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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Michael Flanagan
Black Hawk senior passes for 184 yds, 2 TDs in state semifinal win
BH FB Flanagan run color
Black Hawk senior Michael Flanagan completed all four of his passes for 184 yards and two long touchdowns in the Warriors 568 WIAA Division 7 Level 4 playoff victory over Fall River last Friday night in Middleton. (file photo)

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year

Michael Flanagan, QB/DB, Sr., Black Hawk football

     Black Hawk senior Michael Flanagan completed 4 of 4 passes for 184 yards and a pair of long touchdowns in the Warriors’ dominating 56–8 victory over ninth-ranked Fall River in last Friday’s WIAA Division 7 Level 4 playoff game at Middleton’s Otto Breitenbach Stadium.

     Flanagan connected on a 54-yard touchdown pass on Black Hawk’s second play from scrimmage. He later threw a 45-yard TD pass to Jason Treuthardt early in the third quarter to make it 42–0.

     Black Hawk finished the game with 504 yards of offense after rushing for 285 yards on 30 carries and completing all five passes for 219 yards.

    The Warriors advanced to face second-ranked and fellow unbeaten Bangor (13–0) in Thursday morning’s WIAA D7 state championship game at 10 p.m. at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. The Cardinals knocked off top-ranked Edgar 16–8 two weeks ago, then blasted Abbotsford 30–7 in last week’s Level 4 contest.

     Flanagan entered Thursday’s state championship completing 60 percent of his passes for 985 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions.

 

 

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):

Madison Albert-Nelson, So., Platteville/Lancaster girls swimming

     The Platteville sophomore finished 10th in the 100-yard butterfly at last Friday’s WIAA Division 2 girls swimming state championships with a time of 1:00.37, just 0.1 seconds off her school record.

 

Donovan Blevins, Sr., WR, Platteville football

     The stand out Platteville wide receiver was recently named first-team All-State by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association and is a finalist for the Al Toon Award, given annually to the state’s best wide receiver. Blevins finished his senior season with 65 catches for 1,315 yards and 21 touchdowns, all new single-season school records. His yardage and TD totals are also both second in the state. Blevins finished his career at Platteville’s all-time leader with 1,914 yard receiving and 30 TD catches. He also finished with 106 catches.

  

Paul Burrows, Sr., LB, Cuba City football

     Burrows was named this year’s SWAL Defensive Player of the Year after leading the SWAL co-champion Cubans (7–4, 5–1 SWAL) with 105 total tackles, including 54 solo stops. He also had six tackles for loss.

 

Evan Gates, Sr., RB, Lancaster football

     Gates was named this year’s Southwest Wisconsin Conference Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 2,051 yards and 33 touchdowns on 296 carries. He was recently named first-team all-state by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association and is a finalist for the Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch Award given annually to the state’s top running back. 

 

Brody Milz, Sr., RB/LB, Black Hawk football

     Milz rushed for 70 yards and a pair of touchdowns and had one catch for 32 yards in Friday’s WIAA Division 7 Level 4 victory over Fall River. Milz was named this year’s Six Rivers Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year and recently received WFCA All-State honors as both a running back and a linebacker. Milz entered Thursday’s state championship game with 1,568 yards rushing and 27 touchdowns. He is also the team’s leading tackler with 118 tackles, including 15 tackles for loss.

 

Brady Peat, Sr., RB, Iowa–Grant football

     Peat was recently named the SWAL Offensive Player of the Year. He finished his senior season with 2,066 yards rushing, which is currently seventh in the state, and 28 touchdowns on 316 carries in 11 games. He was named first-team All-SWAL on offense and received second-team honors as a linebacker.

 

Zach White, Sr., OLB, Platteville football

     White was recently named the Southwest Wisconsin Conference Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Hillmen (8–3, 4–1 SWC) to a share of a second-straight conference title. White finished the year with 49 tackles, including 40 solo stops, six tackles for loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks despite missing nearly two games due to injury. He finished his career with 11 tackles in a WIAA Division 4 Level 2 playoff loss to second-ranked Lodi, which is playing for a D4 state title Thursday night.