DARLINGTON - It wasn't as though Pardeeville hadn't faced similar offenses throughout the season, but Saturday the game came down to production.

"We've seen this offense before and we've done very, very well against it, they just executed very well," Pardeeville coach Mike Haynes said. "And you've heard that before - executed,"

It wasn't as though Darlington's offense was the only facet of the game the Redbirds dominated, but it was the most significant reason they were able to control the ball, the momentum and eventually the game.

No. 3 seed Darlington rushed for 340 yards and held No. 2 Pardeeville to 174 total yards as the Redbirds booted the Bulldogs from the playoffs with a dominating 34-14 WIAA Division 5 Level 2 playoff win on Saturday at Marten Field, in Darlington.

Tucker Wiegel and Alex Erickson each rushed for a pair of scores while Seth Rowe (16-110) and Dan Hammer (16-104) each rushed for over 100 yards in Darlington's deceptive and powerful wing-T offense.

Jordan Genrich scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7 early in the second quarter but the Redbirds rattled off 27 unanswered points to put it away.

"We got beat by a better team today," Haynes said. "They played very well and I didn't think we played very well today."

All but 58 of Darlington's yards came on the ground, a heavy-rushing day for an offense that usually runs a balanced attack. Darlington coach Scott Zywicki thought his team could exploit Pardeeville's defense through the run and the Redbirds' 19 first downs barely allowed the Bulldogs defense to get off the field.

"We thought we could get to the edge because of their defensive concepts," Zywicki said. "They really crash hard and we thought we could wash their ends down and then take advantage of their outside linebackers and corners that play somewhat soft."

The Bulldogs trailed 21-7 at the half but the game still seemed in reach. That is until the Redbirds marched 75 yards in 11 plays and Wiegel scored on a 6-yard run that capped the 6 minute, 12 second drive and gave Darlington a 27-7 lead. Poor tackling plagued the Bulldogs throughout the game and Wiegel broke a pair of tackles near the line of scrimmage before finding the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.

It was the score that seemed to break the morale of Pardeeville's players.

"At half we felt... our offense can score 21 points in a half easily," said Pardeeville senior Tyler Lindert. "But once they got that fourth touchdown, it was like 'we've got to get going.'"

But the Bulldogs never did.

Pardeeville totaled a season-low 178 yards and had just eight first downs.

"I thought offensively we'd a figured some things out but we didn't have enough plays," Haynes said. "I mean we didn't get to run enough plays. That's probably the most discouraging part."

The lone bright spot for the Bulldogs came late in the first quarter when - with Darlington holding a 7-0 lead - Pardeeville blocked a Redbirds punt, took over at the Darlington 45 and scored seven plays later on Genrich's run.

It seemed like the perfect opportunity for Pardeeville to hold the Redbirds, get the ball back and take control of the game but Darlington responded with a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive capped by an Erickson sneak from 1-yard out.

Pardeeville went three-and-out on its next drive and Darlington went 75 yards in nine plays to take a 21-7 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Hammer. That score was set up by a 23-yard pass from Erickson to Trynton Schwartz on fourth-and-nine that gave the Redbirds a first down at the Bulldogs 1-yard line.

"Their next drive, just not being able to get off the field on that next drive," said Haynes of his team's inability to sustain momentum after it tied the game at 7. "You know, that was hard. And then they went and scored - converted a fourth and 10..."

The loss marks the final game for Pardeeville's 12 seniors.

"I love all these guys, you know, and it really hurts to leave them," Lindert said. "I never get to play this game again, it really sucks. It makes you cherish every moment of it."

As for the game, Lindert agreed with his head coach's assessment.

"They filled gaps quickly and I didn't execute sometimes, you know?" Lindert said.

"Just execution."

DARLINGTON 34, PARDEEVILLE 14

Pardeeville ...............0 7 0 7 - 14

Darlington ..............7 14 6 7 - 34

D - Wiegel 6 run (Boll kick), 1st 05:23

P - Genrich 1 run (Standiford kick), 2nd 10:38

D - Erickson 1 run (Boll kick), 2nd 06:18

D - Hammer 2 run (Boll kick), 2nd 00:49

D - Wiegel 6 run (kick failed), 3rd 05:42

D - Erickson 26 run (Boll kick), 4th 10:03

P - Lindert 12 run (Standiford kick), 4th 04:36

TEAM STATS P D

First downs 8 19

Total Net Yards 174 398

Rushes-yards 33-139 54-340

Passing 35 58

Comp-Att-Int 5-6-0 3-4-0

Penalties-Yards 2-15 2-20

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 3-1

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: P - Genrich 19-91. D - Rowe 16-110, Hammer 16-104. PASSING: P - Lindert 5-6-0-35. D - Erickson 3-4-0-58. RECEIVING: P - Weihert 2-24. D - Schwartz 3-58.

kmorales@capitalnewspapers.com

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