This story is sponsored by: Chili Implement
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
WAUPACA – The Stratford football team is state-bound. Again.
Koehler Kilty ran in for a touchdown from 15 yards out and the Stratford defense held with an interception on the final play to give the Tigers a thrilling 20-14 overtime win over Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs in a WIAA Division 6 Level 4 state semifinal Friday night at Waupaca High School.
Stratford (10-2-1) moves on to the WIAA D-6 state championship game against Mondovi (12-1) on Thursday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The state finals appearance will be Stratford’s 10th in school history and third in the past five years. The Tigers lost in the state finals in 2018 and 2019. Mondovi reached its second state finals in program history (the other in 1990) with a 14-7 victory over Darlington on Friday.
The game went down to the bitter end after a wild fourth quarter forced overtime.
WIAA overtime rules gives each team a chance with the ball at the opposing team’s 25-yard line. Stratford started on offense first. After a 10-yard pass from Braeden Schueller to Ashton Wrensch, Kilty was stuffed at the line, but broke through on a second down play and rambled 15 yards for a touchdown. The extra point kick was blocked, giving Stratford a 20-14 lead.
The Tigers’ defense then stepped up big. On third-and-6, Stratford’s pass rush stymied St. Mary’s Springs quarterback Cullen King, forcing an intentional grounding call to set up a fourth-and-19.
A final heave into double coverage in the end zone was picked off by Schueller, setting off a celebration from the Tigers.
“We put him (Schueller) in there to cover 10 (Springs receiver Lucas Rameker), he’s a great player and we knew they were going to throw it to him,” Stratford coach Jason Tubbs said. “The guys rallied to the football and that’s what they’ve done all year. I’m so proud of them.”
Schueller said the trip to state is a dream come true for him and his teammates.
“I don’t usually play defense, but I came in and to get a chance to make that play on the ball, it was amazing,” Schueller said of his game-sealing pick. “This has been a dream since we were in kindergarten, now we’re finally living it.”
Schueller and Stratford shook off a pair of first-quarter interceptions to put together the first of its epic drives in the game.
Stratford used a 13-play, 72-yard drive to hit pay dirt midway through the second quarter. The first 12 plays were on the ground before Schueller hit Gavin Leonhardt for a 30-yard touchdown pass on third-and-19. Evan Danielson kicked the extra point and Stratford led 7-0.
That looked like it might be enough for the Tigers, who were dominating on defense in the first half, allowing just nine total yards to St. Mary’s Springs.
“(Defensive coordinator) Marshall Lehman does a great job with the defense, the kids listen to every word he says,” Tubbs said. “He talks a lot and the kids just buy in. (Senior linebacker) Johnny Seitz is a great leader. I’ve never had a better communicator. These guys have just wanted it and they finished it off.”
A sack and a delay of game penalty helped stall the Ledgers’ opening drive in the second half that reached the Stratford 32, and the Tigers’ 7-0 lead held until the fourth quarter.
The final 12 minutes provided all of the fireworks.
Springs took to its passing game on its first full drive of the fourth quarter as King completed three of four passes, the final one for 30 yards to Lucas Rameker for a touchdown. An extra point kick tied the game at 7-7 with 8:27 to go in regulation.
Stratford responded with another long drive, moving 88 yards in 14 plays and chewing up 7:03 to regain the lead.
Schueller connected on three passes for 34 yards and Kilty ran four-straight plays for 39 more to get the Tigers down to the 2. Schueller punched it in on a sneak to give Stratford a 14-7 lead with 1:24 to go.
“It was a whole team effort,” Schueller said. “Whams inside with Koehler, he’s just killing people all of the time running them over. They had to load the box and we had a couple of quick passes to Ashton, and that’s what got us to finish that off.”
That was just enough time for the Ledgers to tie it up again. King connected with Rameker on passes of 5, 13, 15 and 11 yards, the final for a touchdown with just 26 seconds left in the game. After toying with going for a two-point conversion and a chance to win, calling two timeouts in the process, Springs decided to kick the extra point and it was good. Stratford didn’t push the issue when it received the kickoff and the game went to overtime, where Kilty’s TD and Schueller’s interception finished off Stratford’s victory.
“We thought we had a shot, even early in the year when we were 0-1-1,” Tubbs said. “We thought if we play together, it will come together there at the end. Last year we were 2-0 and it turned out bad in Level 2, let’s see what the end looks like.”
Kilty finished with 174 yards rushing and Schueller threw for 107 as the Tigers outgained St. Mary’s Springs 343-151.
Tigers 20, Ledgers 14 (OT)
St. Mary’s Springs 0 0 0 14 0 – 14
Stratford 0 7 0 7 6 – 20
Second Quarter
STR – Gavin Leonhardt 30 pass from Braeden Schueller (Evan Danielson kick), 4:47.
Fourth Quarter
SMS – Lucas Rameker 30 pass from Cullen King (Cole Rottman kick), 8:27.
STR – Schueller 2 run (Schueller kick), 1:24.
SMS – Rameker 11 pass from King (Rottman kick), 0:26.
Overtime
STR – Koehler Kilty 15 run (kick blocked).
Team Statistics
First downs: SMS 9; STR 16.
Rushing (att-yards): SMS 23-25; STR 50-236.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): SMS 10-21-126-1; STR 6-12-107-2.
Total yards: SMS 151; STR 343.
Penalties (no.-yards): SMS 6-53; STR 7-49.
Fumbles (total-lost): SMS 0-0; STR 0-0.
Punting (no.-avg.): SMS 6-43.8; STR 3-30.3.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: SMS, Levi Huempfner 8-22, Jonathan Korb 4-11, J.T. Koenigs 4-6, Max Bauer 3-minus 4, Cullen King 4-minus 10. STR, Koehler Kilty 34-174, Gavin Leonhardt 8-30, Braeden Schueller 7-27, Evan Danielson 1-5.
Passing: SMS, King 10-21-126-1. STR, Schueller 6-12-107-2.
Receiving: SMS, Lucas Rameker 8-116, Sam Coon 2-10. STR, Leonhardt 3-82, Ashton Wrensch 3-25.
Interceptions (defense): SMS, Rameker, Sam Lucas. STR, Schueller.
Records: St. Mary’s Springs 10-3; Stratford 10-2-1.