MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM CO-GAME OF THE WEEK (Oct. 5–12)
PREP FOOTBALL: #3 Darlington 34, #4 Belleville 24
By Natalie Dillon, The Monroe Times
#3 Darlington topples #4 Belleville to clinch share of SWAL
DARLINGTON — Division 6 #3-ranked Darlington exploded for 34 first-half points en route to a 34–24 SWAL win against D6 #4 Belleville on Senior Night at Martens Field on Friday, Oct. 7. The victory secured at least a share of the SWAL conference title for the Redbirds.
“It was awesome,” Darlington head coach Travis Winkers said of the early lead. “Credit to Belleville for coming back, but you don’t apologize for winning. Mike [Nolden] is doing a great job with that program, so it’s a good win.”
Midway through the first quarter, senior quarterback Cadyn Burbach put the Redbirds (7–1 overall, 4–0 SWAL) on the board with a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Breylin Goebel converted on the ground for two to make it 8–0.
A 4-yard TD run by sophomore Ross Crist and another two-point conversion by B. Goebel put the ‘Birds up 16–0 at the end of the first quarter, and then TD runs by sophomore Maddox Goebel (8 yards) and Burbach (13) extended the lead to 31–0 with 3:50 remaining in the half.
With time running out in the first half, Belleville marched down the field with via the pass. QB Aidan Keyes ended the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Ace to put the Wildcats on the scoreboard. Jake Fahey’s extra point made it 31–7.
“They have the best stats in the state for passing attacks, so I thought our defense did really well tonight,” Winkers said of his pass defense. “Yeah, they will score some, and we have to get a little better on some stuff. I’m happy with it, though.”
The Redbirds tacked on three more points in the closing seconds of the first half with Burbach booting a 24-yard field goal to put the hosts ahead 34-7 at the intermission.
After being dominated by the ‘Birds in the first half, the Wildcats swung the momentum to their sideline early in the third quarter Keyes connected with DeMarcus Connor for a 31-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 34–14.
The Belleville defense got into the scoring act registering a safety on a tackle in the end zone with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. Then, on their ensuing possession, the Wildcats marched down the field and got right back in the end zone with Kaden Desmet hauling in a 39-yard TD reception from Keyes, and Connor catching the two-point-conversion pass to cut the gap to 34-24 with 3:23 left in the game.
The Wildcats attempted an onside kick, but Tye Crist successfully covered the ball for Darlington. After two first-down runs from the Goebel brothers, the Redbirds ended the game in victory formation.
Burbach was 4-for-8 in the air for 104 yards. On the ground, he ran for 81 yards. Breylin Goebel recorded 81 rushing yards on 14 carries. Maddox Goebel ran 11 times for 73 yards and was also the team’s leading receiver after tallying 76 yards on two completions. The Redbirds finished the night with nearly 400 yards of total offense after gaining 283 yards on the ground on 50 carries.
Belleville had 331 yards with 258 coming through the air as Keyes completed 18-of-37 passes with three scores. The Wildcats were limited to 73 rushing yards. Ace hauled in six catches for 95 yards, while Conner added six catches for 82 yards and Desmet had two grabs for 53 yards.
Reagan Jackson dominated on defense, sacking the quarterback twice and recording 10 total tackles. He and Carter Murray forced one fumble each.
“Having a guarantee piece of the conference title going into week nine is huge. Belleville is a really good team, so taking care of business gives our kids some more confidence with the playoffs coming soon,” Winkers said.
Darlington can clinch an outright SWAL title for a second straight season when they travel to Fennimore (2-6, 1-5) for their regular season finale on Friday, Oct. 14. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The 2022 WIAA 11-play and 8-player playoff qualifying fields and pairings during a one-hour live program on Bally Sports Wisconsin and online with authentication as well as on Bally Sports Wisconsin Plus Saturday, Oct. 15 at 10 a.m.
Complete brackets and the Level 1 schedule of games will be available on the WIAA website immediately following the live announcement of the bracket pairings.
Belleville….. 0 7 7 10 – 24
Darlington… 16 18 0 0 – 34
D– Cadyn Burbach, 1 run (Breylin Goebel run)
D– Ross Crist, 4 run (B. Goebel run)
D– Maddox Goebel, 8 run (Burbach kick)
D– Burbach, 13 run (Burbach run)
B– Ace, 6 pass from Keyes (Fahey kick)
D– FG, Burbach 24
B– Conner, 31 pass from Keyes (Fahey kick)
B– Safety, tackle in end zone
B– Desmet, 39 pass from Keyes (Conner pass from Keyes)
Team Stats: First Downs– B 15, D 16. Rushing — B 21-73; D 50-283. Passing — B 18-37-0, 258; D 4-8-0, 104. Fumbles-Lost– B 3-2; D 1-0. Penalties- B 2-15; D 3-25.
Darlington Individual Leaders: Rushing (Att-Yds-Td) — Cadyn Burbach, 11-81-2; Breylin Goebel, 14-81-0; Maddox Goebel, 11-73-1. Passing (Comp-Att-Int-Td-Yds)– Cadyn Burbach, 4-8-0-0, 104. Receiving (Cat-Yds-Td)– Maddox Goebel, 2-76-0.
