2025 WIAA State Football Championships recap

AppletonSportsPage.com

MADISON – The 2025 WIAA State Football Championships were held Nov. 20-21 at Camp Randall Stadium with seven divisional titles contested at the home of the University of Wisconsin Badgers.

DIVISION 7
Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic 35, Cochrane-Fountain City 19
St. Joseph Catholic (14-0) ran out to a three-touchdown lead by halftime and cruised to its first state championship.

Dominic Rinaldi caught 10 passes for 177 and two touchdowns as quarterback Zach Rizzo was 15-for-18 for 226 yards and three TDs. Christopher Kenesie ran for 124 yards and a score as well for the Lancers.

DIVISION 6
Darlington 42, Edgar 18
Darlington (14-0) captured its fourth state title, and first since winning back-to-back Division 5 championships in 1990 and 1991, while denying Edgar its third state title in a row.

Edgar (13-1), which had won the Division 7 titles the past two seasons, fell behind 35-6 by halftime and couldn’t recover as it was outgained 351-231 and committed two turnovers.

Maverick Butt had 160 rushing yards and scored twice for Edgar.

Darlington had a pair of 100-yard rushers as Zeke Zuberbuhler ran for 133 and three touchdowns, and Calum Crist added 107.

DIVISION 5
Mayville 42, Northwestern 32
Mayville (14-0) held on in the second half to capture its second state title and first since 1994.

Joe Promersberger ran for 134 yards and Landen Baker added 120, and each scored twice for the Cardinals.

Northwestern (13-1) quarterback Kroll threw for 202 yards and a touchdown on just nine completions, and Teal scored four touchdowns in the loss.

DIVISION 4
Winneconne 28, Little Chute 22
Winneconne (14-0) capped off an undefeated season with a late touchdown to capture its second state title to go along with a D-4 championship in 2013.

Winneconne trailed 22-13 heading into the fourth quarter before Karter Hawthorne caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Brody Schaffer with 5:58 to go, and Mason Mathe had an 8-yard TD run with 1:20 remaining to give the Wolves the six-point win.

Schaffer ran for 137 yards and threw for 149 more for Winneconne.

DIVISION 3
Grafton 17, Reedsburg 15
Bollech kicked a 35-yard field goal with six seconds remaining to give Grafton (14-0) its third state championship. Grafton won Division 2 titles in 1981 and 1982.

Reedsburg took a 15-14 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion by Mikonowicz with 1:39 remaining, only to see Grafton pick up a pair of fourth downs to drive 49 yards to get into field goal range in the final seconds.

Mikonowicz ran for a Division 3 state record 270 yards for Reedsburg (10-4).

Nelson led Grafton with 168 yards rushing, while Deer had seven catches for 129 yards as the Black Hawks had 393 yards of total offense.

DIVISION 2
West De Pere 28, Green Bay Notre Dame 14
West De Pere won the battle of undefeated teams to earn its third state title. The Phantoms won back-to-back Division 3 championships in 2010 and 2011.

Patrick Greisen completed 16 of 26 passes for 304 yards and two scores, with Judeah Kniskern catching seven balls for 164 yards and a 60-yard touchdown for West De Pere.

Kingston Allen ran for 242 yards and scored both of Notre Dame’s touchdowns.

DIVISION 1
Hartland Arrowhead 18, Bay Port 15
Arrowhead survived a wild finish to net its seventh Division 1 state championship to go along with titles in 1993, 1994, 1996, 2007, 2012 and 2013.

Bay Port, last year’s D-1 state champion, took a 15-12 lead on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Braydon Maney to Brady Moon and a two-point conversion pass with 46 seconds left.

Arrowhead’s Ryan Heiman stunned the Pirates, returning the ensuing kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown to give the Warhawks an 18-15 advantage.

Bay Port connected on a 31-yard pass to reach the Arrowhead 11 with one second remaining. Instead of attempting a 28-yard field goal, Bay Port went for the win and a pass into the end zone fell incomplete as time expired.

2025 WIAA State Football Championships
Nov. 20-21, at Camp Randall Stadium, Madison
Thursday, Nov. 20
Division 7: Kenosha St. Joseph (14-0) 35, Cochrane-Fountain City (13-1) 19
Division 6: Darlington (14-0) 42, Edgar (13-1) 18
Division 5: Mayville (14-0) 42, Northwestern (13-1) 32
Division 4: Winneconne (14-0) 28, Little Chute (12-2) 22
Friday, Nov. 21
Division 3: Grafton (14-0) 17, Reedsburg (10-4) 15
Division 2: West De Pere (14-0) 28, Green Bay Notre Dame (13-1) 14
Division 1: Hartland Arrowhead (13-1) 18, Bay Port (11-3) 15