When Lake Geneva Badger snuck into the Division 2 football playoff field as the largest school after years of being the small fish in the massive Division 1 pond, the 7-2 Badgers became a sleeper pick to make some noise this postseason.
On Friday night, the Southern Lakes Conference’s lone survivor did a lot more than simply gain state-wide attention.
Kicker Tias Larson nailed a 35-yard field goal in overtime, and Lake Geneva upset the state’s No. 1 team in Division 2, previously undefeated Waunakee, and is now one game away from the state championship in Madison.
Badger plays Friday night, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. at Kenosha Indian Trail in a state semifinal against Waukesha West, which eviscerated Waterford, 60-0, Friday night in a Division 2 state quarterfinal.
Badger and Waterford were the final SLC teams, and both had a chance to play each other for the right to play at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
With Badger, Waterford, Wilmot and Union Grove each winning at least one playoff game, and Delavan-Darien also making the postseason, the SLC is fighting for state respect and earning it.
Badger can complete the SLC’s strong postseason with a win over Waukesha West, which advanced to the Division 2 state title last year and won the Division 1 championship in 2010. The Wolverines have made it to three state title games, two in Division 1, since 2004.
Lake Geneva Badger is making its second appearance in the state semifinals. The Badgers lost to Sun Prairie, 21-13, in the Division 1 Final Four in 2012.
Badger’s program has developed into a powerhouse, with 10 straight playoff trips including three trips to Level 3 or further since 2009.
On Friday night in Waunakee, the 10-2 Badgers fell behind three times, and they responded with touchdowns to tie the game each time.
Badger had its most balanced offensive attack, with 174 passing yards and 197 on the ground. The team had been putting up almost 300 rushing yards per game with next to nothing through the air.
The passing game was far from traditional and kept Waunakee guessing all night.
Just before halftime, Badger tied the score at 14-14 with a screen pass to Tyler Vandevelde, who took it 42 yards to the house.
The teams went scoreless in the third quarter, but Waunakee’s Javian Dayne, the son of former Wisconsin Badger great and Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, scored on an 11-yard run to help build a 21-14 lead.
Dayne ran for 168 yards on 30 carries.
Badger put together a long drive, highlighted by a fourth-and-eight conversion, but the drive ended at the Waunakee 14. Lake Geneva turned the ball over on downs.
But the defense, which has been dominant all postseason, gave the ball back to the Badger offense.
And just like Badger coach Matt Hensler did in a 2012 playoff game, he dialed up a halfback pass in the final minutes. This time, it worked to perfection.
Mason Dumez handed off to former quarterback Isaac Ziervogel, who lofted a perfect strike to a wide-open Chase Craig for a 28-yard touchdown pass with only a minute on the clock.
The game went into overtime, where Jordan Monroe picked off Waunakee quarterback Casey Marksbury on the first possession.
That’s when Larson kicked his farthest field goal of the season, a 35-yarder, to send the Badger crowd and players into a frenzy. The third-seeded, unranked Badgers had knocked off a team that just won a state title in 2011 and has won five state titles in 25 years.
“We just played Badger football,” said Vandevelde, whose 86 rushing yards improved his season total to 1,491. “Our defense is strong, and offensively we threw two touchdowns. We shocked everyone.”
“The field goal was too insane. Our bench cleared, and the crowd was storming.”
After a 14-0 loss at Wilmot Sept. 25, the 4-2 Badgers changed things up.
Ziervogel was moved from quarterback to running back, and Dumez took over as the signal-caller. Cole Mikrut moved from tackle to guard to revamp the offensive line, and the Badgers eliminated two-way players.
The focus on specialization and keeping guys fresh paid off in a big way.
Badger has won six straight games since, including victories over Waterford and Waunakee.
West, which dominated Waterford with ease and forced nine turnovers, features a three-year starter at quarterback, Connor Blount, and a dynamic running back, Jair Scott, who has more than 1,500 yards this season.
But Vandevelde said the team’s goal is state, and he believes they will get there.
“We have busted our butts all year, and we want state,” he said.
Catholic Central 40, Cambria-Friesland 0
CAMBRIA – The real No. 1 seed and the king of the Hilltopper hill were revealed Friday night at Cambria-Friesland High School, about 30 minutes north of Madison.
Thanks to three touchdowns each from senior studs Ben Heiligenthal and Cole Kresken, along with four takeaways, the second-seeded Catholic Central Hilltoppers knocked off the top-seeded Cambria-Friesland Hilltoppers in a Division 7 state quarterfinal.
Now, the No. 2 team in Division 7, Catholic Central, will take its 12-0 record into another showdown of unbeatens with third-ranked Bangor (12-0) Friday night at 7 p.m. at DeForest High School.
“This team deserves it,” said Kresken, who ran for 145 yards on 20 carries and often dragged defenders on tough runs. “I was running angry tonight. We’ve worked hard all year. It’s paying off.”
“I’m excited I get to play another week of football with this team,” said Heiligenthal, who fooled the defense repeatedly with fake handoffs. “This was the best our offensive line has played all season. Cole ran hard. It was taking three guys to take him down.”
Kyle Goethal was a defensive star for the Toppers. He recovered a fumble, which led to a second-quarter touchdown, and snagged an interception on a screen pass in the fourth quarter.
Goethal and teammates Hertel Novasic, Trevor Meinholz, Andrew Kempken and others often disrupted Cambria’s offense in the backfield. Catholic Central only allowed 167 yards and eight first downs, most of which came late when the game was decided.
Goethal refuses to get overconfident heading into Friday night’s showdown.
“It will take a lot of hard work and focus in practice, and we just have to keep moving forward,” he said.
“Goethal’s had a great season,” said coach Tom Aldrich. “He’s a fierce competitor, and he’s fun to watch in practice. There’s a lot of guys that get overshadowed. What he did tonight, he does it in practice all the time.”
The Toppers offense had little trouble moving forward against Cambria.
Heiligenthal opened the scoring with a five-yard run with eight minutes in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Kempken picked off a Cambria pass. On the very next play, Heiligenthal kept the ball and ran up the middle for a 22-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 13-0.
On Cambria’s next possession, the ball popped high into the air on a running play, and Goethal pounced on it for the recovery.
Utilizing another short field, Kresken capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run with 6:53 in the second quarter to make it 19-0. Jacob Webley’s catch on fourth and 5 kept the drive alive.
Cole Pankau leaped high for another interception on Cambria’s next possession.
Much like it did the previous week, Catholic Central reeled off a long, methodical championship drive to put the game out of reach.
The Toppers took the third-quarter kickoff and capped a 70-yard drive in 4:18 with a bruising five-yard touchdown run by Kresken. A steady diet of Kresken up the middle and Heiligenthal on the outside wore the Cambria defense down, as both runners consistently broke tackles, initiated contact and finished with authority.
Heiligenthal added a one-yard score in the fourth quarter, and Kresken followed it with a seven-yard scoring run where he dragged four Cambria defenders the final four yards into the end zone.
Heiligenthal yelled, “You’re a beast” to Kresken as he jogged off the field, and Kresken pointed at his offensive line in admiration.
Heiligenthal racked up 93 rushing yards on 12 carries. He added a modest 44 yards through the air. Brandon Vandehei had two catches for 29 yards.
It was the 12th time this season, good for every game, that Catholic Central won by double digits.
“I’m glad we get to play another week,” Aldrich said. “I thought the effort our kids gave says a lot about them. It was better than last week, and that’s all we want to do, get better every week.”
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