Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Special contribution to WSN by UW-Stevens Point communications student Jesse Osborne

Tanner Sweeney hit the ground running Friday night.

And the Black Hawk senior running back didn't slow down until there was less than a minute to play in the Warriors' 60-33 victory over Lake Country Lutheran in a WIAA Division 7 state football semifinal at Otto Breitenbach Stadium.

The 5-foot-8, 160-pound Sweeney finished with 294 yards rushing and four touchdowns -- including a 71-yard scoring run on the Warriors' first play of the game, and a 42-yarder with 47 seconds to play in the fourth quarter -- to help ensure Black Hawk's first state title game appearance since 1998.

"Our line does a great job of blocking for me, so I try to return the favor and try to run for them," said Sweeney, whose rushing total represented a season-high. "They blocked for me, I ran for them. And it ended up pretty well." 

Black Hawk (13-0), which has outscored its opponents 191-45 over four playoff games, will face Glenwood City (12-1) in the Division 7 championship game on Thursday morning at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.

"It's a great accomplishment for these guys," Black Hawk coach Cory Milz said. "We knew that this was a good group. We knew that we wanted to play past Halloween. We wanted to play in November. We thought we were good enough to do that, and these guys have just come together.

"I couldn't be happier for these guys. They've worked really hard. It's been a long season, and to be able to reward them with a state championship appearance is awesome." 

Sweeney, however, wasn't the only Warriors running back to turn in an awesome performance against the Lightning. 

Fellow senior Jayden Rufenacht rushed for a season-high 177 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, including scoring runs of 46 and 80 yards during the second quarter as Black Hawk built a 37-19 halftime lead. 

"I saw Sweeney pull off a long run in the beginning of the game, and then I was just waiting and was like, 'Sweeney did it, now I have to,' " said Rufenacht, who left the game with a right leg injury in the fourth quarter, but said afterward he's "playing no matter what" in Thursday's title game.

In total, the Warriors rolled up a season-high 536 yards on the ground, averaging 12.5 yards per rush. 

"They were big up front, quick up front. They got off the ball real quick," Lake Country Lutheran coach Greg Brazgel said. "It really was a battle of the trenches and they were bigger and quicker than us today." 

Junior quarterback Ben Wilkins passed for 317 yards and three touchdowns for the Lightning (11-2), who were making their first state semifinal appearance since the school's football program was founded in 2004. Junior Nate Coss rushed for a pair of touchdowns and senior receiver Even Kramer had six catches for 125 yards and a touchdown for Lake Country Lutheran. 

"When it comes down to it, we were better this year than we've ever been and we're going to continue to get better," Brazgel said. "We have never taken a step back and we don't intend on (taking a step back) next year, either."