DARLINGTON - Junior running back Hunter Johnson may want to take the Darlington offensive line out for a streak dinner.
Johnson rushed for 199 yards on 19 carries and scored four touchdowns to power the Redbirds to a
55-28 win over Mineral Point in a WIAA second-round football playoff game Friday night at Martens Field.
Darlington (11-0), ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press small school division state poll, racked up 448 total rushing yards to roll past the Pointers for the second time this year.
Johnson is closing in on 2,000 rushing yards this season. So far, he has 1,983 yards and 34 touchdowns.
"We knew we had to come in and pound the ball," Johnson said. "We knew we might not have as many long runs, but we had to keep pounding the ball. We are very lucky to have the line we do in front of us. Trevor (Johnson) and I get the publicity we do running the ball because of them."
The Redbirds are 9-0 against Mineral Point the past seven years.
Darlington advances and will host seventh-seeded Cambridge (7-4), which upset third-seeded Lake Country Lutheran 16-13 in overtime Friday, in the state quarterfinals next week. Darlington, the Division 6 state runner-up the past two years, is two wins away from a return trip to Camp Randall Stadium.
"I'm just really privileged to play for a great program," Johnson said. "We have great coaches that prepare us to get back to state."
The Pointers (8-3) had no answer for a Redbirds' rushing attack that rolled up 172 rushing yards in the first quarter and 275 in the first half. The Redbirds' defense forced three turnovers that led to 19 points. Darlington junior Brayden McDonald had two interceptions and junior Trevor Johnson had one interception.
"It was a great feeling," McDonald said of his two interceptions and the team victory. "It's awesome."
McDonald picked off Mineral Point senior quarterback Scott Pittz's first pass in the first quarter to set the tone. The Redbirds cashed in on the golden field position with a five-play, 55-yard drive, culminating in Hunter Johnson's 38-yard TD run. The Redbirds missed the extra point but led 6-0 with 10 minutes, 4 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Pointers answered, and the game had the makings of a shootout after Pittz hooked up with senior Steven Blume on a 11-yard TD pass to give the Pointers a short-lived 7-6 lead. The scoring drive was set up by junior Lucas Sanchez's 72-yard run.
Pittz completed 16 of 24 passes for 224 yards with four TDs and three interceptions. Two of Pittz's touchdown tosses came late in the fourth quarter after the Redbirds had built a 41-point lead, which led to a running clock.
Blume had eight receptions for 136 yards and three TDs, which included a 65-yard TD late in the fourth quarter.
Despite seeing his Darlington team create three turnovers, coach Scott Zywicki wasn't satisfied with the defense giving up two big plays of more than 50 yards, some breakdowns in pass coverages and two missed extra points on special teams.
"We gave up some explosive plays," Zywicki said. "We had a very uneven performance on defense. We had some stretches where we were very good, and we had some big plays where we were out of position or were in position but didn't make a big play. We have to eliminate the big plays."
The Redbirds regained the lead with a five-play, 88-yard drive, punctuated by junior quarterback Jared Meister's 50-yard TD run on a bootleg where he broke several tackles. Hunter Johnson ran in the two-point conversion to give the Redbirds a 14-7 lead with 6:30 to go in the first quarter. Hunter Johnson capped a 10-play, 67-yard drive, scoring on a 2-yard TD plunge on the first play of the second quarter to boost the lead to 21-7.
The Redbirds then marched 80 yards in seven plays, culminating in Hunter Johnson ramming in for a 5-yard TD run to give the Redbirds a 28-7 lead with 6:30 left in the second quarter.
The Pointers responded with a short strike passing attack and Pittz running several draw plays. Pittz connected with Blume on an 11-yard TD pass to cut the Redbirds' lead to 28-14 with 1:34 to go in the second. Meister then directed a hurry-up offense and Trevor Johnson ran for an 18-yard TD run to give the Redbirds a 35-14 lead at the half.
"Those two touchdowns late in the second quarter were back-breakers," Zywicki said.
Darlington senior Conrad Blosch rushed for 119 yards on 13 carries and scored two touchdowns in the second half. With Blosch running inside and Hunter Johnson and Trevor Johnson gashing the Pointers on the perimeter, Mineral Point struggled to stop the run.
Meister was 3 of 6 passing for 65 yards.
Blosch had a 4-yard TD run to cap a 58-yard drive early in the third quarter to increase the lead to 42-14. McDonald's second interception led to Hunter Johnson's 40-yard TD run.
Trevor Johnson's interception late in the third quarter set up Blosch's 2-yard TD run.
