With Iola-Scandinavia leading 12-7 midway through the second quarter and driving for another score, St. Mary’s Springs desperately needed to make a play.
So, they went out and made one. A big one.
Ezra Tucker stripped the Thunderbirds’ Bryce Huettner of the ball, Zach Austin pounced on the fumble and the momentum of the WIAA Division 6 state championship game completely changed as the Ledgers pulled out a 35-12 win at Camp Randall Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
“The coaches preach if two guys got him there holding him, go for ball. I had his legs and Ezra did exactly that. He came and stripped the ball out and Zach was able to jump on it,” senior standout Clay Schueffner said. “We came to the huddle and were like we got momentum now and we need to put our foot on the gas. That’s exactly what we did. Never turned back from there.”
The victory, which caps a 14-0 season, puts the Ledgers in exclusive company.
St. Mary’s Springs joins Edgar, Lancaster and Stratford as the only teams in WIAA history with seven state football championships and the Ledgers .878 winning percentage in the playoffs is tops among teams with at least 30 postseason games.
Photo: Danny Damiani/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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