Vince Lombardi said, “The will to prepare to win is far more important than the will to win!” That preparation was very evident Friday night, as the Owen-Withee Blackhawks executed their game plan to a “T” and came away with a huge 58-27 win over the number one ranked team in 8-man football, the McDonnell Macks.

The Hawks wasted little time putting points on the board when they took the opening kick-off and marched 55 yards to paydirt. Brandon Geldernick ripped off a couple of big runs to the perimeter with Sully Poehler, Owen-Withee’s bruising fullback, taking it in from 7 yards out. The PAT failed. The Hawks defense forced a punt and gave the Hawks offense another opportunity in the first quarter to put some points on the board. The offensive line of Tim Stock, Sam Rasmussen, Jack Wendler, Colin Fritz and Winston Poehler took control of the line of scrimmage and opened up some huge holes for Geldernick and Mason Gay to run through, with Gay finding the endzone from 24 yards out making the score 12-0 Hawks.

The Macks answered with a score of their own at the end of the first quarter when they popped a 22 yard run on a 4th down play making the score 12-7 Hawks. The second quarter belonged to the Hawks as they rolled up 46 rushing yards and three touchdowns – two by Gay and one by Geldernick, making the score 34-7 with not much time left in the half. However, a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage found its way into the arms of a McDonnell receiver and 76 yards later it was 34-13.

The third quarter found teams trading scores with the Hawks getting a score from Poehler on a six yard run and McDonnell taking advantage of a long pass down to the one where the QB punched it in from there – score at the end of three was Owen-Withee 42-McDonnell 19.

The Hawks put the game away in the fourth quarter, managing the clock and moving the chains. The Macks defense just had no answer for the Hawks ground and pound run game of Gay and Pohler and a big first down play action pass to Winston Poehler from Quarterback Dominic Sherwood to help keep a drive alive and capping off the scoring with a 16 point output in the final quarter making the final 58-27.

The Hawks will travel to Thorp next Friday night for the big rivalry game as both teams are sporting a perfect 3-0 record. Be a part of High School athletics and come out and support the Hawks in the annual “CAN” game! 7:00 p.m. kick-off!