By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
WATERFORD – The Delavan-Darien football team, desperately needing a win to make the playoffs, almost pulled off the unthinkable Friday night.
With two minutes to play, the Comets were trailing, 35-28, inside the Waterford 10-yard line.
But like it has done all year, the Waterford defense came up big, thwarting Delavan’s drive and preventing a colossal comeback.
The 35-28 victory is the Wolverines’ sixth straight and earned them a share of the Southern Lakes Conference championship with a 6-1 mark. Wilmot and Lake Geneva Badger also finished 6-1 in the SLC. Waterford finished the regular season 7-2 overall.
This is Waterford’s third straight SLC title, as it shared with Wilmot and Badger in 2011 and won outright in 2012.
Waterford led, 28-7, after three quarters, but Delavan stormed back with three Jesse Collins touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone, two passing and one running.
Collins’ 19-yard strike to John Damrow with 4:49 to play cut the lead to 35-28.
Waterford’s 35 points is a season high, and much of the offense came from senior running back Jake Bauer, who notched his fourth straight game with at least 110 rushing yards (172, TD). Bauer ran for 592 yards in the last four games and finished the regular season with 875.
Tom Benko, Max Fisher and Justin Steffens added rushing touchdowns for the Wolverines.
In the air, quarterback Dylan Malecki found Dylan Saber for a 29-yard passing score to give Waterford a 7-0 lead.
Collins, who averages more than 100 yards rushing per game, was shut down. He only mustered 27 yards on the ground on 23 carries, but he threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns.
Waterford landed in the Division II playoff bracket. With an enrollment of 1,066, the Wolverines are in the bottom half of the 32-team field in terms of size. In 2011, Waterford advanced to the Division II state championship game in Madison but lost to Waunakee.
Stay tuned to www.myracinecounty.com for playoff matchups, follow @mikeramczyk17 on Twitter for updates this weekend and pick up Thursday’s Burlington Standard Press for complete playoff football coverage.
Other area football playoff teams
Division 1
Lake Geneva Badger (smallest school of 32)
Division 2
Wilmot (17th largest of 32)
Waterford (21st of 32)
Division 3
Elkhorn (7th of 32)
Division 4
Walworth Big Foot (4th of 32)
Division 7
Catholic Central (13th of 32)
Friday scoreboard
Catholic Central 34, Greendale Martin Luther 0
Elkhorn 24, Burlington 6
Wilmot 28, Westosha Central 7
Lake Geneva Badger 39, Union Grove 23
Cambria-Friesland 28, Williams Bay 15
East Troy 48, Whitewater 21
Walworth Big Foot 16, Brodhead 3
Franklin 41, Racine Park 6
Mukwonago 25, Muskego 14
Oak Creek 42, Racine Case 6
Racine Horlick 23, Kenosha Indian Trail 20
Racine St. Cat’s 49, Milwaukee Thomas More 0
Catholic Memorial 16, Waukesha West 14
-
-
-
-
-