By Paul Lecker
For focusonmarshfield.com
MADISON – Stratford led Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs in essentially every statistical category during the WIAA Division 5 state football championship game, except the most important one.
Three key stops by the Springs defense proved crucial as the Ledgers came from behind to beat Stratford 20-17 on Thursday at Camp Randall Stadium.
For St. Mary’s Springs, it is a record eighth state championship, breaking a tie with Stratford, Edgar, Lancaster, and Kimberly, at least temporarily. Kimberly goes for its eighth on Friday afternoon.
The Tigers (11-3) raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but was unable to hold on as Springs did just enough to pull out the victory late.
A 5-yard touchdown run by Marcus Orlandoni with 2:18 remaining in the game proved to be the difference for the Ledgers (14-0).
The victory, while historic for St. Mary’s Springs, was also bittersweet as it was still mourning the loss of junior lineman Trent Schueffner, who died in a hunting accident on Oct. 19.
“It was tough,” Springs coach Bob Hyland said. “I’m not good at this, I don’t think anyone is. The kids really picked each other up.”
Stratford took the opening kickoff and went to work, driving 56 yards on nine plays, and Kade Ehrike finished it off with a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:05 to go in the first quarter.
The Tigers kept the drive alive when Derek Marten took a double reverse and ran 14 yards to the Springs 3 on a fourth-and-5 play from the 17. Two plays later Ehrike scored, Reed Curtis kicked the extra point, and Stratford led 7-0.
Stratford extended its lead to 14-0 near the end of the first quarter as quarterback Max Schwabe hit receiver Vaughn Breit for a 40-yard touchdown pass following a blocked punt by Curtis gave the Tigers the ball inside Springs territory.
Springs’ first big defensive stop came near the end of the half.
With the Tigers driving again, reaching the Springs 6 on a nearly six-minute drive, Ehrike was stopped short on a fourth-and-3 play to give the Ledgers the ball, and their first sign of positive momentum.
Just seven plays later, the Ledgers hit pay dirt. A 49-yard run by Orlandoni set Springs up in Stratford territory and two plays later Orlandoni scored to cut Stratford’s lead in half to 14-7 with 1:34 to go before halftime.
“We had a chance to score before half and they went down and made a nice touchdown,” Stratford coach Jason Tubbs said. “We had our chances and didn’t capitalize on our fourth downs, and they did on their fourth downs.”
Springs tied the game early in the third quarter after its second key stop.
Stratford fumbled on its third offensive play and it was recovered by Mitchell Waechter. On the Ledgers’ first play, Waechter went deep and hit Cade Christensen for a 29-yard touchdown and the game was tied with 8:48 to go in the third.
Stratford responded with a long drive, going 71 yards in 15 plays, chewing up 8:11 off the clock. But the Ledgers’ third big stop came at the 2. Ehrike was stopped for no gain and 1 yard on a pair of carries inside the 5, and the Tigers had to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Curtis.
The Tigers were ahead, but it proved to be not enough of a margin.
Stratford was stopped again on downs at the Springs 28 with 8:02 to go in the game and Springs mounted a long, game-winning drive.
The Ledgers went 72 yards in 13 plays, had one third down and one fourth down conversion, and Orlandoni, who finished with 124 yards rushing, scored from the 5 with 2:18 to go to put Springs ahead.
Stratford had one last chance, taking over at its own 22. The Tigers converted one first down, on a 9-yard run by Schwabe, but they were stopped on fourth-and-6 with 1:16 left and Springs was able to kneel on the ball three times to run out the clock.
“If we played them 10 times, I think it would be 5-5,” Tubbs said. “We were right there, but they made the big plays and we couldn’t make that one extra play.”
Stratford outgained Springs 281-244, had 15 first downs to the Ledgers’ 10, and held a 12-minute advantage in time of possession, but it just wasn’t enough against undefeated Springs.
“Hats off to my seniors for keeping this team galvanized, working hard, and pushing each other,” Tubbs said. “It’s a great way to end the season, down in Madison. Unfortunately, we won every category except the final score, and that’s the most important one.”
Ehrike finished with 110 yards rushing on 28 carries to finish with 2,055 yards this season. Marten added another 80 yards on the ground for the Tigers.
Ledgers 20, Tigers 17
Stratford 14 0 3 0 – 17
St. Mary’s Springs 0 7 7 6 – 20
First Quarter
ST – Kade Ehrike 1 run (Reed Curtis kick), 8:05.
ST – Vaughn Breit 40 pass from Max Schwabe (Curtis kick), 0:47.
Second Quarter
SMS – Marcus Orlandoni 21 run (Levi Poss kick), 1:34.
Third Quarter
SMS – Cade Christensen 29 pass from Mitchell Waechter (Poss kick), 8:48.
ST – Curtis 20 field goal, 0:38.
Fourth Quarter
SMS – Orlandoni 5 run (Poss kick), 2:18.
Team Statistics
First downs: Stratford 15; St. Mary’s Springs 10.
Rushing (att-yards): ST 55-199; SMS 30-173.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): ST 4-9-82-0; SMS 6-12-71-0.
Total yards: ST 281; SMS 244.
Fumbles (total-lost): ST 2-1; SMS 1-1.
Penalties (no.-yards): ST 1-5; SMS 1-5.
Punting (no.-avg.): ST 1-25.0; SMS 4-29.8.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: ST, Kade Ehrike 28-110, Derek Marten 14-80, Chandler Schmidt 3-11, Max Schwabe 4-10, Eli Drexler 2-6, Chase Flink 4-6. SMS, Marcus Orlandoni 12-124, Ezra Tucker 9-27, Jake Hoch 2-16, Mitchell Waechter 4-10, Team 3-0.
Passing: ST, Schwabe 4-9-82-0. SMS, Waechter 6-12-71-0.
Receiving: ST, Ehrike 2-22, Vaughn Breit 1-40, Marten 1-20. SMS, Cade Christensen 3-50, Tucker 1-9, Joseph Hanlon 1-8, Hoch 1-4.
Fumble recoveries (defense): ST, Justin Schoenherr. SMS, Waechter.
Punting: ST, Flink 1-25.0. SMS, Waechter 4-29.8.
Records: Stratford 11-3; St. Mary’s Springs 14-0.
Paul Lecker is publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com and a contributor to focusonmarshfield.com.
Author: News Desk
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