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New rules on blindside blocking are the most recent steps taken by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Football Rules Committee in minimizing the risks associated with the sport.

The establishment of a new definition of a blindside block in Rule 2-3-10 and the addition of Rule 9-4-3n prohibiting a blindside block were two of 11 rules changes recommended by the NFHS Football Rules Committee at its January 20-22 meeting in Indianapolis. All rules changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

A Mayo Clinic study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that varsity football players from 1956 to 1970 did not have an increased risk of degenerative brain diseases, compared with athletes in other varsity sports.

Brookfield East (12-2) captured the State championship in its first title game appearance with a 42-36 triumph over Monona Grove (11-3) Friday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis.

At the onset, it appeared the gold trophy was going to be in the possession of the Silver Eagles. They scored on the opening drive, marching 79 yards in nine plays. Jackson Thomsen culminated the drive by scoring on a 13-yard scamper to give Monona Grove a 7-0 lead. Spencer Hampton blocked a punt on the ensuing Spartans’ possession, and Willie Klein recovered the ball in the end zone to give the Silver Eagles a 14-0 lead.

Sam Santiago-Lloyd led the Spartans on a 65-yard drive and scored the first of his State finals record five rushing touchdowns on a 6-yard run with 2:30 remaining in first quarter to cut the Monona Grove lead in half. Santiago-Lloyd scored his second touchdown on a 1-yard plunge on the Spartans next possession to tie the game at 14-14 with 9:45 left in the second quarter. 

Monona Grove regained the lead at 21-14 just 14 second later on an 80-yard touchdown pass from Alec Ogden to Andryi Nahirniak. The Spartans would tie the game at 21-21 late in the first half on a 22-yard connection from Jake Graf to Patrick Cartier. 

Santiago-Lloyd scored his third and fourth touchdowns of the game on a 7-yard run with 6:11 remaining in the third quarter and on a 14-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to give the Spartans a 35-21 advantage.

The Silver Eagles narrowed their deficit to 35-28 with 4:42 remaining in the game on a 5-yard run by Ogden. Santiago-Lloyd scored his fifth rushing touchdown on a 42-yard burst on a four-and-one situation with 2:31 remaining in the game.

Monona Grove completed the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Ogden to Frankie Langer with just under a minute to play. The Spartans covered the ensuing onside kick to secure the title.

The Spartans rushed for 378 yards in the game, led by Santiago-Lloyd with 197 yards and five touchdowns on 37 carries. Jake Graf ran 25 times for 170 yards, and he completed 3-of-4 passes for 27 yards and a touchdown.

Ogden connected on 10-of-15 passes for 138 yards a touchdown for Monona Grove. Andryi Nahirniak led all receivers with four catches for 111 yards and a score. Thomsen led the Silver Eagles in rushing, compiling 94 yards on 14 carries.

Monona Grove finishes runner-up for the second time in its five State finals appearances.

Complete Statistics

St. Croix Central (11-3) was crowned champion in Division 4 following a 49-28 win over River Valley in the final at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis.

The 77 points scored by the two teams combined set a Division 4 State final record.

The Panthers took the opening kickoff and drove 78 yards in 15 plays, scoring on an 8-yard run by Cole Refsnider to go up 7-0. In the second quarter, the Panthers took control of the game on a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs by Ryan Larson to lead 21-0 at the half.

The Blackhawks received the second half kickoff and drove 69 yards to cut their deficit to 21-6 on a 22-yard scoring pass from Elijah Alt to Derek Wedige. However, the Panthers answered with Larson’s third rushing touchdown of the game, a 3-yard effort with just under three minutes to play in the third quarter. River Valley scored before the end of the quarter on a 2-yard run by Alt. With the successful two-point conversion, the Blackhawks trailed 28-14.

Cole Refsnider raced 64 yards to the River Valley 1-yard line to set up Larson’s fourth short rushing touchdown of the game and expand the Panthers’ lead to 35-14. The four scoring runs tied a Division 4 State finals record. A fumble on the ensuing kickoff recovered by St. Croix Central set up an 11-yard jaunt by Refsnider to give St. Croix Central a 42-14 lead.

In the shadows of its own end zone, River Valley responded on its next drive with the longest pass play in Division 4 history as Alt connected with Wedige again for a 94-yard touchdown pass play to make the score 42-21.

The Panthers added another score on a 9-yard Collin Nelson run with just over four minutes remaining in the game, and the Blackhawks capped the scoring with a 13-yard pass from Alt to Ryan Wickman.

Larson shouldered much of the workload for the Panthers, rushing 41 times for a game-high 158 yards, and Refsnider rushed for 153 yards in 15 carries. St. Croix Central rushed for 371 yards as a team and attempted just one pass, which was incomplete. The Panthers scored touchdowns on seven of their nine possessions in the game and held a 34:38 to 13:00 advantage in ball possession.

Elijah Alt spearheaded the Blackhawk offensive attack, completing 13-of-38 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing with 57 yards and a touchdown. Wickman had a game-high 13 tackles for the Blackhawks.

St. Croix Central wins its second State championship in its second championship game appearance. They won the Division 5 title in 1988. River Valley finishes runner-up in its first-ever appearance in the final.

Complete Statistics

In the battle of unbeatens, Regis (14-0) defeated Darlington (13-1) 27-14 to capture the Division 6 championship final at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison Thursday.

The Ramblers stymied the vaunted Darlington offense, which averaged more than fifty points a game and 11 yards per rush entering the game, with a ball-control offensive attack and a stingy defense that forced five turnovers. 

Regis’ early control of the game was clearly reflected in the statistics, particularly in time of possession with an 18:39 to 5:21 advantage in the first half. The Redbirds were held to 49 yards of total offense in the half and 249 in the game.

Jack Nicolai gave the Ramblers a 3-0 lead with a 27-yard field goal midway through the first quarter. They increased their lead to 10-0 later in the quarter on a 6-yard touchdown run by Caleb Brickner. 

In the second quarter, Regis added another touchdown on a 2-yard run by Noel Ortiz, and Nicolai added his second field goal of the game before the half to give the Ramblers a commanding 20-0 advantage.

The Ramblers added insurance late in the third quarter on a 55-yard touchdown strike from Paul Petit to Samuel Forden to take a 27-0 lead. 

The Redbirds scored twice late in the game when the outcome was no longer in doubt. Hunter Johnson scored on a 2-yard run, and Ryan Glendenning caught a 36-yard scoring toss from Jared Meister to account for the final score. 

Ortiz rushed 24 times for 132 years and a touchdown for the Ramblers’ offense. Petit connected on 6-of-10 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown. Forden was on the receiving end of four passes for a game-high 124 yards and a score. Brickner led the Ramblers on defense with a pair of interceptions and four tackles.

Darlington’s Jared Meister completed 8-of-24 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown, but he was intercepted four times. Hunter Johnson ran for 95 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 28 yards. Glendenning led the team in receiving with four catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.

It’s the second State title for Regis in five appearances in the title game. The Ramblers won the Division 7 championship in 2003. Darlington finishes runner-up for the fourth straight season and for the eighth time in their 12 appearances in the title game.