It’s back-to-back bonus football

The word of the week for the Grafton High School football team heading into last Friday’s North Shore Conference battle against Nicolet as “finish.”

That’s exactly what the Black Hawks did, which means their season doesn’t finish this week.

The Hawks sent the Knights quietly into the night, 50-7, to qualify for the postseason for the second consecutive year.

“Feels absolutely awesome. Love this,” elated offensive and defensive lineman J.P. Benzschawel said after the game in between congratulations from family and friends.

“It was a tough fight, but we got through it right away. We practiced hard, finished hard. Our word for the week was finish, and we finished them.”

The game was basically over at halftime, after the Hawks drove 89 yards on three plays in less than 30 seconds.

With 1 minute, 2 seconds left in the second quarter, senior running back Joey Giorgi, who has racked up more than 1,700 yards rushing this season, scampered down the right sideline on first down and got out of bounds for a 35-yard gain to give the Hawks the ball at their own 46-yard line.

Zach Weir followed with an incomplete pass in a cold wind, one of only two misfires on the night, and Giorgi then burst up the middle for a 54-yard touchdown with 32.9 seconds left.

That made it 29-0 at the break.

“We were rolling on all cylinders,” Weir said.

Giorgi ended with 272 yards rushing on 15 attempts — an average of 18.1 yards per carry — and four touchdowns.

“All week we talked about starting fast, finishing strong. We really came out and poured it on this week. I think it was just a result of great preparation all throughout the week,” he said.

Weir went 9-for-11 passing for 137 yards and two scores.

The Hawks improved to 5-3, guaranteeing an above-.500 conference record and sealing a playoff spot. Nicolet went to 3-5.

The Hawks got a couple of breaks early and made the most of them. On the Knights’ second drive, they advanced 58 yards to the Hawks’ 8-yard line. A pass to the end zone bounced off a

Knight’s hands and into the arms of a trailing Dylan Robinson’s for an interception.

“He adjusted and made a hell of a play,” coach Jim Norris said.

The Hawks promptly drove 80 yards for a touchdown. On fourth and five from Nicolet’s 35-yard line, Giorgi took the snap and pitched it to wide receiver Dominic Voiland, who threw to Weir, who made a leaping catch after running down the right sideline for a 26-yard gain.

Giorgi finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run.

On their next possession, the Knights again drove into Hawks’ territory but couldn’t make a catch on fourth and six. Giorgi blasted 71 yards off tackle on the next play for a touchdown.

“We were able to make our adjustments and shut them down when we needed to,” linebacker Kenny Likins said.

The Knights were called for six penalties in the first half, including one that negated a long gain on a screen pass.

“They weren’t very disciplined and not very physical at the beginning, so we took advantage of that,” linebacker Max Medvedev said.

“When we came out for the second half, it seemed like they didn’t want to play anymore.”

Cannon Pfaff ran for 29 yards and a score, and Weir ran four times for 28 yards.

Owen Wiziarde caught two passes for 45 yards and Voiland caught one for 28.

Five other Hawks had one catch, including Brock Heffner, who pulled down a nine-yard jump ball for a touchdown, possessing the ball just long enough before having it knocked out of his hands.

The Hawks finish the regular season at 0-8 West Bend West on Friday before the playoffs next week.

Norris, now in his second season, has led the turnaround of a program that until last season hadn’t made the playoffs in decades and went through a handful of coaches who each spent one year at the helm.

“It’s not me. It’s a collective effort. I’ve got nine fantastic coaches on staff. I’ve got an administration that bends over backwards to make sure that we have what we need each and every week and a community and a group of parents that provide meals every Wednesday. They call and ask, ‘What can we do to help?’” Norris said.

Some players said the cold fall weather that arrived earlier in the day affected them, while others said it didn’t matter. Regardless, “It feels a lot better when you win,” Giorgi said.