By NATE BEIER | For the County Line
Royall held the lead against Viroqua for a large portion of the contest, but was unable to end in front of the Blackhawks when the clock stopped in the fourth quarter.
A final passing play to tie the game drifted out of the back of the end zone, allowing the home team to notch a 22–16 win Friday night.
The Panthers worked hard to keep pace with the Blackhawks from the beginning. Viroqua used their option plays to keep the Panthers’ defense guessing and their own offense moving forwards. Tyler Hannah scored the first touchdown of the night on a 1-yard run to lift (the point-after-touchdown kick was good) the home team to a 7–0 lead. Royall’s response came in the form of a methodic drive, capped by a 12-yard scoring reception from Josh Kolodzinski to Dane Hyer.
Viroqua regained the lead with Kasey Hammond’s 12-yard run midway through the second quarter. The Panthers’ responded with a 63-yard run by Seth Brown on the first play of the second half. Brown’s two-point conversion try was good and had the Panthers with a 16–15 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Viroqua finished a drive with a 7-yard run to the outside by Ryan Hannah.
Royall took the next possession and drove down the field. However, Kolodzinski threw an interception that gave Viroqua a chance to grind out a victory. Instead, the Royall defense forced a turnover with just 4 1/2 minutes left to play. The Panthers moved the chains ahead and drove inside the red zone, but a holding penalty set them back shortly afterward. The final play for Royall was a deep pass to the corner of the end zone, again intended for Hyer. Kolodzinski’s pass drifted deep and fell outside the back of the end zone. Viroqua ran the clock out to seal the victory.
Brown finished with 168 rushing yards on the night. Noah Friedl added 47. Kolodzinski was 2–5 in passing for 24 yards. The senior quarterback threw one TD and two interceptions.
Viroqua’s Ryan Hannah finished with 130 rushing yards.
Friedl had 14 tackles in the win, while Brown had 12. Laredo Benson and Ty Dragen each had five.