MADISON — For Edgar, a small school in the northern half of the state, the 2019 WIAA Division 7 state championship game was a shot at redemption after finishing runner-up to Black Hawk in 2018.

For the Warren Warriors, the Wisconsin state championship game was a school first that was met with awe and adrenaline. And for Black Hawk? It was a chance to cap a second consecutive season — as well as giving their new Warren teammates something to really smile about.

“To have them along for this journey is just amazing,” Black Hawk senior lineman Avery Baumgartner said. 

In the lowest-scoring game in D7 state championship history, Black Hawk-Warren won 6-0 Nov. 21 to capture the program’s second straight gold ball, and third overall.

“It’s … amazing. It really is,” said senior Josh Lozada, an offensive lineman from Warren. “We have an amazing team and I’m really grateful to have every single one of them. I’m just so thankful for this amazing season.”

“We came together and we’re brothers now,” Baumgartner said of his teammates from just south of the Illinois-Wisconsin line. “For them to have this experience after not having so much success, and now combined we are state champs — it’s amazing.”

Edgar and Black Hawk-Warren each saved their best defensive performances of the season for the last game. There were five turnovers in the contest (3 BHW, 2 Edgar), plus the Warriors held the Wildcats to just 1-for-11 on third downs and 0-for-3 on fourth downs — including two big stops in the fourth quarter.

“Everyone knows Edgar is an outstanding team. But we knew that our defense — if we kept fighting and playing for each other — we could stop them, and that’s what we did,” Black Hawk senior Cayden Milz said.

Both teams also combined for just 92 yards of offense in the second half — about 1/3 of its total output in the first two quarters. Black Hawk-Warren only gained 29 yards after halftime.

“Their defense is amazing; we knew that coming in. Their coach has been there for 40, 50 years; so they know what they are doing,” Baumgartner said, referencing Wildcats coach Jerry Sinz, who has 431 wins in 45 years at the helm. “They are really physical. That’s what their program is known for. We knew it was going to be a really low-scoring game.”

Neither team moved the ball effectively early on. Black Hawk-Warren led Edgar in yardage 43-40 after the first quarter. The Warriors let an early opportunity for points go by the wayside in the first frame after a shanked punt on Edgar’s opening possession. Black Hawk-Warren had the ball at the Wildcats’ 48 to start the second drive of the game and picked up 18 yards on two plays, only to turn the ball over on downs at the Edgar 27-yard line four plays later.

Nick Hull recovered a fumble at the Warriors’ 32 to halt a promising Edgar drive late in the first quarter. Black Hawk-Warren then marched 34 yards down the field, only to cough it up at the Wildcats’ 34.

Black Hawk-Warren’s next drive made history as the first use of instant replay review in Wisconsin high school football took place. On a third-and-10 pass play for 15 yards from Ethan Williams to Ryan Molitor, Edgar’s Kaleb Hafferman ripped the ball out of Molitor’s arms before going out of bounds. The call on the field was that there wasn’t a fumble, but replay review reversed the call. It wasn’t the only review of the game, however, as the Warriors won the next review at a much more crucial time in the fourth quarter.

Edgar’s possession following the overturned call gained just three yards, but Mason Stoudt’s punt pinned the Warriors back at their own 7-yard-line.

Typically a running offense, Black Hawk-Warren stuck with a short pass plan as the box was consistently filled with 8-10 defenders. On first down from the 7, Williams found Cody Blosch for 12 yards off to the side. Two plays later, Jaylen Rufenacht broke free on the left side and cut back across the field, picking up 53 yards on the longest play of the day.

“I thought I had it, but Edgar’s got some good D-backs and they got me,” Rufenacht said.

On the very next play, Williams rolled to his right, only to throw back across the field for a screen pass. Williams had gotten flushed out further than planned, getting pressured the entire way, but the pass has just enough hangtime to evade a crashing Edgar defender on the back side that had nothing but clear space in the other direction. Instead, the pass landed into the hands of Cayden Milz, who followed his blockers for an easy 30-yard touchdown catch.

“I looked over and I saw Ethan under so much pressure … but then he made that throw — and it was just a perfect throw. All of my credit for that touchdown goes to Ethan. He’s such an athletic player and it was such an athletic throw,” Milz said. “I knew that if I had a ball that perfect, I had to make that catch. It paid off in the end.”

The Warriors tried to run the same play for the two-point conversion, but the Wildcats snuffed it out, leaving the score at 6-0 with 1:38 left in the half. In the second half, Black Hawk-Warren never had a drive last longer than five yards.

“They have an amazing defense; a very physical defensive line — an incredible defensive line,” Warriors coach Cory Milz said.

Edgar turned the ball over on downs at the Warriors’ 31 in the third quarter and then pinned Black Hawk-Warren back at its own five after a punt on the next drive. The Warriors could only gain three yards on three plays and Williams’ punt was downed after just 27 yards, setting the Wildcats up at the BHW 35.

The Warriors again stepped up defensively, allowing just eight yards on three plays, forcing another fourth down. Hafferman, who came into the game with over 1,000 yards on the season, appeared to come up just shy of the line to gain thanks to a tackle by Hull, but the sideline judge put him right at the first down marker. An official measurement gave the Wildcats the first down by less than an inch, only for the replay booth to chime in and verify that Hafferman gained not two, but just one yard, allowing the Warriors defense to again turn the ball over on downs.

