MADISON, Wis. –  Four champions were crowned at the 2023 State Football Championships at Camp Randall Stadium Thursday.

Lodi (14-0) capped an undefeated season with a 38-14 triumph over Luxemburg-Casco (13-1) in the Division 4 championship game.

The Blue Devils featured a potent balanced attack to compile 488 yards of total offense, including 268 rushing and 220 passing. They capitalized on several explosive plays.

The first score of the game was a 67-yard strike from Mason Lane to Aiden Groskopf on the games’ opening possession, giving the Blue Devils a 7-0 at the 11:44 point of the first quarter. Lane extended the Lodi lead to 14-0 with 2:09 remaining in the first quarter on a 4-yard touchdown run.

The Spartans answered with their first score, a 2-yard run by Andrew Klass midway through the second quarter to narrow their deficit to 14-7. Lodi responded with a 72-yard drive that culminated with a 19-yard toss from Lane to Gavin Sargeant with 5:15 still to play in the second period to increase the Blue Devils’ lead to 21-7.

Luxemburg-Casco again responded on its next drive by scoring on a 58-yard dash to the end zone by Klass at 4:49 of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 21-14. However, the Blue Devils scored on their fourth straight possession with 2:27 remaining in the first half on a 58-yard run by Brady Puls for 28-14 halftime advantage.

Lodi scored the only points of the second half. A 74-yard burst up the middle by Kyler Clemens extended the Blue Devils’ lead to 35-14, and Jacobo Castillo Rosales ended the scoring with a 23-yard field with 5:50 remaining in the game.

Lane threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns, completing 11-of-16 passes. Sargeant was his favorite target with six catches for 74 yards and a score. Clemens rushed for a game-high 147 yards and a score, and Lane also ran for 100 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Clemens led the team in tackles with eight, and Lane made five tackles and intercepted a pass.

The Spartans were led on offense by Max Ronsman, who completed 13-of-26 passes for 163 yards. Eight of his connections were to Trace Schoenebeck, who tied a State Division 4 record for receptions, which accounted for a game-high 76 yards. Klass was the team’s leading rusher with 85 yards and two touchdowns.

Lodi wins the State title for the second time in three State finals appearances, and Luxemburg-Casco earned the silver trophy in its first-ever experience in the State final.

 

Aquinas (13-1) won its third straight State championship in Division 5 with a 32-13 win over Wrightstown (11-3) in the final.

The Tigers jumped out to a 13-0 lead with their first two possessions of the game on a 4-yard run by Aiden Humphreys at 10:35 in the first quarter and a 59-yard dash by Trevor Vande Hey at the 7:35 mark of the first period. That’s when the momentum took a drastic turn as the Blugolds scored the final 32 points of the game with four touchdowns, all with successful two-point conversions.

Brady Lehnherr scored for the Blugolds’ on a 3-yard rush at 5:04 remaining in the first quarter. Lehnherr scored again on their next possession to give Aquinas a 16-13 lead, capping a 13-play, 94-yard drive on a 4-yard run. Aquinas scored again before halftime at 1:45 on a 9-yard run by David Malin to extend the lead to 24-13.

Kyle White produced the only touchdown in the second half when he raced 59 yards to cap an 80-yard drive at 7:52 in the third quarter. White finished the game with 240 yards rushing, which ranks second on list for rushing yards in a game in Division 5

Jacob Thornton completed 3-of-6 passes for 50 yards for the Blugolds, distributing completions to three different receivers. In addition to his two touchdowns, Lehnherr led the defense with a team-high 10 tackles.

Vande Hey ran for 140 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries to lead the Tigers. He also completed 3-of-6 passes for 19 yards with receptions by three different receivers. Humphreys led the defensive side of the ball with a game-high 12 tackles and a fumble recovery.

Aquinas has now won four State titles in its four appearances in the championship final. Wrightstown finishes runner-up in its fourth experience at State.

