MADISON - The WIAA Division 6 state championship game pitted Darlington's size and toughness against Eau Claire Regis' quickness on defense.
The quickness on defense proved to be a major factor in Regis' 27-14 win over Darlington in the state championship game at a sun splashed Camp Randall Stadium on Thursday. Darlington brought home its fourth straight silver ball as the state runner-up.
"It's frustrating coming up here four years in a row and not winning the gold ball," said Darlington senior All-State running back Hunter Johnson, who rushed for more than 2,100 yards and scored 42 touchdowns this season. "It's sort of a helpless feeling."
Regis (14-0) stymied the Redbirds' offense, which entered the state title game averaging 52 points per game and 341 rushing yards per game, limiting them to 49 total yards in the first half and just one first down.
The Redbirds (13-1) had an uncharacteristic five turnovers that spelled doom.
"Their 200-pound kids are tougher than nails," Darlington coach Scott Zywicki said. "We knew they were athletic. We had a tough time getting the kick out blocks we needed to run outside. Their defensive ends did an excellent job of squeezing in. They are extremely strong and play with great technique. We just didn't play the way we are capable of playing today."
It wasn't the way Johnson, a preferred walk-on at the University of Wisconsin, had scripted his final prep game. But disaster hit Darlington early on as the Redbirds committed three of their five turnovers in the first half and had a botched fake punt run that was snuffed out. Johnson rushed for 96 yards on 17 carries and scored one touchdown.
"They definitely came out with more energy and swagger than we did," Johnson said. "They came out with great intensity and we just struggled until the end."
Regis senior running back Noel Oritz rushed for 133 yards on 24 carries and scored one touchdown. Senior wide receiver Samuel Forden finished with four receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown.
The Redbirds trailed 27-0 in the fourth quarter before mounting a comeback. Darlington senior Will Schwartz had an interception of Regis quarterback Paul Petit's pass with 7 minutes, 10 seconds to go that set up the Redbirds' first scoring drive at the Ramblers' 37-yard line. The Redbirds' five-play, 37-yard drive culminated when Johnson bowled in for a 2-yard TD run to cut the Ramblers' lead to 27-7 midway through the fourth quarter.
Darlington senior quarterback Jared Meister then engineered a three-play, 65-yard drive culminating in his 36-yard TD pass to Ryan Glendenning to slice the Ramblers' lead to 27-14 with 1:49 to go.
The Redbirds caught a break, recovering the ensuing onside kick at their own 49-yard line. Meister connected with Johnson on an 11-yard pass. He then hooked up with Glendenning on a 17-yard pass. Meister again connected with Glendenning on a 19-yard pass to the Ramblers' 11-yard line.
Regis linebacker Ortiz and Laith Kidess combined on a sack that resulted in a 9-yard loss. Kidess had a sack on third down to help thwart the Redbirds' last-ditch drive. Meister's pass on fourth down was incomplete and the Ramblers celebrated winning the state title.
Meister completed 8 of 24 passes for 139 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. Meister entered the state championship game without having thrown an interception this season.
Regis senior Caleb Brickner had two interceptions.
"Jared was instrumental in our success this year," Zywicki said. "I'm sure he would like to have a couple of the passes back he threw. Once we stopped always going for the deep ball we had success."
Glendenning had four receptions for 85 yards and one touchdown.
"A lot of those plays in the end were improbs," Glendenning said. "They were working out, but we just ran out of time. After we scored (cutting it to a 13-point deficit), I just knew we had a lot of work to do and not much time. We just didn't play like we are capable of."
Early on, the game had the makings of a blowout. Regis sophomore Jack Nicolai booted a 27-yard field goal with 8:38 left in the first quarter to give the Ramblers a 3-0 lead.
With the Redbirds facing fourth-and-8 from their own 35-yard line, Johnson took off with a run on a fake punt and picked up three yards, which was well short of the first down and gave the Ramblers golden field position. The Ramblers cashed in on a nine-play, 39-yard drive, punctuated by Brickner's 6-yard TD run that extended the lead to 10-0 with 4:27 to go in the first quarter.
"Inexplicably, we ran a fake punt that wasn't called," Zywicki said. "He (Johnson) was trying to make a play for us. He's made a lot of big plays this year. It's not what I wanted to run (fake punt)."
The Ramblers marched 70 yards in 13-plays, capped off by Ortiz's 2-yard TD run that gave Regis a commanding 17-0 lead with 7:36 left in the second quarter. Nicolai then kicked a 21-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to give the Ramblers a 20-0 lead at the half.
The Ramblers rushed for 225 total yards and took a 27-0 lead when Petit hooked up with Samuel Forden on a 55-yard TD pass late in the third quarter.
"I wasn't surprised size-wise that they could come out and move the ball," Zywicki said. "They have done that to teams all year. I was surprised they came out and ran the ball and did that against us."
Darlington senior defensive tackle Logan Muhlstein had a game-high 12 tackles. Schwartz had 11 tackles and senior sJake Tuescher added 10 tackles. Senior Brayden McDonald had one interception for the Redbirds.
The Redbirds switched from a 5-2 defensive alignment to a 4-3 defense in the second half that featured four down lineman and three linebackers.
"Maybe I should have switched our defense earlier and maybe we stop some of those big plays," Zywicki said. "It (the 4-3 defense) allowed us to flow to the ball better. We had fewer guys regulated to one spot on the line."
Players and fans were not surprised to see the No. 2-state-ranked Redbirds make a comeback. It was just a matter of building off some positive plays and stringing them together.
"I just think it just shows the never quit attitude of these guys," Johnson said. "Guys were down, but we fought until the end. Just making it to state is great. There are not many people who have had a chance to get there four times."
