POTOSI — “We made it a point of emphasis to make sure that we got off to a really fast start,” said Potosi football coach Mark Siegert after Friday’s Six Rivers finale against Highland.
     The host Chieftains certainly did just that against the Cardinals, and didn’t let up until they got the continuous clock running early in the third quarter of their 47–2 victory.
     Coach Mark Siegert’s squad entered last Friday’s regular-season finale with a Six Rivers record of 6–0, looking to claim sole possession of this year’s conference title.
     The Cardinals came into the game with a league record of 5–1 looking to upset the defending champs and earn a piece of a second straight league crown, while Pecatonica/Argyle (6–1) and Black Hawk (4–2) were doing battle in South Wayne.
     While Potosi finished league play unbeaten at 7–0, Pec/Argyle (6–2) finished second behind both Highland (5–2) and Black Hawk (5–2), after a 50–10 loss at Black Hawk.
     This is the fifth straight Six Rivers title for Potosi under coach Mark Siegert, as the Chieftains have now won titles in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
     The Potosi defense wasted little time getting after the Cardinals last Friday night, forcing a fumble on the third play of the game, which was recovered by Mitchell Langkamp at Highland’s 32-yard line.
     The Chieftains forced five Highland turnovers on the night, three fumbles and two interceptions, making it difficult for the Highland offense to get anything going.
     Potosi needed just four plays to punch in the game’s first score, taking a 7–0 lead on a 9-yard Jase Udelhofen run with just two minutes and 17 seconds taken off the clock.
     That was just the beginning of Potosi’s domination in the first half, where it scored four touchdowns on six possessions, punting once and losing a fumble.
     Potosi also got a defensive score in the first  half when senior Jase Udelhofen returned an interception 37 yards to paydirt.
     The Chieftains did a lot of damage through the air during the first half, as quarterback Tim Fritz completed 13 of 15 passing attempts for 151 yards and two TDs.
     He first found Hunter Leibfried on a 10-yard TD pass with 5:22 to play in the first quarter, then hooked up with Chase Kruser on a 9-yard pass with 36 seconds to play in the second.
     Senior Alex Wright added a first-half touchdown from six yards out with 11:13 to play in the second quarter.
     Wright again found the end zone in the third quarter, this time from a yard out, to give the Chieftains a 41–2 lead.
     Udelhofen finished as the team’s top rusher with 107 yards on 11 carries before leaving the game midway through the third quarter, while Wright contributed 103 yards on 10 carries before his departure.
     While it’s no doubt Potosi has tremendous skill at the running back, quarterback and wide receiver positions, don’t forget about the boys up front.
     Blasting holes open for the running backs, and protecting their quarterback during pass plays are: junior center Tyler Stohlmeyer (5’10”, 180 pounds),  junior right guard Keegan Brown (5’10”, 185), junior left guard  Travis Collins (6’0”, 195), senior right tackle Tyler Udelhoven (6’0”, 235), and sophomore left tackle Brent Curtis (5’11”, 190).
      “We have really good skill guys, but people overlook these guys and how really talented our offensive line is,”
said coach Mark Siegert. “They know that in order for us to move the ball an inch, it’s up to them. They know how important they are, and I hope people don’t take that for granted. Because we don’t.”
     Before last Friday night’s game had come to an end, Potosi got an 80-yard touchdown run from junior running back Trevor Ehlen, giving the Chieftains a total of 319 rushing yards on 31 attempts.
     Highland is coached by Lancaster graduate Shaun Reuter, who and spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons as Potosi’s defensive coordinator under Siegert.
     As the top seed in their WIAA Division 7 playoff bracket, the Chieftains (8–0) will now host North Crawford (5–3) Friday night beginning at 7 p.m.
     Coach Siegert and his squad are certainly poised to make a deep run into this year’s playoffs, but only if they can prevent a repeat performance from last year.
     At 8–1, Potosi was the No. 2 seed in its playoff bracket a year ago, but lost at home to unseeded Hillsboro (7–2) in the first round.
     “There’s definitely things that we left on the table, and we just don’t want to go out that way,” Siegert said this week. “The kids are very driven. They’re very goal oriented and they have big goals. They’ve been working very hard for this.”

Potosi 47, Highland 2
(from Friday, Oct. 12 @ Potosi)
Highland    0    0    2    0     —    2
Potosi    14    20    7    6      —  47
First quarter
P: Jase Udelhofen 9 run (Tim Fritz kick)
P: Hunter Leibfried 10 pass from Fritz (Fritz kick)
Second quarter
P: Alex Wright 6 run (kick failed)
P: Udelhofen 37 interception return (Wright run)
P: Chase Kruser 9 pass from Fritz (kick failed)
Third quarter
H: Satern tackled Udelhofen in the end zone
P: Wright 1 run (Fritz kick)
Fourth quarter
P: Trevor Ehlen 80 run (kick failed)

Team Statistics
First downs: H 8, P 18. Rushing: H 38-109, P 36-319. Passing Yards: H 15, P 151. Passing: H 2-11-2, P 13-15-0. Fumbles–lost: H 5-3, P 1-1. Penalties-yards: H 3-12, P 5-45.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: H: Yager 20-82; P: Jase Udelhofen 11-107, Alex Wright 10-103. Passing: H: Bodenstein 2-10-2, 15; P: Tim Fritz 13-15-0, 151. Receiving: H: McCollough 1-11, P: Isaiah Kruser 4-43.