DARLINGTON - The postseason awaits, but Darlington's football team had something to savor Thursday at the end of its regular season.
A 40-0 thrashing of Riverdale gave the Redbirds a share of the SWAL conference title, something it hadn't accomplished since 2005.
"Personally, it (winning conference) was really big for me," head coach Scott Zywicki said. "The last time we won conference was my first year coaching and people start to question the program when you have a few down years. We're not used to that. So from a personal standpoint, it's gratifying, and for the kids, they've worked so hard to get us on the right path."
The Redbirds tied with Cuba City and Iowa-Grant atop the conference with 6-1 league records. By virtue of a tiebreaker, Darlington will be the conference's champion for playoff seeding purposes.
Cold, rainy weather made for a muddy field and a slippery football, playing a part in Darlington's 10 fumbles, nearly all on snaps. Fortunately for the Redbirds, only two fumbles were lost.
"The field is a quagmire out there. You can't move the football when the ball is fumbled nearly every snap," Zywicki said.
Riverdale also had trouble holding on to the ball, fumbling three times. On the opening kickoff, the Chieftains couldn't grab a hold of the pigskin and fell on the loose ball at their own 6-yard line. On the third play from scrimmage, Carl Portwine fumbled the ball into the end zone and Darlington's Jason Boll recovered for the easy score.
Darlington quarterback Alex Erickson didn't fare much better his first few times under center. The junior quarterback fumbled three of the first five snaps and the offense had back-to-back three-and-outs.
"It was cold and the mud and water mixes and makes everything feel like grease," Erickson said. "It's tough for the center and it's tough for me to grip it. We made the switch to shotgun and it was easier to snap it and easier for me to catch it."
The move to a shotgun formation on the Redbirds' fifth possession paid off. Erickson followed his fullback Seth Rowe on consecutive plays, starting from the 27 and scoring from the 8-yard line. The touchdown, which came with 4:01 left in the second quarter, was Darlington's third - Rowe scored from three yards out with 8:49 left in the second to cap a 28-yard drive.
"(Riverdale) was jamming the box. Our line did a heck of a job making holes and we got good kick-outs by the fullback and off to the races I went," Erickson said.
Riverdale's biggest problem was moving the ball. The Chieftains didn't gain a first down, had 16 yards of offense, turned the ball over on downs five times, threw two interceptions despite attempting just three passes and lost two fumbles. Punting also was an issue. In three punts, Portwine, Riverdale's punter, managed net kicks of 25, 12 and 4 yards.
Erickson's offense took advantage of the short field, scoring five times combined in the second and third quarter. Erickson's second touchdown came on a 2-yard run with 44 seconds left in the second, and his third was on a 33-yard sweep to the left with 9:34 remaining in the third. Ronnie Rush scored Darlington's final touchdown on a 12-yard run with 2:26 remaining to start the running clock.
"We had a young man playing fullback who is usually a split end and he got to score a touchdown today," Zywicki said of Rush. "He's a senior who has worked hard for four years. It's gratifying to see him score like that."
The Redbirds played nearly everyone on their roster, including Boll and sophomore Mitchell Whalen at quarterback.
"It gives all of our guys confidence. They work their butts off at practice and they deserve to be out there for a few plays," Erickson said.
Erickson had 105 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Darlington has to wait until about noon Friday to see who its first-round playoff opponent will be. The Redbirds likely will play a road game, because all first-round games are played at night and Darlington's field does not have lights. However, with a good seed, the Redbirds likely would play at home in the second round.
A 40-0 thrashing of Riverdale gave the Redbirds a share of the SWAL conference title, something it hadn't accomplished since 2005.
"Personally, it (winning conference) was really big for me," head coach Scott Zywicki said. "The last time we won conference was my first year coaching and people start to question the program when you have a few down years. We're not used to that. So from a personal standpoint, it's gratifying, and for the kids, they've worked so hard to get us on the right path."
The Redbirds tied with Cuba City and Iowa-Grant atop the conference with 6-1 league records. By virtue of a tiebreaker, Darlington will be the conference's champion for playoff seeding purposes.
Cold, rainy weather made for a muddy field and a slippery football, playing a part in Darlington's 10 fumbles, nearly all on snaps. Fortunately for the Redbirds, only two fumbles were lost.
"The field is a quagmire out there. You can't move the football when the ball is fumbled nearly every snap," Zywicki said.
Riverdale also had trouble holding on to the ball, fumbling three times. On the opening kickoff, the Chieftains couldn't grab a hold of the pigskin and fell on the loose ball at their own 6-yard line. On the third play from scrimmage, Carl Portwine fumbled the ball into the end zone and Darlington's Jason Boll recovered for the easy score.
Darlington quarterback Alex Erickson didn't fare much better his first few times under center. The junior quarterback fumbled three of the first five snaps and the offense had back-to-back three-and-outs.
"It was cold and the mud and water mixes and makes everything feel like grease," Erickson said. "It's tough for the center and it's tough for me to grip it. We made the switch to shotgun and it was easier to snap it and easier for me to catch it."
The move to a shotgun formation on the Redbirds' fifth possession paid off. Erickson followed his fullback Seth Rowe on consecutive plays, starting from the 27 and scoring from the 8-yard line. The touchdown, which came with 4:01 left in the second quarter, was Darlington's third - Rowe scored from three yards out with 8:49 left in the second to cap a 28-yard drive.
"(Riverdale) was jamming the box. Our line did a heck of a job making holes and we got good kick-outs by the fullback and off to the races I went," Erickson said.
Riverdale's biggest problem was moving the ball. The Chieftains didn't gain a first down, had 16 yards of offense, turned the ball over on downs five times, threw two interceptions despite attempting just three passes and lost two fumbles. Punting also was an issue. In three punts, Portwine, Riverdale's punter, managed net kicks of 25, 12 and 4 yards.
Erickson's offense took advantage of the short field, scoring five times combined in the second and third quarter. Erickson's second touchdown came on a 2-yard run with 44 seconds left in the second, and his third was on a 33-yard sweep to the left with 9:34 remaining in the third. Ronnie Rush scored Darlington's final touchdown on a 12-yard run with 2:26 remaining to start the running clock.
"We had a young man playing fullback who is usually a split end and he got to score a touchdown today," Zywicki said of Rush. "He's a senior who has worked hard for four years. It's gratifying to see him score like that."
The Redbirds played nearly everyone on their roster, including Boll and sophomore Mitchell Whalen at quarterback.
"It gives all of our guys confidence. They work their butts off at practice and they deserve to be out there for a few plays," Erickson said.
Erickson had 105 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Darlington has to wait until about noon Friday to see who its first-round playoff opponent will be. The Redbirds likely will play a road game, because all first-round games are played at night and Darlington's field does not have lights. However, with a good seed, the Redbirds likely would play at home in the second round.
