huge opening to the right so I just took off and hoped for the best," said the speedy and shifty Wiegel. "God gave me the right skills to do that."
In the game, the Pointers collected just 154 yards of offense on 42 plays - with two Tibbits runs resulting in 104 yards. Darlington had just 239 yards on 34 plays, but field position and special teams scores allowed the offense to stay off the field.
Darlington (6-0, 3-0), which broke its five-year homecoming drought with the win, will look to keep up the momentum Oct. 8 at home against Boscobel (2-4, 2-2).