“Everybody did a fantastic job. They stepped up when it mattered most,” Williams said of the defense. “Everybody deserves so much credit. Cayden Milz playing middle linebacker, he did an absolute fantastic job. But he wasn’t the only guy — Gunner Foecking, Avery Baumgartner, Cody Blosch — there are so many guys that need the credit.”

Williams was intercepted three plays later, giving Edgar another shot at the BHW 33. On the very next play, Edgar QB Konnor Wolf connected with Drew Guden for a 33-yard touchdown pass, beating Rufenacht on a fly route up the left sideline. As the Wildcats sideline and crowd cheered, a yellow flag sat in the backfield: Holding, 10-yard penalty from the spot of the foul.

The penalty negated the score and Edgar moved backwards 15 yards on the play. Three plays later, on fourth and 8, Wolf threw deep to Brayden Baumgartner, who got beyond Warrior DB Andrew Slichenmyer. Baumgartner leapt for the catch, but a collision with Williams in the end zone jarred the ball loose, keeping another score off the board and giving Black Hawk-Warren the ball back with 3:09 left to play.

“We say this, but again it comes down to turnovers, penalties and who can make the explosive play. We were fortunate enough that their one big explosive play got called back and ours stood,” Cory Milz said.

Black Hawk-Warren punted the ball away six plays later, giving Edgar one last chance from near midfield with no timeouts remaining. On first down Wolf threw deep to Kyle Brewster, but Rufenacht broke up the pass with a near interception — his second dropped pick of the day. Wolf went deep to the left side again on second down, but the wobbling duck of a pass floated right into Rufenacht’s hands for the interception. 

“That first one he knocked out and I was pretty disappointed I didn’t have it. Once I saw that next one back up in the air, I knew it was mine. I had to get it; turn the ball over. I came down with it and it was the greatest feeling. It was just amazing,” Rufenacht said.

The Warriors knelt out the final two snaps to seal the win.

“It’s absolutely surreal. I’m so happy. My teammates, Coach Milz; I’m so happy for my entire community of Warren, and South Wayne and all of Black Hawk. It’s just an absolute unbelievable feeling. I can’t put it into words,” said Williams, a Warren senior.

The sideline erupted in celebration with the interception and the kneel downs, with players and coaches mixing both hugs and screams of joy.

“I can’t even describe the feeling. It’s the best feeling ever. I just can’t describe how proud I am of my teammates and how we pulled through. It’s just amazing the fight that this team has and the emotion that I’m going through right now,” Cayden Milz said.

Rufenacht led all rushers with 101 yards on 18 attempts. He played the entire second half despite separating his shoulder at the end of the second quarter.

“But, you know, there was one more half left — I wanted to play, I needed to play. I gave it my all,” Rufenacht said. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world, and it gets more exciting every year. To get this last win at Camp Randall means the world to me.”

Cayden Milz had 18 yards on nine carries. Williams was 9 of 16 passing for 102 yards. Milz, Nick Whitcomb, Lucas Flanagan and Molitor each caught passes. Hafferman led Edgar with 44 rushing yards on 16 carries and Wolf was just 4 of 13 passing for 33 yards. There were 13 punts in the game, Stoudt booted it seven times for 232 yards for Edgar, while Williams had six punts for 196 yards for Black Hawk-Warren.

“Cayden Milz scoring on that screen play, that was the play of the game,” Baumgartner said.

After the two teams shook hands and the trophies were being handed out, Lozada embraced assistant coach Jacob Brunner with a tear-filled hug. Head coach Cory Milz, coaching in his final game, shared separate hugs with sons Cayden and Lucas, a sophomore, as well as wife Tonya on the sidelines. Coach Milz did not get a Gatorade bath, however.

“They wanted to do this and said that it was their goal, and by golly they did. It’s just amazing,” Cory Milz said.

The Warrior players rushed into a celebratory huddle at the 50-yard line as they received the gold ball, then posed for team pictures before high-fiving family, friends and fans along the stands behind the sideline. After getting back to South Wayne later that night, the program held a celebratory pep rally.

“I’ve been dreaming about this one for 10-12 years — ever since we were managers in third or fourth grade, me, Cayden, Gunner (Foecking), Lucas (Flanagan). We were always talking about our senior year, raising that gold ball. To finally have it happen, it’s surreal,” Baumgartner said.

Williams said bringing home the gold ball was a dream come true for himself, as well.

“This is the peak for me in the game of football. I’m so glad to go out on a high note — state champions — absolutely surreal feeling,” Williams said.

Unfortunately, the celebration had to come to end after the weekend, because the next sports season is already upon the two schools. Many of the football players participate in winter sports, and of those that play basketball, the hoops regular season couldn’t come against a better opponent: Warren travels to Black Hawk Nov. 30, just nine days after the last football game.

“That’ll be a fun time. It’ll be great seeing all of these guys again,” Williams said. “I’ve gotten so close with them over the last couple of months. I’m going to miss these guys so much. They’ve done so much for me. We’ve really come together as a family. I really appreciate every single one of them.”