The quickness on defense proved to be a major factor in Regis' 27-14 win over Darlington in the state championship game at a sun splashed Camp Randall Stadium on Thursday. Darlington brought home its fourth straight silver ball as the state runner-up.
"It's frustrating coming up here four years in a row and not winning the gold ball," said Darlington senior All-State running back Hunter Johnson, who rushed for more than 2,100 yards and scored 42 touchdowns this season. "It's sort of a helpless feeling."
Regis (14-0) stymied the Redbirds' offense, which entered the state title game averaging 52 points per game and 341 rushing yards per game, limiting them to 49 total yards in the first half and just one first down.
The Redbirds (13-1) had an uncharacteristic five turnovers that spelled doom.
"Their 200-pound kids are tougher than nails," Darlington coach Scott Zywicki said. "We knew they were athletic. We had a tough time getting the kick out blocks we needed to run outside. Their defensive ends did an excellent job of squeezing in. They are extremely strong and play with great technique. We just didn't play the way we are capable of playing today."
It wasn't the way Johnson, a preferred walk-on at the University of Wisconsin, had scripted his final prep game. But disaster hit Darlington early on as the Redbirds committed three of their five turnovers in the first half and had a botched fake punt run that was snuffed out. Johnson rushed for 96 yards on 17 carries and scored one touchdown.
"They definitely came out with more energy and swagger than we did," Johnson said. "They came out with great intensity and we just struggled until the end."
Regis senior running back Noel Oritz rushed for 133 yards on 24 carries and scored one touchdown. Senior wide receiver Samuel Forden finished with four receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown.
The Redbirds trailed 27-0 in the fourth quarter before mounting a comeback. Darlington senior Will Schwartz had an interception of Regis quarterback Paul Petit's pass with 7 minutes, 10 seconds to go that set up the Redbirds' first scoring drive at the Ramblers' 37-yard line. The Redbirds' five-play, 37-yard drive culminated when Johnson bowled in for a 2-yard TD run to cut the Ramblers' lead to 27-7 midway through the fourth quarter.
Darlington senior quarterback Jared Meister then engineered a three-play, 65-yard drive culminating in his 36-yard TD pass to Ryan Glendenning to slice the Ramblers' lead to 27-14 with 1:49 to go.
The Redbirds caught a break, recovering the ensuing onside kick at their own 49-yard line. Meister connected with Johnson on an 11-yard pass. He then hooked up with Glendenning on a 17-yard pass. Meister again connected with Glendenning on a 19-yard pass to the Ramblers' 11-yard line.
Regis linebacker Ortiz and Laith Kidess combined on a sack that resulted in a 9-yard loss. Kidess had a sack on third down to help thwart the Redbirds' last-ditch drive. Meister's pass on fourth down was incomplete and the Ramblers celebrated winning the state title.
Meister completed 8 of 24 passes for 139 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. Meister entered the state championship game without having thrown an interception this season.
Regis senior Caleb Brickner had two interceptions.
"Jared was instrumental in our success this year," Zywicki said. "I'm sure he would like to have a couple of the passes back he threw. Once we stopped always going for the deep ball we had success."
Glendenning had four receptions for 85 yards and one touchdown.
"A lot of those plays in the end were improbs," Glendenning said. "They were working out, but we just ran out of time. After we scored (cutting it to a 13-point deficit), I just knew we had a lot of work to do and not much time. We just didn't play like we are capable of."
Early on, the game had the makings of a blowout. Regis sophomore Jack Nicolai booted a 27-yard field goal with 8:38 left in the first quarter to give the Ramblers a 3-0 lead.
With the Redbirds facing fourth-and-8 from their own 35-yard line, Johnson took off with a run on a fake punt and picked up three yards, which was well short of the first down and gave the Ramblers golden field position. The Ramblers cashed in on a nine-play, 39-yard drive, punctuated by Brickner's 6-yard TD run that extended the lead to 10-0 with 4:27 to go in the first quarter.
"Inexplicably, we ran a fake punt that wasn't called," Zywicki said. "He (Johnson) was trying to make a play for us. He's made a lot of big plays this year. It's not what I wanted to run (fake punt)."
The Ramblers marched 70 yards in 13-plays, capped off by Ortiz's 2-yard TD run that gave Regis a commanding 17-0 lead with 7:36 left in the second quarter. Nicolai then kicked a 21-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to give the Ramblers a 20-0 lead at the half.
The Ramblers rushed for 225 total yards and took a 27-0 lead when Petit hooked up with Samuel Forden on a 55-yard TD pass late in the third quarter.
"I wasn't surprised size-wise that they could come out and move the ball," Zywicki said. "They have done that to teams all year. I was surprised they came out and ran the ball and did that against us."
Darlington senior defensive tackle Logan Muhlstein had a game-high 12 tackles. Schwartz had 11 tackles and senior sJake Tuescher added 10 tackles. Senior Brayden McDonald had one interception for the Redbirds.
The Redbirds switched from a 5-2 defensive alignment to a 4-3 defense in the second half that featured four down lineman and three linebackers.
"Maybe I should have switched our defense earlier and maybe we stop some of those big plays," Zywicki said. "It (the 4-3 defense) allowed us to flow to the ball better. We had fewer guys regulated to one spot on the line."
Players and fans were not surprised to see the No. 2-state-ranked Redbirds make a comeback. It was just a matter of building off some positive plays and stringing them together.
"I just think it just shows the never quit attitude of these guys," Johnson said. "Guys were down, but we fought until the end. Just making it to state is great. There are not many people who have had a chance to get there four times."
