MADISON, Wis. – Four teams were earned football titles at the 2025 State Football Championships at Camp Randall Stadium Thursday.
Winneconne (14-0) made a fourth-quarter comeback to capture the Division 5 championship with a 28-22 win over Little Chute (12-2) in the title game.
In a rematch of a 14-6 Wolves’ victory in Week 1 of the regular season, Winneconne scored 15 points in the final period, including what proved to be the game-winning 8-yard touchdown run by Mason Mathe with 1:20 remaining in the game.
The Wolves featured a balanced offense with 162 yards rushing and 149 yards passing in the game. The Mustangs were run-dependent with 237 yards rushing and only two passing yards.
Brody Schaffer was the catalyst for the Winneconne offense, completing 11-of-16 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for a game-high 123 yards and a touchdown. Karter Hawthorne caught five passes for 55 yards and two touchdowns, and Ryan Quigley made four receptions for 65 yards. Ethan Duel made 13 tackles to lead all defenders, and Schaffer ignited the comeback with an interception early in the fourth quarter.
Reece Joten rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns for the Mustangs, and Tyler Hietpas added 69 yards on the ground with a touchdown. John Hermsen attempted two passes and completed one for five yards. James Thiel was a standout for the Mustangs’ defense with eight tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
The offenses were showcased early in the game. Little Chute scored on the opening drive of the game on a 24-yard run. Winneconne responded on the ensuing drive that was capped by a 2-yard scamper by Schaffer with a successful two-point conversion to give the Wolves an 8-6 lead. Two plays from scrimmage later, Hietpas raced 63 yards to give the Mustangs a 14-7 lead following the two-point conversion.
After a scoreless second quarter, the Wolves drove 70 yards in nine plays in its initial drive of the second half to pull within a point at 14-13 on a 31-yard pass from Schaffer to Hawthorne. The Mustangs responded with a touchdown drive on their next possession as Joten finished the 11-play drive with a 1-yard scoring plunge to give Little Chute a 22-13 advantage.
Schaffer and Hawthorne hooked up again on a 9-yard scoring strike to cut the Wolves’ deficit to 22-20 with 5:58 to play in the game. Later in the period, the Wolves took advantage of a Mustangs special teams miscue to force a turnover on downs at the Little Chute 22-yard line that set up the go-ahead touchdown.
Winneconne won the school's second title in its second championship game experience, and Little Chute finished runner-up in its second finals appearance.
Mayville (14-0) outscored Northwestern (13-1) 42-32 in the Division 5 championship final to earn the State title.
Statistically, the game was relatively even in yardage with Mayville holding a slight advantage in total yardage at 342-324. The Cardinals accumulated most of their yards on the ground with 321, while most of the Tigers’ production came through the air with 204 passing yards.
Mayville’s tandem of Joe Promersberger and Landen Baker accounted for 254 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Promersberger rushed seven times for a game-high 134 yards for a 19.1 yards-per carry average and two touchdowns. Baker added 120 yards and two scores on 29 carries. Emerson Mittelstadt completed just 1-of-2 passes for 21 yards and ran for 23 yards and a touchdown. Promersberger and Owen Steger led the Cardinals’ defense with five tackles apiece.
Kamden Kroll passed for 202 yards, completing 9-of-16 pass attempts with one touchdown for the Tigers. Tyson Teal was the leading rusher with 58 yards and three touchdowns. Teal also was the leading receiver with five catches for 109 yards and a score. Ricky Ericksen made a game-high 14 tackles to lead the defense.
Mayville scored first on a blocked punt returned for a touchdown by Weston Teeters, and Northwestern responded with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Anthony Calore, which set a Division 5 championship game record for the longest kick return.
The Cardinals led at halftime 21-14 and expanded their lead with the first touchdown of the second half at the 4:13 mark of the third period. The two teams traded two more rushing touchdowns throughout the second half before Northwestern scored with 2:45 remaining in the game on a 48-yard pass from Kroll to Teal for the final score of the game.
