With a playoff game on the line, Owen-Withee rose to the challenge on Friday. They had just enough and edged the Highland Cardinals out 23-21. The 23-point effort marked the Blackhawks' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Owen-Withee found their leader in sophomore Brandon Geldernick, who rushed for 217 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.5 yards per carry. With that strong performance, Geldernick is now averaging an impressive 120.6 rushing yards per game. Owen-Withee also got a significant boost from Sully Poehler, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 83 yards.
Geldernick was just one part of a punishing run game: Owen-Withee was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 296 rushing yards. That's a new trend for Owen-Withee: they were averaging 356.8 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last three matchups they've averaged 0.
The victory for Owen-Withee keeps them at an undefeated 11-0. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.6 points per game. As for Highland, the loss snapped their winning streak at ten games and leaves them with a 10-1 record.
Owen-Withee will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against Lena/Aquinas. The two teams have allowed few points on average, (Owen-Withee: 10.6, Lena/Aquinas: 7) so any points scored will be well earned. Highland does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
