The Owen-Withee Blackhawks finished out their regular season/conference schedule with a good old-fashioned butt kicking of the Athen’s Bluejays. In a game that featured two 5-2 teams that were fighting to climb the play-off matrix and guarantee the winner of at least a number three seed and a homefield play-off game, it was all Blackhawks in a big 36-6 win.
The Hawks featured a bend but don’t break defense that created four turnovers in the game – one of those being a 76-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Clay Mueller. But it was the guys in the trenches that really made the difference. With Jordon Wullff anchoring the middle, defensive ends Colin Dallman, Aron Sanchez and freshman Nash Gruetzmacher gobbled up blockers and made it easy for linebackers Talon Mueller and Troy Sherwood to run downhill and make plays. The secondary of Mueller, Tegan Treankler, and Isaiah Pyrchalla held the Bluejays to 94 passing yards with two interceptions.
The real story of the night had to be the offensive line and the job they did opening up some huge holes for the Mueller duo of Talon and Clay. The point of attack was clean and the guards pulling up the hole or around the edge always had a hand on somebody. Clay had 204 yards rushing on 19 carries and three touchdowns and Talon added 152 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. Isaiah also added a score on a one yard sneak. If there was a negative to the offensive side of the ball it was the number of penalties the offense committed – 14 to be exact but the sign of a good team is having the ability to overcome them and for the most part we were able to do that.
This past Saturday morning, the WIAA hosted the tournament bracket reveal show where the number three seeded Blackhawks found out they will host the number six seeded Port Edwards Blackhawks on this coming Saturday at 1:00. Come out and be a part of the play-off excitement as the Blackhawks host this Level I play-off game!