HAZEL GREEN - The Darlington Redbirds rode a big second quarter to a 42-22 road victory over Southwestern Friday night.
The Redbirds blanked the Wildcats in the first quarter and claimed a 6-0 lead after a five-yard touchdown run by junior Tanner Wiegel.
The scoreboard really lit up in the second quarter.
Darlington sophomore Myles Leahy punched in a 2-yard touchdown run early in the frame, and fellow sophomore Jason Singer converted the 2-point conversion to give Darlington a 14-0 lead.
A minute and half later, Southwestern got on the board with a big 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aaron Kaiser to Alex Schimieder.
On the ensuing kickoff, however, Darlington junior Kyle Johnson answered back by taking the ball 73 yards for the score, and Hayden Black converted the PAT to put Darlington up 21-6.
A little over a minute later, Southwestern responded with another big pass play, as Kaiser connected with Evan Kuhl for a 70-yard touchdown.
Leahy capped the second quarter scoring, punching in a touchdown from one yard out, sending the Redbirds into the locker room up 29-14.
Both teams put up a touchdown in the third quarter. Kaiser ran in a score from 28 yards out, and the Redbirds answered back with a 24-yard touchdown run by Wiegel. The Redbirds defense shutout the Wildcats in the fourth quarter, and sophomore quarterback Cole McDonald extended Darlington's lead with a 52-yard touchdown pass to junior Aric Geissbuhler.
For the game, McDonald completed 7 of 16 passes for 134 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. As a team, Darlington amassed 244 rushing yards on 49 carries (a 4.9-yard average). Individually, Leahy carried the ball 19 times for 94 yards and McDonald rushed 17 times for 81 yards.
The Redbirds finish the regular season at Fennimore next Friday at 7 p.m.
Evans.-Albany 61, Beloit-Turner 12
EVANSVILLE - Michael Johnson had a game that most high school running backs dream about.
Johnson, a senior, for Evansville-Albany, rushed for 372 yards on 33 carries and scored seven touchdowns to lead the Blue Devils to a convincing victory.
Evansville-Albany (5-2, 4-2 Rock Valley North) rushed for 391 total yards. The Blue Devils limited the Trojans to just 102 total yards and 90 on the ground.
Black Hawk 48, North Crawford 24
SOLDIERS GROVE - The Black Hawk offense continues to click on all cylinders.
Four different Black Hawk running backs scored touchdowns led by senior Logan Stietz and junior Jayden Rufenacht who had two touchdowns each.
Stietz had a 2-yard TD run and Rufenacht added a 312-yard TD run in the first quarter. Black Hawk (5-2, 4-2 Six Rivers) racked up more than 300 yards in the first half. Senior Merik Meythaler tossed a 32-yard TD pass to Kyle Walters, and junior Tanner Sweeney had a 83-yard TD run to give the Warriors a 28-0 halftime lead.
"In the first half, we played really well," Black Hawk coach Cory Milz said. "North Crawford is a playoff team. Our running backs had some explosive runs. We ran the ball well."
Black Hawk's Shawn Woodruff had a 28-yard TD run and Rufenacht scored on a 72-yard run in the third quarter. Stietz capped the scoring with a 2-yard run. Meythaler also had a two-point conversion pass to Walters and Rufenacht ran in a two-point conversion.
The Redbirds blanked the Wildcats in the first quarter and claimed a 6-0 lead after a five-yard touchdown run by junior Tanner Wiegel.
The scoreboard really lit up in the second quarter.
Darlington sophomore Myles Leahy punched in a 2-yard touchdown run early in the frame, and fellow sophomore Jason Singer converted the 2-point conversion to give Darlington a 14-0 lead.
A minute and half later, Southwestern got on the board with a big 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aaron Kaiser to Alex Schimieder.
On the ensuing kickoff, however, Darlington junior Kyle Johnson answered back by taking the ball 73 yards for the score, and Hayden Black converted the PAT to put Darlington up 21-6.
A little over a minute later, Southwestern responded with another big pass play, as Kaiser connected with Evan Kuhl for a 70-yard touchdown.
Leahy capped the second quarter scoring, punching in a touchdown from one yard out, sending the Redbirds into the locker room up 29-14.
Both teams put up a touchdown in the third quarter. Kaiser ran in a score from 28 yards out, and the Redbirds answered back with a 24-yard touchdown run by Wiegel. The Redbirds defense shutout the Wildcats in the fourth quarter, and sophomore quarterback Cole McDonald extended Darlington's lead with a 52-yard touchdown pass to junior Aric Geissbuhler.
For the game, McDonald completed 7 of 16 passes for 134 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. As a team, Darlington amassed 244 rushing yards on 49 carries (a 4.9-yard average). Individually, Leahy carried the ball 19 times for 94 yards and McDonald rushed 17 times for 81 yards.
The Redbirds finish the regular season at Fennimore next Friday at 7 p.m.
Evans.-Albany 61, Beloit-Turner 12
EVANSVILLE - Michael Johnson had a game that most high school running backs dream about.
Johnson, a senior, for Evansville-Albany, rushed for 372 yards on 33 carries and scored seven touchdowns to lead the Blue Devils to a convincing victory.
Evansville-Albany (5-2, 4-2 Rock Valley North) rushed for 391 total yards. The Blue Devils limited the Trojans to just 102 total yards and 90 on the ground.
Black Hawk 48, North Crawford 24
SOLDIERS GROVE - The Black Hawk offense continues to click on all cylinders.
Four different Black Hawk running backs scored touchdowns led by senior Logan Stietz and junior Jayden Rufenacht who had two touchdowns each.
Stietz had a 2-yard TD run and Rufenacht added a 312-yard TD run in the first quarter. Black Hawk (5-2, 4-2 Six Rivers) racked up more than 300 yards in the first half. Senior Merik Meythaler tossed a 32-yard TD pass to Kyle Walters, and junior Tanner Sweeney had a 83-yard TD run to give the Warriors a 28-0 halftime lead.
"In the first half, we played really well," Black Hawk coach Cory Milz said. "North Crawford is a playoff team. Our running backs had some explosive runs. We ran the ball well."
Black Hawk's Shawn Woodruff had a 28-yard TD run and Rufenacht scored on a 72-yard run in the third quarter. Stietz capped the scoring with a 2-yard run. Meythaler also had a two-point conversion pass to Walters and Rufenacht ran in a two-point conversion.
