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With only five games making up the SWC schedule, Dodgeville's trip to River Valley Friday has all the makings of a big game.
The Dodgers are going there with an undefeated SWC record. They beat Prairie du Chien in the SWC opener last Friday 34-26 and are 1-0. The Blackhawks are 0-1 after losing to Lancaster 21-15. Pre-season predictions have Lancaster, River Valley and Platteville as having a shot at the SWC crown.
But, Dodgeville is 4-1 overall while River Valley is 2-2 so file this one under anything can happen.
The match-up has Dodgeville coach Ryan Bohnsack knowing it won't be easy.
"Containing River Valley's high powered offense and physical play will be a challenge," Bohnsack said. "They have many all-conference players that will be battling for Player of the Year recognition. They have a great group of coaches and very athletic kids. They will be the biggest challenge for us so far this season."
Friday the Dodgers hung 20 quick points on Prairie du Chien and survived a fourth quarter comeback to win 34-26.
Noah Durst put the Dodgers on the board at 6:11 when he rolled in from the three. Two minutes later it was Zack Weber's turn as he blew in from 53 yards away. Tanner Bockhop kicked both extra points to make it 14-0.
With 27 seconds left in the first frame it was the defense who scored when Durst picked off a pass and raced 41 yards to score. That made it 20-0.
The second quarter was scoreless until there was 1:10 left and it was Prairie du Chien's turn to dent the scoreboard. Ethan Swiggum got the six points, stepping in from the four, and Colton Wall kicked the extra point to make it 20-7.
Don Wright scored for Prairie on a two yard plunge with was sandwiched between two Houston Stanek touchdown passes for the Dodgers. He clicked with Weber on a 70 yard scoring play just 11 seconds into the second half then closed out with a five yard toss to Josh Shepler that made it 34-13.
Prairie quarterback Gavin Gillitzer threw for two touchdowns in the last quarter that got the Blackhawks back to 34-26 before time ran out. Gillitzer hit Zach Swiggum with an 18 yard scoring strike and Dylan Yeomans with a 35 yarder to get Prairie within one score.
Weber had a big night for the Dodgers. He ran for 218 yards on 26 carries and caught two passes for 71 yards. He scored twice, once on a run and once on a pass.
"Zack is a solid back and having some key blocks up front as well as a multi-dimensional offense helps," Bohnsack said. "The offense has counterparts in Stanek being able to run and throw and receivers such as Shepler drawing double coverage."
Weber and Stanek have also been helped by some strong line play.
"We've done a nice job taking care of things up front," Bohnsack said. "We need to do a better job on penalties if we want to keep things rolling in conference play."
Defensively the Dodgers have been relying on strong line play to open things up for the linebackers and ends.
Friday, Spencer Markham, Jack Hellmann and Weber all had tackles for losses.
"Our defensive line has done a good job occupying blocks and our linebackers have made a couple key reads," Bohnsack said. "The defensive front has been providing the highlight for our defense as we have been able to mix up our blitz packages as well as our coverage."
Markham and Johnathan Geisking had seven tackles Friday with Stanek and Shepler getting five. Shepler and Stanek both had interceptions.