The Owen-Withee Blackhawk Football Team travelled to Gilman Friday evening to take on the number one seeded Gilman Pirates in a WIAA Level II Play-off match-up. The Hawks had put together seven wins since the last time the two teams had met in the very first game of the season. The Hawks were a much different team than the one who took the field way back in August garnering some much needed experience and the skill development that comes with the season. This game was going to determine how much improvement they had made.
The Hawks won the toss and chose to receive, needing a patented double digit drive to control the clock and set the tempo for the game. One first down, was all the Hawks could muster as they were forced to punt from near midfield. Clay Mueller got off a nice punt and now it was up to the defense to make a stand. A 35 yard pass, a 5 yard toss and a 40 yard burst up the middle put the Pirates up 8-0 in the first. The Hawks struggled putting first downs together and were forced to punt, one of which was blocked giving Gilman some excellent field position. The Pirates cashed in on each one of their scoring opportunities jumping out to a 24-0 lead. That is when Tegan Treankler gave the Hawks a much needed spark when he picked off a Logan Halida pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown cutting the Gilman lead to 24-8.
The Hawks defense forced a quick three and out and you could feel the momentum start to swing. Disaster struck when the Pirates stripped the ball on the ensuing punt return giving them great field position. On the very next play the Pirates QB found the endzone on a nicely executed boot play and a 32-8 lead. Inconsistency, is the word that might best describe the Hawks play as they were just not able to put anything together and get on the board offensively. The Pirates put up one more score before half going into intermission holding a commanding 40-8 lead.
The old saying,“It’s not over until it’s over” and the fact that you have 24 minutes to go out and finish and be proud of the half you just played was the message at half-
time. It was not from lack of effort but rather we just didn’t make the plays when we needed to in the second half. A credit to the Pirates who put up a score in the third and one more in the fourth quarter salting the game away. The Pirates will take on North Crawford in Level III of the Play-offs on Friday night in Gilman. The Hawks season comes to an end finishing with a 7-3 record. A big thank you to Seniors Jack Wendler, Winston Poehler, and Sam Wells for their commitment to Blackhawk Football.