WALWORTH — The Monroe Cheesemakers punched their return ticket to Camp Randall Stadium after 26 long years. On Nov. 11, Monroe decimated New Berlin West 48-6 in the WIAA Division 3 state semifinal game at Big Foot High School.
“It’s surreal. It’s truly an unbelievable feeling, and it hasn’t processed yet in my mind,” said senior RB/DL Alex Hernandez. “We have an opportunity that 95% of schools in Wisconsin don’t, and that’s something that I will always be thankful for, especially being able to do it with all the guys that I love.”
Monroe’s program has a rich history, reaching state eight times under Hall of Fame coach Pat Martin in the 1980s and ‘90s, winning the championship five times in the process — 1986, ’90, ’91, ’92, and ’94. The last time the Cheesemakers played in a championship game was 1996.
“All of the boys have been working for this — going to Camp Randall — and it’s just a dream come true,” said senior RB/LB Tucker Markham. “Finally making it there, all the work we put in — it means so much. I can’t wait. It’s going to be a helluva time.”
As wind chill temperatures dropped into the low 20s, the Cheesemakers (13-0), the top-ranked team at the end of the regular season, did what they did nearly all year — pummeled their opponent into submission with a grueling rushing attack and staunch defense.
“We played that like we were the favorite,” Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said. “We stayed focused and bared down. I told them — whether things go wrong or right — to only be focused on the next (defensive) stop and the next (offensive) score. We’re not going to put the cart ahead of the horse in any situation until there are zeros on the clock after four (quarters).”
After trading possessions to open the game, Monroe scored the second time around. On just three plays, fullback Alex Hernandez rumbled up the middle of field to cap a 45-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown score. After a second 3-and-out defensive possession, Monroe got the ball back again near midfield and continued gashing the defense with small, but efficient gains. With 8:27 left in the second, Tucker Markham capped a 9-play, 53-yard drive with an 11-yard TD run to make it 14-0.
A possession later, Keatin Sweeney fumbled it away at Monroe’s 40, giving New Berlin West some energy. Ten plays later, the Vikings were on the board, leaving the Cheesemakers with just 19 seconds left in the half. The options were to kneel it out and go into halftime up 14-6, or try to hit one big. Golembiewski chose the latter, and the players executed.
Markham took the first play of the drive 25 yards on a run into Vikings territory, leaving five seconds left on the clock. Golembiewski then called Sweeney’s number again, and the senior running back bounced a sweep around the outside, hit the sideline and out-ran two defenders to pay dirt as time expired. A Wesley Saunders PAT made it 21-6 at halftime.
“I was running as fast as I could. I knew I had to make it or else I wouldn’t hear the end of it,” Sweeney said. “It also meant so much because they were starting to gain momentum, and so that got us ready for the second half, too.”
Monroe received the ball to open the second half, and promptly marched 68 yards for yet another score — this one a 23-yard second-effort run by Markham, who played like a man on a mission all night. On the ensuing defensive drive, Markham made all three tackles at the line of scrimmage, forcing another 3-and-out. He finished the game with 13 tackles.
“He really had a nose for knowing what was going on out there. He did a great job both offensively and defensively. He’s playing some great football,” Golembiewski said of Markham.
One play after a punt, Kaden Kuester — the state’s Level 3 Jolly Good/WisSports Player of the Week — darted 52 yards for a score on his lone touch of the game. In Level 3, he had 158 yards and three TDs on eight carries.
New Berlin West, trailing 34-6, crumbled from there. Alex Hernandez had two more touchdowns in the second half to cap the scoring.
Hernandez finished with 198 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. Markham had 115 yards and two TDs on 11 attempts. Sweeney had 81 yards on 10 carries. All 440 yards of Monroe’s offense came on the ground. Defensively, Lane Meier joined Markham with 13 tackles. New Berlin West was held to just 7 yards passing on six throws, and 137 yards rushing on 39 attempts for a season-low 145 total yards.
“We’re just doing our job. We’ve worked so hard, put in so much time in the weight room and in practice and just did our job,” Sweeney said.
In the postgame ceremony, Golembiewski took the sectional championship plaque and immediately gave it to his captains. A frenzy at midfield ensued.
“They called me out there, but I really never should have touched it at all. It’s all those guys. This is completely their plaque, and I am very proud of them for earning it,” Golembiewski said.
While none of the current Cheesemaker players were alive during any of the program’s previous runs to state, much of the coaching staff were teenagers and experienced it firsthand. Of Monroe’s eight coaches, six played or coached in a state championship for MHS during that two-decade run of success. Only Golembiewski and current assistant coach Rob Schilt (Class of 2004) are experiencing the thrill of state for the first time.
“They are all going back, and they can’t believe they are doing it as coaches. It got a little emotional there on the sideline,” Golembiewski said.
For more on the upcoming state championship, which will be played at 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 18 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, see the special inside edition of today’s paper.
