MADISON, Wis – Seven teams won titles at the 2021 State Football Championships at Camp Randall Stadium Thursday and Friday.
Reedsville (13-1) captured the Division 7 title with a 17-0 victory over Coleman (13-1) without attempting a pass in the championship game. The Panthers blocked a Cougars’ punt on the first possession of the game and scored on a 9-yard run by Weston Liebzeit on the next play from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead. The Panthers scored on a 2-yard run by Brennen Dvorachek with four minutes remaining in the first half to expand their lead to 14-0. Liebzeit closed the scoring with a 23-yard field goal with 6:16 to play in the game. Reedsville wins the school’s first State championship in its first appearance in the title game. Coleman finishes runner-up in its first experience at State.
Division 7 Boxscore & Stats
Brent Jeske scored three touchdowns to lead Colby (13-1) to the Division 6 championship with a 22-7 win over former three-time defending champion St. Mary’s Springs (11-3) in the title game. He scored on the Hornets’ first drive with a 4-yard run at the 10:02 of the first quarter. He added another score with 5:04 remaining in the first period on a 1-yard plunge. His third score of the first half came on a 63-yard fumble return for a touchdown early in the second quarter to give Colby a 20-0 lead. The Ledgers’ only score of the game came with 3:42 remaining in the first half on a 52-yard dash by Levi Huempfner to cut their deficit to 20-7. Andrew Jeske capped the scoring with a safety with 4:27 remaining in the game. The Hornets win their third championship in their sixth finals appearance, and St. Mary’s Springs finishes runner-up in its membership-leading 13th appearance.
Division 6 Boxscore & Stats
Aquinas (14-0) held off Mayville (11-3) 28-26 in the championship final to win the Division 5 crown. The Blugolds jumped out to a 16-0 lead with a 7-yard pass from Jackson Flottmeyer to Quinn Miskowski at 8:42 in the first quarter and a 5-yard run by Joe Penchi at 11:52 in the second quarter. Both two-point-after tries were successful. Mayville fought back to cut the deficit to 16-14 with a pair of touchdown runs from Blake Schraufnagel before halftime. The first came from 21 yards out and the second from two yards away with four seconds remaining in the second quarter. The Cardinals took their only lead of the game at 20-16 at 5:43 in the third quarter following a 1-yard dive by Ty Hockers. Aquinas responded with an 81-yard drive, capped by a 56-yard completion from Flottmeyer to Miskowski with 3:46 remaining in the third period for a 22-16 lead. The Blugolds extended their lead to 28-20 with an 80-yard drive, culminated with a 1-yard rush by Calvin Hargrove with 11:47 remaining in the fourth quarter. Mayville had a chance to tie the game with 1:41 to go in the game after a 3-yard touchdown run by Ty Hockers, but the two-point, point-after attempt failed. Schraufnagel rushed for 205 yards for the Cardinals, which is six yards shy of the Division 5 record. Flottmeyer threw for 282 yards, which is the second most in a Division 5 game. Aquinas wins its second championship in as many appearances in the State Finals, and Mayville finishes runner-up in its fifth trip to the finals.
Division 5 Boxscore & Stats
Defending champion Catholic Memorial (14-0) was crowned champion in Division 4 with a 21-12 triumph over Ellsworth (12-1) in the title game. The Crusaders scored all their points in the first quarter. Corey Smith ran 41 yards for a touchdown on the first drive of the game for a 7-0 lead. Rory Fox then scored on a 5-yard run at the 8:09 mark of the period to expand the lead to 14-0. Fox then connected with Obocoso Allen on a 27-yard scoring pass to give Catholic Memorial a 21-0 advantage with 1:37 remaining in the quarter. All of the Panthers’ scoring came in the second quarter. Ashten Quade found paydirt on a 13-yard burst with 8:13 remaining in the second quarter to narrow the margin to 21-6. They cut their deficit to 21-12 on a 1-yard run by Jack Janke. The Panthers failed to convert on both their two-point-after attempts. The second half was scoreless. Charlie Jarvis intercepted two passes in the game to lead the Crusaders, one late in the fourth quarter to preserve the margin of victory. Catholic Memorial wins its fifth State title in its eighth finals appearance, and Ellsworth places runner-up in its second State experience.
