PLATTEVILLE — Throughout the past 14 seasons, the Six Rivers Conference football title has been won by either Pecatonica/Argyle or Potosi 12 of those years, with Black Hawk winning the other two.

The Vikings and Chieftains squared off t Saturday night in their 2016 season opener as part of the Six Rivers Football Jamboree held at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium on the campus of UW–Platteville.

As it turned out, the Chieftains gave up 22 unanswered points in the first quarter alone, leading to a 36–6 loss and a 0–1 start to the 2016 season.

Saturday’s season opener figured to play a significant role in this year’s final league standings with the winner having the upper hand throughout the rest of the season.

The Vikings’ offense looked virtually unstoppable during the early portions of the game, as they marched the ball downfield on their first two possessions for early scores.

The Vikings then turned a Potosi fumble deep in Pec/Argyle territory into more points, taking a 22–0 lead into the second quarter.

“Getting down 22–0 is a big pill to swallow, but the kids responded well, I thought,” said Potosi coach Mark Siegert. “Had we gotten something going early in the third quarter, it would have made it a different game, but that didn’t happen.”

The Chieftains did manage to close out the first half by putting points on the board, as they got their offense rolling, thanks in most part to the running of junior back Dylan Pluemer.

Pluemer capped off the Chieftains only scoring drive of the game with a one-yard TD plunge with 1:13 showing on the second-quarter clock. The extra-point kick attempt failed, making the halftime score 22–6 in favor of the Vikings.

The second half was all Pec/Argyle, who posted one more touchdown in each the third and fourth quarters, making for a 36–6 final.

The Chieftains concluded their season opener with 229 yards of total offense, gaining 157 on the ground and 72 through the air.

Leading the Potosi ground game was Pluemer, who on 12 carries rushed for 93 yards and one TD for an average of 7.8 yards per carry.

Senior Zack Reuter carried the rock 12 times for 53 yards, while sophomore Brady Curtis chipped in 31 yards on four attempts.

Through the air, sophomore quarterback Will Bierman completed 4-of-12 passing attempts for 72 yards and was picked off twice. He was also credited with three rushing attempts for -23 yards against a stiff Pec/Argyle pass rush.
Hauling in two receptions each were  junior Alex Udelhofen and Pluemer, Pluemer going for 47 yards and Udelhofen for 25.

Leading the Potosi defense with 20 total tackles was senior linebacker Tanner Collins, while Pluemer had 14 and sophomore Cyrus Siegert had 10. Coming away with two interceptions was sophomore Brady Curtis.
Even though his team lost its season opener, coach Mark Siegert is able to pick out the positives from Saturday night’s contest, and is looking forward to the improvement she knows will be coming throughout the season.

“We’re disappointed that we lost obviously, but we certainly have a lot to build on,” said coach Siegert of his team’s first game. “There are some positives that we saw, but Pecatonica/Argyle is an excellent team, and they’re the defending conference champions for a reason.

“Part of the positives I think is just our physicality, which was good. I thought we played physical all night and I didn’t think we let up at all. I’ve always said that the most improvement has always been from week one to week two. I think we’re in a good spot still.”

While the Chieftains were originally scheduled to travel to Cassville this Friday night, they will now travel to Wild Rose (1–0) for a non-conference contest.

Pec/Argyle 36, Potosi 6
(from Saturday, Aug. 21 @ Potosi)
Potosi             0    6    0    0     —   6
Pec/Argyle   22    0    8    6     — 36
First quarter
P/A: Collin Argue 5 run (kick failed)
P/A: Anthony Hendrickson 8 pass from Logan Green (Hendrickson pass from Green)
P/A: Hendrickson 17 run (Argue pass from Hendrickson)
Second quarter
P: Dylan Pluemer 1 run (kick failed)
Third quarter
P/A: Green 1 run (pass failed)
P/A: Safety, Bierman tackled in the end zone
Fourth quarter
P/A: Cameron Treuthardt 20 interception return (run failed)
Team Statistics
First downs — P 13, P/A 15. Rushing — P 37-157; P/A 39-123. Passing yards: P 73, P/A 146. Passes — P 4-12-0; P/A 10-15-2. Fumbles-lost — P 1-1, P/A 1-0. Penalties-yards — P 0-0, P/A 5-35.
Individual leaders
Rushing — P: Dylan Pluemer 17-93; P/A: Colin Argue n/a. Passing — P: Will Bierman 4-12-2, 72; P/A: Logan Green 10-15-2, 146. Receiving – P: Dylan Pluemer 2-47, Alex Udelhofen 2-25; P/A: Anthony Hendrickson 3-69.