Prairie Homecoming
Ethan Swiggum (5) and Eric Nolan (56) make the stop Friday night.
Prairie’s Tyler Smock (13) goes for the open field tackle against Richland Center.
Dylan Yeomans gets the ball over the goal line to complete a 2-yard TD run in the first quarter.
Dominic Wright clears the way for a 2-yard touchdown run by Dylan Yeomans.
Dominic Wright (22) and Stephan Ronnfeldt (76) lead the way for Ethan Swiggum (5).
Prairie’s Gavin Gillitzer makes a tackle near the sideline against visiting Richland Center Friday night. (Photos by Ted Pennekamp)
Prairie du Chien’s offensive line seals off the Richland Center defense on this run by Dylan Yeomans in the Prairie du Chien Homecoming game Friday night.
Hawks win
Homecoming
By Zach Mara
Friday night was the Prairie du Chien Homecoming game, and the Blackhawks (3-5, 1-3) hosted the Richland Center Hornets.
In a game dominated by defense, the Hawks would put together enough offense during the second half to rally for a 20-13 Homecoming victory.
The Hornets (0-8, 0-4) forced a fumble on the Hawks’ first possession, giving them the ball at Prairie’s 40-yard line. On the sixth play of the drive, sophomore Tyler Smock intercepted a pass at the Hawks’ 11-yard line, ending the Hornets’ scoring threat.
After each team punted and turned the ball over twice, the Hawks scored the first points of the game on a 2-yard touchdown run by Dylan Yeomans with 10:23 to go in the first half. The extra-point was no good, and the Hawks led 6-0.
After both teams punted, the Hawks took over at their own 23-yard line. They drove the field on 14 plays before time ran out, sending the game to halftime at 6-0.
The Hornets answered the slow first half on the first play of the second half, scoring on an 80-yard run. The PAT was good, giving the Hornets their first lead of the season, 7-6.
The Blackhawks turned the ball over again on their next drive, but the Hawks’ defense answered immediately, forcing a 3-and-out.
After yet another Hawks’ turnover, Richland Center took back the ball at the PdC 28-yard line. Seven plays later, the Hornets found the end zone on an 11-yard run, taking a 13-6 lead.
The Hawks would not go down easy, however, scoring on a 5-play, 62-yard drive, capped by a 17-yard touchdown run by Yeomans. The 2-point conversion run by Ethan Swiggum was successful, giving the Hawks a 14-13 lead with 1:25 to go in the third quarter.
After forcing a punt, the Hawks took the ball back on their own 19-yard line, early in the 4th quarter. Eight plays later, Dom Wright ran the ball in from 24 yards for the final score of the game, increasing the lead to 20-13.
After the Hawks recovered an onside kick and were forced to punt, the Hawks’ defense stepped up once again, stalling the Hornets’ drive at the PdC 20-yard line with 2:40 left in the game. The Hawks ran down the clock with big runs from Swiggum, Yeomans, and Wright, giving Gavin Gillitzer the opportunity to take the final kneel-down en route to a Hawks’ 20-13 Homecoming victory.
Dylan Yeomans and Ethan Swiggum each had their best games of the season, rushing for 152 and 142 yards, respectively. Yeomans added on 2 touchdown runs. Dom Wright rushed 8 times for 72 yards and a TD. Gillitzer was 5-18 in the air for 72 yards. Dom Wright caught 2 passes for 41 yards. Chris Check led the defense and special teams with 11 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, and an onside-kick recovery.
This Friday marks the last game of the Blackhawks’ 2016 season, as they travel to River Valley (5-2, 3-1) seeking to finish the season with a win. Game time is 7 p.m.
