Sevastopol (11-1) won the first eight-player football State championship game with a 38-30 victory over Luck (11-1) Saturday at Forward Field at Oriole Park in Stanley, Wis.

Trailing 30-22 in the fourth quarter, the Pioneers tied the score on a 48-yard pass from Nathan Stenzel to Max Krohn and added then the two-point conversion. Stenzel gave Sevastopol its first lead of the game with 4-yard run with 2:08 remaining in the game to break a 30-30 tie and propel the Pioneers to the title.

Luck started the game quickly with a 84-yard run by Dennis Brule to open an 8-0 lead. The Cardinals increased their lead to 16-0 with an 88-yard fumble return by Hunter Sellent at the close of the first quarter.

The Pioneers cut their deficit in half at 16-8 with a 15-yard pass from Stenzel to Krohn, and then knotted the score at 16-16 when Spencer Evenson sprinted along the sideline and into the end zone from 15 yards out with 6:05 remaining in the first half.

The Cardinals regained the lead less than two minutes later when Bennett Jensen rambled 19 yards for a touchdown, and the two-point conversion gave Luck a 24-16 halftime advantage. 

Sevastopol was the first to score in the second half with a 1-yard run by Jeremy Jorns that was set up by a Luck turnover deep in its own territory, but the two-point try failed and the Pioneers trailed 24-22. The Cardinals scored on its ensuing possession on Bennett Jensen’s second rushing touchdown of the game, a 4-yard run to give Luck a 30-22 advantage with 8:47 to play in the third quarter. Sevastopol would score the game’s final 16 points in the fourth quarter.

Stenzel led Sevastopol on offense, which gained 409 total yards in the game. He rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown, and he completed 9-of-21 passes for 167 yards with two touchdowns. Krohn was the recipient of five of those completions for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

A vast majority of Luck’s offense came on the ground. The Cardinals rushed for 315 yards and compiled 329 yards of total offense. Dennis Brule rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown, and Bennett Jensen rushed for a pair of touchdowns and 88 yards. Andrew Moos added 77 yards, and Wyatt Jensen gained 50 yards running the ball.

Bennett Jensen attempted just four passes in the game, completing two for 14 yards for the Cardinals.

Game Stats