This story is sponsored by: Sternweis & Sons
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
CHIPPEWA FALLS – The Stratford football program has seemingly made a ritual of playing in Madison in November and that tradition will continue.
The Tigers held nearly a 2-to-1 margin in yards gained and the two-headed monster of Gavin Leonhardt and Koehler Kilty combined for five touchdowns as Stratford manhandled undefeated Grantsburg 35-21 in a WIAA Division 6 Level 4 state semifinal Friday night at Dorais Field at Chippewa Falls High School.
Stratford (12-1) moves on to the WIAA State Football Championships for the fourth time in the past six seasons and 10th time since 2003. The Tigers will take on Darlington (12-1) in the Division 6 final on Thursday at 1 p.m. at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
“Our team is special,” Stratford coach Jason Tubbs said. “Our scout team guys were awesome this week. They tried to run their offense, which is super complex, and did a great job getting guys in space and making our guys work. It was a big part of it.”
Stratford rode its running game, per usual, behind its stout offensive line that owned the line of scrimmage. Kilty was the workhorse, carrying the ball 36 times for 219 yards and two scores, while Leonhardt had 93 yards on just nine carries and two touchdowns. Leonhardt also picked up a receiving TD from quarterback Jack Tubbs.
The Tigers were off and running from the start as they drove 85 yards on the game’s opening possession, with Kilty capping off the nine-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown run and Stratford led 7-0 less than five minutes in.
Stratford overcame an interception by Tubbs by turning Grantsburg away and took advantage of a turnover early in the second quarter to bump up its lead.
Tubbs picked off a pass and returned it 22 yards to set up Stratford at the Pirates’ 26. Two plays later, Leonhardt went 26 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0.
Grantsburg made a game of it by responding with a touchdown drive of its own. Brock Matheny finished off the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Rossow on fourth-and-11, cutting the Pirates’ deficit to 14-7 with 3:08 left in the second quarter.
Following a 41-yard kickoff return to Leonhardt, Stratford turned to Kilty, who ran the ball on five-straight plays to reach the 16. Tubbs then hit Leonhardt on a swing pass off of play-action and the senior took it the final 16 yards for another score with 56 seconds left in the half, pushing the Tigers’ lead to 21-7.
“I give our guys credit, they were locked in and making great plays,” Jason Tubbs said. “We had one bad pass by Jack, but then he found Gavin on a nice pass and Payton (Glenn) on a nice pass, and made an interception (on defense). I’m super proud of my kids, super proud of our team. That’s a great team over there and we slowed down their offense, which is a tough thing to do.”
Stratford essentially put the game away by scoring on its first two drives of the second half.
Leonhardt ran in from the 18 with 6:49 to go in the third quarter, and after forcing a punt, Stratford went 81 yards in a signature Tigers’ drive that went 15 plays, chewed up the final 4:39 of the third quarter and first 3:43 of the second, and ended with a 1-yard TD plunge from Kilty, to make it 35-7.
Grantsburg put up two scores in the final minutes. Matheny connected with Trenton Johnson for a 6-yard touchdown, and after recovering an onside kick, Matheny threw a 16-yard TD to Ian Burkman to make it look respectable.
Another onside kick attempt failed and Stratford again went to Kilty. The senior running back carried the ball eight times and Tubbs twice to convert three first downs and run out the final 5:30 of the game.
Stratford outgained Grantsburg 400-219, and racked up 324 yards on the ground.
Matheny finished with 158 yards passing for the Pirates, 96 coming in the fourth quarter.
Stratford will shoot for its ninth state championship overall, and second in a row, on Thursday, against a Darlington program that also has plenty of state experience. Darlington made it to the state finals 12 times between 1987 and 2016, winning four Division 5 championships (1987, 1990, 1991, 1995).
View the statewide Level 4 scoreboard here
Tigers 35, Pirates 21
Stratford 7 14 7 7 – 35
Grantsburg 0 7 0 14 – 21
First Quarter
S – Koehler Kilty 5 run (Laurenz Plattner kick), 7:06.
Second Quarter
S – Gavin Leonhardt 26 run (Plattner kick), 8:28.
G – Gavin Rossow 16 pass from Brock Matheny (Alex McCormick kick), 3:08.
S – Leonhardt 16 pass from Jack Tubbs (Plattner kick), 0:56.
Third Quarter
S – Leonhardt 18 run (Plattner kick), 6:49.
Fourth Quarter
S – Kilty 1 run (Plattner kick), 8:17.
G – Trenton Johnson 6 pass from Matheny (McCormick kick), 5:52.
G – Ian Burkman 16 pass from Matheny (McCormick kick), 5:30.
Team Statistics
First downs: S 17; G 10.
Rushing (att-yards): S 53-324; G 18-52.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): S 5-6-76-1; G 14-26-167-2.
Total yards: S 400; G 219.
Penalties (no.-yards): S 8-75; G 5-45.
Fumbles (total-lost): S 1-0; G 1-0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: S, Koehler Kilty 36-219, Gavin Leonhardt 9-83, Jett Schoenherr 2-18, Jack Tubbs 6-4. G, Trenton Johnson 10-22, Ian Burkman 2-16, Brock Matheny 2-10, Dane Lozier 1-3, Gavin Rossow 3-1.
Passing: S, Tubbs 5-6-76-1. G, Matheny 13-21-158-0, Johnson 1-5-9-2.
Receiving: S, Leonhardt 3-60, Payton Glenn 1-15, Kilty 1-1. G, Johnson 7-58, Zach Rombach 3-53, Burkman 1-16, Rossow 1-16, Marcus Michel 1-15, Matheny 1-9.
Interceptions (defense): S, Glenn, Tubbs. G, Rombach.
Records: Stratford 12-1; Grantsburg 12-1.