They’re baaack!

Waukesha, WI – After a week one blowout to their conference rivals the Madison Mustangs, the Hitmen have made adjustments and are right back in their usual spot as a heavy weight conference contender. Going into the game the Hitmen had to overcome their week 4 injury report reading 15 names including 7 players who were unable to play against New Berlin this past Saturday, the Muskego Hitmen knew it would take a total team effort to get the job done. Head Coach Jason Blawat challenged his team to rally around each other and play a complete game of football. The Hitmen answered the call to the tune of a 40-0 victory over the Panthers at Carroll College in the early game of the Saturday night twin bill.

Offensively the Hitmen executed a balanced attack of run and pass. Muskego had 18 runs for 168 yards, and 18 passes for 215 yards for 383 yards of total offense, all without a turnover. On the ground, the Hitmen were led by #20 Mike Hill, who posted an impressive 127 yards on only 6 carries and 2 touchdowns. #32 Steve Miick also had a touchdown on the ground. Quarterback #19 Andrew Janatis had a good day, hitting 5 different receivers in the game for 200 yards, including an 8 yard touchdown strike to #81 Mike Hicks and a 56 yard touchdown pass to #0 Warren Holloway. Late in the game, back-up Quarterback #8 Brent Staudt also had a touchdown of his own, hooking up with #80 Korbey White in the back of the end zone for the score.

Muskego’s defense held the Panthers to 122 yards of offense in route to their first shutout of the 2008 season. Leading tacklers for the Hitmen were defensive end #11 Derrick Jones, linebacker #64 Jason Huckstorf, and safety #2 Brandon Blawat. The defense added 3 sacks and 3 turnovers, including interceptions by safety #29 Joe Weiland and linebacker #15 Corey Sticker. The Panthers, who also had several players out for the game, were able to put a few long drives together in the game, but the Hitmen defense was able to tighten up on their side of the field to preserve the shutout.

“Every guy in a Hitmen jersey contributed to this win,” said Coach Blawat. “Guys on both sides of the ball as well as on Special Teams stepped up and performed well. I’m very proud of the team effort.”

Both of these teams hope to get some players back going into week 5 of the IFL season. Next Saturday, the Panthers will face off with conference rivals the West Allis Predators at the Milwaukee Sports Complex at 5pm. The Hitmen will welcome the always dangerous Roscoe Rush to Inpro Stadium for a tough non-conference match-up. Kick-off begins at 7pm.