Hawks advance to Stratford rematch
It takes two Westfield defenders to stop Prairie du Chien sophomore Jake Kramer from reaching the end zone late in the Hawks 50-6 victory this past Friday night. Awaiting the Hawks in level two are the Stratford Tigers. (Derick Kelly/Courier Press)
Senior Mason Hird tries to avoid being tackled by Westfield's Ethan Stolpa following a second half interception by Hird. (Derick Kelly/Courier Press)
Foreign exchange student Linus Wechsel (40) lines up at wide receiver for the Hawks during PdC's 50-6 win over Westfield. (Derick Kelly/Courier Press)
Junior Brylee Brewer steamrolls past one Pioneer defender and looks to get past another one this past Friday night. (Derick Kelly/Courier Press)
By Derick Kelly
The 2025 WIAA postseason began for the Prairie du Chien Blackhawks football team this past Friday night when they hosted the Westfield Pioneers in a D5 Level One contest at John C. Mulrooney Stadium. Prairie du Chien jumped out in front early, taking a 29-0 lead into halftime before outscoring the Pioneers 21-6 in the second half for the 50-6 victory.
Prairie du Chien’s offense led the way by producing 488 combined passing and rushing yards in the win. Sophomore quarterback Cayden Sutter was 5-for-6 passing for 124 yards and two touchdowns in his first career postseason start. He connected with Drake Chesebro (who produced a very Randy Moss-esque statistical line (Thanksgiving 1998 at Dallas - three catches for 163 yards and three touchdowns) of two catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns), Ashton Landt (two catches for 12 yards) and Deacon Chesebro (one catch for six yards).
Senior Mason Hird led the Hawks rushing attack by carrying the ball eight times for 158 yards and three touchdowns. Darian Jackson ran the ball 14 times for 89 yards while Landt (two carries for 53 yards) and Deacon Chesebro (eight carries for 41 yards) each had a rushing touchdown. Also getting carries in the game was junior Brady Baumgartner (two carries for 12 yards) and sophomores Brylee Brewer (two carries for seven yards) and Jake Kramer (three carries for four yards).
Westin Marx led the Hawks defense with nine tackles (six of which were for a loss) and 2.5 sacks. Jack Simmons added eight tackles (four for a loss) and 1.5 sacks with Hunter Reid adding seven tackles (one for a loss). Hird and Kramer both had an interception during the game.
The win by the Hawks (7-3) combined with Stratford (8-2) defeating Richland Center 44-9 means that the two teams will face off in a rematch of last year’s D5 state semifinal contest at Wisconsin Dells that was won by the Tigers 26-25. As of press time, this game will take place at Stratford High School this Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
The winner will advance to next week’s sectional championship game to face either number one seed Tomahawk or fifth seed Spencer/Marshfield Columbus Catholic.
Due to space constraints, find more photos from this game and others from this week on our website at pdccourier.com and our Facebook page at facebook.com/courierpress.newspaper.