 

Stratford (13-1) edged Darlington (12-2) 10-7 with a 32-yard field goal on an untimed play to win the Division 6 State championship.

Laurenz Plattner, who had a 24-yard field goal attempt blocked with 23 seconds to play in the game, made good on his second opportunity. On the third play of the ensuing Redbirds’ drive following the blocked field goal, the Tigers recovered of fumble and returned it to the Darlington 25-yard line with six seconds remaining. A defensive penalty moved the ball to the Darlington 15-yard line to set up Plattner’s heroics on the final play of the game. It was his first successful field goal of the season.

After a scoreless first quarter, Darlington started the scoring on a Reagan Jackson 5-yard run up the middle with 5:01 remaining in the first half. The Redbirds held the 7-0 advantage until Koehler Kilty sprinted nine yards to the right edge of the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.

The events the led to the late-game dramatics was set up by a 22-play, 85-yard drive that consumed 11:27 of the fourth quarter, which set Division 5 records for the most plays and time elapsed in a drive.

The defensive struggle was reflected in the score and total yardage in the game. Stratford outgained Darlington 195-102 in total offense. Kilty led all ball carriers with 85 yards on 25 carries. Jack Tubbs gained 45 yards rushing and completed 5-of-7 passes for 44 yards. Gavin Leonhardt and Jett Schoenherr each had three catches for 23 and 21 yards, respectively. Stratford was led on defense by Alec Chapel and Leonhardt with eight tackles apiece. Chapel also recovered the fumble forced by Cole Tichy late in the game to set-up the game winning scenario.

Reagan Jackson led the Redbirds on offense with 43 yards rushing. Breylin Goebel rushed for 33 yards and was 0-for-2 passing in the game. Jackson and Talan Crist led the defense with nine tackles apiece.

Stratford wins the championship for the second straight season and for the ninth time in the program’s history, which ties St. Mary’s Springs for the most titles among the membership. The Tigers have now played in 11 championship games. Darlington finishes runner-up in its 13^th State experience.

 

Edgar (13-1) rolled to the Division 7 title with a 36-6 victory over Black Hawk/Warren, Ill. (12-2) in the championship final.

The Wildcats scored on their first two possessions of the game. Karter Butt ran to the first of his five touchdowns in the game on a 42-yard run to give Edgar an 8-0 lead following a successful two-point conversion. Butt added his second scoring run with a 4-yard jaunt to the left pylon for a 14-0 Edgar lead.

The Warriors cut their deficit to 14-6 with 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter on a 5-yard pass from Eli Schliem to Lane Marty. The two-point try failed.

Edgar scored on its first three possessions of the second half. Butt ran 29 yards to paydirt at 8:04 remaining in the third quarter, and then added another rushing touchdown from 20 yards out to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 29-6 with 3:50 to go in the third period. Butt capped the scoring on a 4-yard scamper at the 9:52 mark of fourth quarter.

The five rushing touchdowns for Butt set a Division 7 record. He carried the ball 19 times for 171 yards. Teegan Streit completed 1-of-3 passes for just three yards in the game. That toss went to Leyton Schuett. Butt also led the defense with a game-high 15 tackles and an interception.

Owen Seffrood led the Warrior offense with 96 yards rushing, and Marty added 65 yards on the ground. Schleim completed 4-of-7 passes for 27 yards and a touchdown. Bryce VanRaalte caught two passes for a game-high 11 yards. Marty and Schleim also led the defense with eight tackles apiece, and Marty added an interception.

Edgar wins its eighth State championship in the Wildcats’ membership leading 14^th State championship game appearance. Black Hawk/Warren, Ill. finishes runner-up in its second experience as a co-op.

The State Football Championship Finals resume Friday at 10 a.m. with the Division 3 championship game. The Division 2 title game will follow at 1 p.m. with the Division 1 championship kicking off at 4 p.m. at Camp Randall Stadium.

Finals Resultts & Statistics

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2023 OnFocus Central  Wisconsin Football Conference Standings: Links to Area Conferences

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