BRODHEAD - Brodhead-Juda spent most of Friday night blitzing Walworth Big Foot off the edge.
It was fitting, then, that senior Josiah DeLorme all but wrapped up the Cardinals' first conference title in more than a decade with a sack around the right end.
DeLorme's big play forced a turnover on downs, and though the teams traded touchdowns again in the final 93 seconds, the play essentially wrapped up the Cardinals' 27-21 victory. The two teams shared the Rock Valley South title with 5-1 records, and the loss ended Big Foot's 53-game conference winning streak.
"We knew we had to set the edge if we were going to beat their offense," Brodhead-Juda coach B.J. Bockhop said. "The defense played really well. It was just two great teams battling, and that's what the rivalry's all about."
Brodhead-Juda last won a conference title in 2003.
The Chiefs' hadn't lost a Rock Valley Conference game since Oct. 13, 2006, a 14-7 loss to Evansville-Albany.
"There were a good number of seniors that were emotional to the point of saying, 'This isn't it; we have to move on,'" first-year coach Greg Enz said. "I called probably five, six of these kids from Florida last year (when I was hired), and their first thing was not the streak, it was conference championship, and we want to go deep in the playoffs."
The Cardinals took full control early when the Chiefs' punter's knee touched down as he received the snap, giving Brodhead-Juda prime field position.
Three plays later, senior running back Griffin Day punched it in for a six-yard touchdown.
"The game's all about turnovers," Bockhop said. "That was a huge momentum swing."
Brodhead-Juda forced another turnover on downs on the next possession, stopping Big Foot on third-and-one and fourth-and-one. The Cardinals turned around and put together a 14-play scoring drive - all on the ground - to make it 14-0 early in the second quarter.
Brodhead-Juda put together another devastating drive coming out of halftime. It went 72 yards in 17 plays, picking up six first downs over more than 10 minutes on the way to a 20-0 lead on Mitchell Johnson's second touchdown.
"That was tough," Enz said. "We pulled that one on Clinton a few weeks earlier, and they did it back to us."
Big Foot used a nice kick return and a personal foul penalty on Brodhead-Juda to get on the scoreboard at the end of the third quarter.
The Chiefs opened the fourth by recovering a beautiful onside kick off the toe of Zak Greco. But the Cardinals defense stifled the momentum on yet another turnover on downs thanks to a crushing hit up the middle by Logan Maurer and a pass breakup by Logan Wilson.
After Big Foot used a clutch fourth-down conversion on the way to making it 20-14 on the second of Brett Morris' three touchdown passes, the Chiefs' defense continued its second-half resurrection.
They got the ball back with 4:21 remaining on their own 20-yard line and began another drive, but it ended near midfield on DeLorme's sack off the edge.
"When we had to make the big plays, we did," Bockhop said. "(A conference title) was the first goal we wrote down at the start of the season - and we knew this was the team we had to go through."
The team's traded late touchdowns, but Day fell on an onside-kick attempt with just 7 seconds left to seal the game.
A conference crown shared and a streak ended, the teams now await their WIAA playoff assignments today.
It was fitting, then, that senior Josiah DeLorme all but wrapped up the Cardinals' first conference title in more than a decade with a sack around the right end.
DeLorme's big play forced a turnover on downs, and though the teams traded touchdowns again in the final 93 seconds, the play essentially wrapped up the Cardinals' 27-21 victory. The two teams shared the Rock Valley South title with 5-1 records, and the loss ended Big Foot's 53-game conference winning streak.
"We knew we had to set the edge if we were going to beat their offense," Brodhead-Juda coach B.J. Bockhop said. "The defense played really well. It was just two great teams battling, and that's what the rivalry's all about."
Brodhead-Juda last won a conference title in 2003.
The Chiefs' hadn't lost a Rock Valley Conference game since Oct. 13, 2006, a 14-7 loss to Evansville-Albany.
"There were a good number of seniors that were emotional to the point of saying, 'This isn't it; we have to move on,'" first-year coach Greg Enz said. "I called probably five, six of these kids from Florida last year (when I was hired), and their first thing was not the streak, it was conference championship, and we want to go deep in the playoffs."
The Cardinals took full control early when the Chiefs' punter's knee touched down as he received the snap, giving Brodhead-Juda prime field position.
Three plays later, senior running back Griffin Day punched it in for a six-yard touchdown.
"The game's all about turnovers," Bockhop said. "That was a huge momentum swing."
Brodhead-Juda forced another turnover on downs on the next possession, stopping Big Foot on third-and-one and fourth-and-one. The Cardinals turned around and put together a 14-play scoring drive - all on the ground - to make it 14-0 early in the second quarter.
Brodhead-Juda put together another devastating drive coming out of halftime. It went 72 yards in 17 plays, picking up six first downs over more than 10 minutes on the way to a 20-0 lead on Mitchell Johnson's second touchdown.
"That was tough," Enz said. "We pulled that one on Clinton a few weeks earlier, and they did it back to us."
Big Foot used a nice kick return and a personal foul penalty on Brodhead-Juda to get on the scoreboard at the end of the third quarter.
The Chiefs opened the fourth by recovering a beautiful onside kick off the toe of Zak Greco. But the Cardinals defense stifled the momentum on yet another turnover on downs thanks to a crushing hit up the middle by Logan Maurer and a pass breakup by Logan Wilson.
After Big Foot used a clutch fourth-down conversion on the way to making it 20-14 on the second of Brett Morris' three touchdown passes, the Chiefs' defense continued its second-half resurrection.
They got the ball back with 4:21 remaining on their own 20-yard line and began another drive, but it ended near midfield on DeLorme's sack off the edge.
"When we had to make the big plays, we did," Bockhop said. "(A conference title) was the first goal we wrote down at the start of the season - and we knew this was the team we had to go through."
The team's traded late touchdowns, but Day fell on an onside-kick attempt with just 7 seconds left to seal the game.
A conference crown shared and a streak ended, the teams now await their WIAA playoff assignments today.