"We have so many weapons we had the defense guessing," Zywicki said.
Johnson rushed for 199 yards on 19 carries and scored four touchdowns to power the Redbirds to a
55-28 win over Mineral Point in a WIAA second-round football playoff game Friday night at Martens Field.
Darlington (11-0), ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press small school division state poll, racked up 448 total rushing yards to roll past the Pointers for the second time this year.
Johnson is closing in on 2,000 rushing yards this season. So far, he has 1,983 yards and 34 touchdowns.
"We knew we had to come in and pound the ball," Johnson said. "We knew we might not have as many long runs, but we had to keep pounding the ball. We are very lucky to have the line we do in front of us. Trevor (Johnson) and I get the publicity we do running the ball because of them."
The Redbirds are 9-0 against Mineral Point the past seven years.
Darlington advances and will host seventh-seeded Cambridge (7-4), which upset third-seeded Lake Country Lutheran 16-13 in overtime Friday, in the state quarterfinals next week. Darlington, the Division 6 state runner-up the past two years, is two wins away from a return trip to Camp Randall Stadium.
"I'm just really privileged to play for a great program," Johnson said. "We have great coaches that prepare us to get back to state."
The Pointers (8-3) had no answer for a Redbirds' rushing attack that rolled up 172 rushing yards in the first quarter and 275 in the first half. The Redbirds' defense forced three turnovers that led to 19 points. Darlington junior Brayden McDonald had two interceptions and junior Trevor Johnson had one interception.
"It was a great feeling," McDonald said of his two interceptions and the team victory. "It's awesome."
McDonald picked off Mineral Point senior quarterback Scott Pittz's first pass in the first quarter to set the tone. The Redbirds cashed in on the golden field position with a five-play, 55-yard drive, culminating in Hunter Johnson's 38-yard TD run. The Redbirds missed the extra point but led 6-0 with 10 minutes, 4 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Pointers answered, and the game had the makings of a shootout after Pittz hooked up with senior Steven Blume on a 11-yard TD pass to give the Pointers a short-lived 7-6 lead. The scoring drive was set up by junior Lucas Sanchez's 72-yard run.
Pittz completed 16 of 24 passes for 224 yards with four TDs and three interceptions. Two of Pittz's touchdown tosses came late in the fourth quarter after the Redbirds had built a 41-point lead, which led to a running clock.
Blume had eight receptions for 136 yards and three TDs, which included a 65-yard TD late in the fourth quarter.
Despite seeing his Darlington team create three turnovers, coach Scott Zywicki wasn't satisfied with the defense giving up two big plays of more than 50 yards, some breakdowns in pass coverages and two missed extra points on special teams.
"We gave up some explosive plays," Zywicki said. "We had a very uneven performance on defense. We had some stretches where we were very good, and we had some big plays where we were out of position or were in position but didn't make a big play. We have to eliminate the big plays."
The Redbirds regained the lead with a five-play, 88-yard drive, punctuated by junior quarterback Jared Meister's 50-yard TD run on a bootleg where he broke several tackles. Hunter Johnson ran in the two-point conversion to give the Redbirds a 14-7 lead with 6:30 to go in the first quarter. Hunter Johnson capped a 10-play, 67-yard drive, scoring on a 2-yard TD plunge on the first play of the second quarter to boost the lead to 21-7.
The Redbirds then marched 80 yards in seven plays, culminating in Hunter Johnson ramming in for a 5-yard TD run to give the Redbirds a 28-7 lead with 6:30 left in the second quarter.
The Pointers responded with a short strike passing attack and Pittz running several draw plays. Pittz connected with Blume on an 11-yard TD pass to cut the Redbirds' lead to 28-14 with 1:34 to go in the second. Meister then directed a hurry-up offense and Trevor Johnson ran for an 18-yard TD run to give the Redbirds a 35-14 lead at the half.
"Those two touchdowns late in the second quarter were back-breakers," Zywicki said.
Darlington senior Conrad Blosch rushed for 119 yards on 13 carries and scored two touchdowns in the second half. With Blosch running inside and Hunter Johnson and Trevor Johnson gashing the Pointers on the perimeter, Mineral Point struggled to stop the run.
Meister was 3 of 6 passing for 65 yards.
Blosch had a 4-yard TD run to cap a 58-yard drive early in the third quarter to increase the lead to 42-14. McDonald's second interception led to Hunter Johnson's 40-yard TD run.
Trevor Johnson's interception late in the third quarter set up Blosch's 2-yard TD run.
"We have so many weapons we had the defense guessing," Zywicki said.
