Timberwolves fall in overtime to Black Hawk/Warren (IL) 30-22

By A.J. Gates

If River Ridge football coach Wade Winkers discovered anything about this year’s team in last Friday night’s Six Rivers conference opener against Black Hawk/Warren, it’s that they don’t crack under pressure.

Trailing by eight points late in Friday night’s contest, the Timberwolves marched 94 yards to score the game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion with just 21 seconds remaining in regulation, forcing overtime with the visiting Warriors.

In overtime though, Black Hawk/Warren outscored Winkers’ squad 8-0, to claim a 30-22 victory and begin conference play with an unblemished record.

With the loss, River Ridge fell to 1-2 on the season and are off to an 0-1 start to conference play, but coach Winkers has a lot of positives to take away from Friday night’s battle.

“It was another tough loss for our guys, but it took a lot of guts to come back and get to overtime,” Winkers said. “We had some important pieces pretty dinged up and they still gave great efforts.”

“I am really proud of our guys’ effort. We knew this year we were going to be in tight games all year, now we just have to find ways to pull those games out,” Winkers added.

While the Warriors dominated the time of possession with long, sustained offensive drives, the Timberwolves countered with explosive long hitters that kept them in the contest.

With a 48-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Brandon Davis to fellow senior Ren Bowen midway through the second quarter, the Timberwolves trailed 16-8 in the closing minutes of the first half.

Not to worry though, as Davis scored on a 35-yard TD run with two seconds remaining on the clock to pull within 16-14.

The Warriors scored the only touchdown in the third quarter, which extended their lead to 22-14, and held up until late in the fourth.

With 3:56 to play in the game, River Ridge took possession of the ball at their own six-yard line, needing to go 94 yards to complete the comeback.

Davis, who had not played on defense since suffering an injury in the third quarter, continued under center for the Timberwolves, and led them down the field in impressive fashion.

With just 21 seconds remaining in regulation, senior halfback Brock Bunge scored on a one- yard TD run to cap off a 94-yard scoring drive and pull River Ridge to within 22-20.

Needing a two-point conversion, Davis connected with senior Reese Drew in the end zone to tie the game at 22-22.

“Our guys are confident in those situations, and we have proven we can be successful in them,” Winkers explained.

“Brandon made some great throws, the receivers had some big-time catches and the offensive line did their part to pass protect.”

In the overtime though,

Black Hawk/Warren not only scored a touchdown, but also added the two-point conversion, while the Timberwolves failed to score on their possession.

Coach Winkers’ squad concluded the contest with 281 yards of total offense to Black Hawk/Warren’s 340, 332 of which came on 69 rushing attempts.

“Black Hawk/Warren is a physical team and we did not match that physicality on defense,” said Winkers. “We only gave up the one explosive run, but their three, four, five and six-yard plays just add up. We struggled to get them off the field.”

On the ground, River Ridge rushed for 117 yards on 23 attempts, getting a team-high 97 yards on 13 attempts from Davis.

Through the air, Davis completed 10-of-15 passing attempts for 164 yards, as junior Cael Koenig hauled in a team-high four receptions for 77 yards.

Defensively, River Ridge was led by junior linebacker Blake Reynolds, who had 14.5 tackles, one for a loss, while Koenig was in on 11.5 stops and one sack, and Davis in on 11 tackles.

This Friday night doesn’t get any easier for the Timberwolves (1-2), who hit the road to take on the defending conference champs from Potosi/Cassville (3-0).

“I believe this group has some really big things ahead and we need to stick together, focus on improvement and we will start seeing that success,” Winkers said.