Prairie du Chien gridders stop Poynette
Prairie du Chien’s Max Amundson (15) and Owen Oldenburg (11) team up for a tackle. (Photos by Ted Pennekamp)
Ty Wagner pressures the Poynette quarterback in first half action.
Syler Wall (61) leads the way for Rhett Koenig (23) for a good gain Friday night.
Prairie du Chien makes a good ground gain.
By Colton Thompson
The Prairie du Chien Blackhawks (2-1) hosted the Poynette Pumas (1-1) at John C. Mulrooney Stadium for their last week of non-conference play. The Hawks were looking to keep winning after a big win at Tomah last week and were able to do just that on Friday night. With a big game from two PDC running backs in Rhett Koenig and Ty Wagner, the Hawks were able to end the night with a 30-13 win.
The Hawks and Pumas went back and forth in the first quarter with strong defenses on both sides and there was no score after the first.
The Hawks started with the ball at their own 33-yard line to start the second quarter. PDC moved down the field quickly on long rushes from Rhett Koenig and a 30-yard pass completion from Maddox Cejka to Max Amundson. The Hawks managed to get the ball to the Puma’s 7-yard line where Rhett Koenig had a 6-yard rush to the one-yard line where he fumbled and Poynette recovered. However, the Pumas’ drive did not last long as the Hawks forced a safety on the second play of the drive to put PDC up 2-0.
PDC would get the ball again in the second quarter with 2:52 to play at the Pumas’ 17-yard line after a 38-yard punt return from Kurt Wall. The Hawks ran the ball with Ty Wagner three times in a row and, on the third one, he was able to get in the end zone for a touchdown to make the score 8-0. The Hawks went for two and Maddox Cejka connected with Trent Mallat in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion and the score was now 10-0.
Poynette got the ball back with 55 seconds left in the first half after an interception by Hans Mueller who was brought down by Trent Mallat at Prairie’s 47-yard line. A pass interference call moved the Pumas down the field 15 more yards. After an 11-yard pass to Brock Chadwick and a 13-yard QB run from Jimmy Heath, the Pumas were in the red zone. Heath was able to run it again for 8 yards for a touchdown to make the score 10-6. Wyatt Breuch hit the PAT and it was now 10-7.
The Hawks started their first drive of the second half with excellent field position as Kurt Wall returned the kickoff for 79 yards all the way down to the Pumas’ 3-yard line. On the third play of the drive, Maddox Cejka was able to punch it in on a QB sneak for a touchdown. After Joey Xiya hit the PAT, the score was 17-7. PDC got the ball back again with 9:21 to go in the third quarter. Big rushes from Rhett Koenig, Maddox Cejka, and Ty Wagner helped the Hawks manage their way down into the red zone and end up on Poynette’s 10-yard line. Ty Wagner was able to punch it in for a 10-yard touchdown and Joey Xiya hit another PAT to make the score 24-7.
The Pumas got the ball after the Hawks’ score with 3:00 to go in the third quarter. Jimmy Heath broke one loose for 47 yards on the second play of the drive to put Poynette into PDC territory at the Hawks’ 16-yard line. Just a few plays later, Poynette handed the ball off to Dylan Elsing who was able to run it in for a 6-yard touchdown. The PAT attempt was no good and the score was now 24-13. The Pumas got the ball back with 7:37 left to go in the fourth quarter but their drive did not last long because on the third play Alex Gibbs was able to get an interception at Poynette’s 15-yard line and run it in for a touchdown. The PAT was unsuccessful but the score was now 30-13. The Hawks would regain possession of the football off of an interception from Joey Xiya with 5:22 to go in the game. They gained the one first down they needed and were able to kneel it out with a 30-13 win.
Leading the rushers for the Hawks was Rhett Koenig with 19 rushes for 78 yards, Ty Wagner had 14 rushes for 76 yards and two touchdowns, Maddox Cejka had 4 rushes for 10 yards and a touchdown, and Kurt Wall had 6 rushes for 16 yards. Leading the receivers was Max Amundson with one catch for 30 yards and Owen Oldenburg had one reception for 3 yards. Maddox Cejka was 2-8 passing with 33 yards and 1 interception. Max Amundson led the defense with 12 tackles and 1 interception. Kurt and Ryan Wall both had 9 tackles and at least 1 TFL. Syler Wall had 4 tackles and a sack and Lucas Kramer had 8 tackles and a sack as well. Joey Xiya had 1 interception with 4 tackles and Alex Gibbs had 2 tackles and 1 pick-six.
PDC will start conference play next week at New Glarus/Monticello. Game time is 7 p.m.
