Lancaster Flying Arrows edge Prairie Blackhawks
Prairie du Chien's Bradyn Saint scores behind the blocking of Max Amundson Friday night in Prairie du Chien. (Photos by Ted Pennekamp)
Ty Wagner makes an open field tackle.
Max Clanton (38) and Christian Black (65) team up for a tackle.
Ty Wagner (48) returns a kickoff as Jon Nicholson (14) gets ready to block.
Brady Russell fights for extra yardage versus Lancaster.
Bradyn Saint stiff arms his way for a big gain.
By Colton Thompson
On Friday, the Lancaster Flying Arrows (4-2) traveled to Prairie du Chien to face the Blackhawks (2-3) for what would be the Hawks’ fifth game of the season.
PdC looked to establish the run game early and they did exactly that as they were able to get Bradyn Saint going. However, his strong performance was not enough, and at the end of the night, the Hawks walked off the field with a 29-22 loss to the Arrows.
PdC won the coin toss to start the game and elected to defer. Lancaster chose to receive and start their night from the north end zone. On their first drive, the Flying Arrows were able to move up the field for 73 yards with the drive ending in a 34-yard touchdown pass from Hayden Knapp to Michael Ihm. Isaac Oyen made the PAT to put Lancaster up 7-0 early.
On the kickoff, PdC was called for holding to move them back 10 yards to their own 14-yard line to start the drive. They were held to a three and out on their first possession of the ball game.
Lancaster’s Hayden Wagner was able to return the punt for 15 yards to start their drive at PdC’s 39-yard line. After one big rush from Michael Ihm for 20 yards, the Arrows were at the Hawk’s 15-yard line. PdC was able to stop them as they held them at the 10-yard line for a turnover on downs.
The Blackhawks were ready to move now as they were looking to use a heavy dose of Saint and they did exactly that. Saint had 13 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown on the Hawks’ second drive of the game. After the Saint rushing touchdown, PdC attempted to go for two but was unsuccessful on a pass attempt from Maddox Cejka to Max Amundson. The Hawks trailed 7-6.
For Lancaster’s first drive of the second quarter, they were looking to stretch the lead out a little more. Their drive started with big runs from Hayden Knapp and Skyler Burkholder. Knapp was able to complete a pass to Michael Ihm, and shortly thereafter was able to complete one to Hayden Wagner for a 21-yard touchdown. Isaac Oyen came back out to hit another PAT and put the Arrows up 14-6.
After the score, the Hawks got the ball with only 2:32 remaining in the first half. They were able to put together a decent drive that moved them up a little bit past midfield but then were called for intentional grounding and were moved back to Lancaster’s 49-yard line. The Hawks faced a 2nd and 20 and at the end of the drive were forced to punt. The Arrows ran one rushing play for 6 yards to Skyler Burkholder to run out the clock and head into halftime.
PdC was set to receive the ball to start the second half but were called for offsides on the kickoff and that moved the Arrows up 5 yards on the kickoff. After a squib kick, the Hawks started the drive at their own 45-yard line. Bradyn Saint ran for 12 yards on their first play to get the Hawks moving. Unfortunately, after a bad snap, they were moved back 14 yards and were unable to recover from this and were forced to punt after three more plays.
On Lancaster’s first drive of the second half, the Hawks forced a three and out and got the ball back quickly. PdC was able to put together a great drive that consisted of a lot of rushes from Saint. The Hawks bounced back and were able to score again on a rushing touchdown from Saint. Maddox Cejka was able to connect with Max Amundson on the two-point conversion and tie the ball game at 14-14.
The Flying Arrows started their new drive at their own 26-yard line. After a few rushes from Hayden Knapp and Skyler Burkholder, they were moving up the field quickly. Hayden Knapp was able to connect with Hayden Wagner twice, one resulted in a 21-yard gain to put the Arrows in Hawk territory. The other pass was for a 22-yard touchdown. Isaac Oyen hit yet another PAT to make the game 21-14.
The Blackhawks were not done and they were ready to come out and put on an amazing drive. They did exactly that starting with 2 rushes from Saint totaling 11 yards and first down. The Hawks kept moving up the field with great rushes from Saint and Max Amundson. The clock management from the Hawks on this drive was spectacular as they were able to hold the ball for 8:06. The Hawks eventually moved the ball all the way down to Lancaster’s 3-yard line and punched it in on a Saint touchdown. PdC was trailing by one but were going for the win as they set up for the two-point conversion. Maddox Cejka took the snap and ran right as he pitched it to Saint who cut it back left to score and put the Hawks up by one.
Unfortunately, the lead was not long lasting as Preston Noethe was able to return the kickoff for 80 yards and a touchdown. The Arrows set up for a two-point conversion and got it as Hayden Knapp connected with Preston Noethe for two points as they went up 29-22.
PdC started at their own 30-yard line after a 15-yard kick return from Ty Wagner. The Hawks moved up the field for 63 yards on 13 plays. On the 14th play of the drive, they needed to convert a 4th and 4. Maddox Cejka took the snap and rolled right and attempted a pass to Amundson that was incomplete for a turnover on downs. The Arrows kneeled the ball game out as the Hawks walked off the field with a 29-22 loss.
Leading the rushers for the Hawks was Saint with 51 rushes for 253 yards and 3 touchdowns. Amundson was able to add 5 rushes for 12 yards. Amundson led the receivers with 2 receptions for 26 yards and Jon Nicholson had 1 catch for 9 yards. Cejka was 3-14 for 35 yards. Lucas Kramer and Saint led the defense in tackles with 8 each.
PdC football is looking to bounce back this coming Friday, Nov. 6 in Richland Center. Game time is 7 p.m.