Mayville won its second championship in its seventh appearance in the finals, and Northwestern finisher=d runner-up in its third experience in the State championship game.
In the Division 6 championship game, Darlington (14-0) scored on four of its five first-half possessions in the game and went on to earn the title with a 42-18 win over Edgar (13-1).
The game featured the ground attack for both teams with only 15 passes attempted in the game. The Redbirds rushed for 294 yards with a 7-yards-per-carry average. The Wildcats ran for 221 yards on 46 attempts.
Zeke Zuberbuhler and Calum Crist both eclipsed the century mark, rushing for 133 and 104 yards, respectively, for the Redbirds. Zuberbuhler had three touchdown runs and completed 4-of-7 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Broker Buschor made two catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. Crist made a team-high nine tackles with an interception for the Redbirds’ defense, which recorded five sacks in the game.
The Wildcats were led offensively by Maverick Butt, who rushed for a game-high 158 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Tucker Streit completed two passes in eight attempts for 10 yards. Alex Schneider was the leading tackler for Edgar with 10 stops.
The Redbirds jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Zuberbuhler hit Buschor for a 20-yard scoring strike, and Dante Glendenning ran to paydirt from 8-yards out before Crist scored on a 25-yard interception return. Edgar got on the scoreboard on a 5-yard run to cut the Wildcats’ deficit to 21-6. The Redbirds took control of the game by scoring two more times before halftime. Zuberbuhler scored on a 6-yard run and on a 90-yard sprint to the end zone to give the Redbirds a 35-6 lead at the half.
Butt opened the scoring in the second half with a 12-yard run for the Wildcats to reduce their deficit to 35-12, but Darlington tacked on another score by Zuberbuhler from 1-yard out. Butt added a token score with nine seconds remaining on a 14-yard run to conclude the scoring.
Darlington won the program’s fifth State championship in its 14th experience in the finals. Edgar finished runner-up in its membership-leading 16th championship game appearance.
Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic (14-0) score on each of its first-half possessions and cruised to a 35-19 victory over Cochrane-Fountain City (13-1) in the Division 7 championship game.
The Lancers set a Division 7 record for passing yards in a championship a game with 226 and outgained the Pirates 377-280 in total offense.
Zach Rizzo completed 15-of-18 passes for 229 yards, which set the Division 7 championship record, and three touchdowns, which tied the Division 7 mark. His favorite target, Dominic Rinaldi, caught 10 passes for a Division 7 record 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Christopher Kenesie was the game’s leading rusher with 117 yards and a score. Defensively, Brady Brandt led the team with six tackles and forced a fumble.
Cochrane-Fountain City was led offensively by Parker Kujak, who completed 13-of-25 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown, and Aidan Liswoski rushed for a team-high 81 yards. Tucker Bambenek made five catches for 58 yards to lead the team in receiving.
Tomas Baez scored the first touchdown for the Lancers on an 11-yard reception from Zizzo midway through the first quarter. The Pirates countered with a 44-yard dash to the end zone by Liswoski on the ensuing drive. The Lancers scored late in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by Rizzo for a 14-7 lead. A 1-yard run by Kenesie and a 10-yard connection from Rizzo to Rinaldi gave Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic a 28-7 halftime advantage.
The Pirates cut their deficit to 28-13 on a 57-yard fumble return by Dylan Hager late in the third quarter. The Lancers added an insurance score on a Rizzo to Rinaldi 62-yard touchdown connection early in the fourth quarter. The Pirates scored late in the game on a 41-yard pass from Kujak to Stevie Meyer to account for the final score.
Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic won the school’s second title in the program’s second championship game appearance. Cochrane-Fountain City placed runner-up in its first-ever appearance in the title game.
The championships resume Firday with the Division 3 championship at 10:05 a.m., and the Division 2 and Division 1 finals to follow at 1:05 p.m. and 4:05 p.m., respectively, at Camp Randall Stadium.
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