Division 4 Boxscore & Stats
Pewaukee (12-2) is the champion in Division 3 with a 15-6 win over Rice Lake (11-3) in the final. Carson Hansen accounted for all of the Pirates' scoring in the game. His 1-yard run with 5:24 to play in the first quarter, followed by the two-point conversion, gave Pewaukee an 8-0 lead. His 26-yard scamper up the middle with 1:40 remaining in the game clinched the victory. The Warriors' only score of the game was a 4-yard run by Cole Fenske at the 10:41 point of the second quarter. Easton Stone led the Warriors offensively and defensively with a game-high 100 yards rushing and 10 tackles. The Pirates win their first State championship in their first-ever appearance in the title game. Rice Lake finishes runner-up in their seventh experience in the final.
Division 3 Boxscore & Stats
Waunakee (14-0) won the Division 2 State title with a 33-21 victory over Homestead (11-3) in the championship game. Andrew Keller hauled in a 34-yard pass from Quintin Keene to put the Warriors up 7-0 with 23 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Highlanders tied the game on a Sal Balistrieri 1-yard run after a fumble recovery set the offense up in Warriors’ territory. Ben Farnsworth captured the momentum back for Waunakee with a record-setting 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to regain the lead at 14-7 with 1:58 in the first half. It’s the longest kickoff return for any division in State history. Waunakee added another touchdown before the half after an interception set them up near midfield. The Warriors scored with 32 seconds remaining on a 19-yard run by Michael Gnorski for a 20-14 halftime advantage. Homestead cut into the deficit with a 15-yard rush by Joe Ollman, who led all rushers in the game with 124 yards, to make the score 20-14 with 3:24 remaining in the third period. Gnorski scored his second touchdown of the game to increase the Warriors’ advantage to 27-14 with a 24-yard run at the 2:37 mark of the third quarter. Balistrieri added another touchdown for the Highlanders on an 11-yard burst with 9:59 remaining in the game. The Warriors capped the scoring on another Keene to Keller connection, this from the 1-yard line. Keller caught a game-high five passes for 80 yards. Waunakee wins the title for the seventh time in 11 State Final appearances, and Homestead placed runner-up in its eighth appearance in the final.
Division 2 Boxscore & Stats
Franklin (14-0) rolled to a 38-17 win over Sun Prairie (13-1) in the championship final to win the Division 1 crown. After both teams exchanged field goals, the Sabers took control of the game with 21 unanswered points to end the half. The big play came on an 88-yard pass completion from Myles Burkett to Reese Osgood to put the Sabers on top 10-3. The completion was the longest in Division 1 finals history. Franklin expanded its lead to 17-3 in the second quarter on a 6-yard run by Terrence Shelton at 3:51 before halftime. Sun Prairie mounted a second-half comeback. The Cardinals narrowed the deficit to 24-10 when Jerry Kaminski found Davis Hamilton on the post pattern for a 34-yard scoring strike at the 6:08 mark of the third quarter. They got to within one score at 24-17 on a 4-yard run by Kaminski with under two minutes to play in the third quarter. Franklin put a severe blow to a Cardinals' come back with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Burkett, who set a Division 1 record with 276 passing yards, to Osgood with 7:55 to play in the game and extend the lead to 31-17. Osgood caught five passes for 169 yards, which is four shy of the Division 1 record. The Sabers clinched the game with a 7-yard pass from Burkett to Keaton Arndt with 40 seconds remaining in the game. Franklin wins its second championship in its fourth State Finals appearance, and Sun Prairie is runner-up in its fourth experience in the final.
Division 1 Boxscore & Stats