Here are 5 takeaways from Kimberly's WIAA Division 1 high school football state championship

MADISION − The Kimberly football team's offense was dynamic in Friday's 34-30 victory over Mukwonago in the WIAA Division 1 state championship game at Camp Randall Stadium.

Blake Barry rushed for 184 yards and four touchdowns, including a 5-yard touchdown with under a minute remaining that proved to be the game-clinching score. But while the team rushed for 234 yards, the team's passing game also had its moments, with the biggest coming on the first drive of the second half.

Here's a look at that play as well as four other takeaways from the Papermakers' eighth state championship.

Miron, Criter connect on big touchdown

Kimberly quarterback Seth Miron had a so-so first half, completing four passes out of 10 attempts for 16 yards.

The weather wasn't exactly kind to quarterbacks, with blustery winds and on-and-off snow most of the day, especially in the two championship games earlier in the day. But the Papermakers did run a lot of hitch plays in the first half, which paid off with a nice double move from Ethan Criter on the team's first drive of the second half.

Criter, a 6-foot-2, 171-pound senior, was one-on-one with Mukwonago cornerback Trevor Boucher when he gave Boucher a deke just as Miron delivered a pump fake. That allowed Criter to cruise past Boucher, catch the well-placed dart from Miron and outrun Boucher and safety Jack Savasta into the end zone for the tying score.

"We saw the guy looking in and I told my coaches that the hitch-and-go (was there) because he was biting right away and looking in," Criter said. "It just worked in our favor."

Criter finished with four catches for 66 yards and Miron eventually completed the game with 112 yards on 10-of-17 passing.

"Their DBs were crashing hard and we obviously saw that and went into halftime and talked about it," Miron said. "We came out in the second half and took advantage of that and it felt great and it was a huge morale booster."

Dechant gets his redemption

You're not going to find a more dogged competitor than Kimberly senior Isaac Dechant.

As the team's starting fullback, Dechant has to do most of the team's dirty work and that means blocking, blocking and a little more blocking with infrequent opportunities to touch the ball.

So when Dechant dropped a pair of passes during the championship game, he made sure that didn't take him off his primary focus of leading the way for Barry in the run game.

That critical situation came to a head on the team's final drive. Dechant was a member of the team's Hulk formation that included the offensive line of Blaike Loker, Braden Dickman, Nick Schowerer, Ben Youngworth and Nic Plamann as well as backup fullback Sam MIller and tight ends Abe Coronado and Nathan Wildes.

The jumbo formation cleared the way for Barry on first-and-goal at the Mukwonago 5-yard line that led to the game-deciding touchdown with 26 seconds left.

Dechant was thankful for the opportunity.

"It was really good, man," he said. "I knew I had to make up for those drops that I had."

Dechant said he and the offense were ready to do work after quarterback Evan Herbig scored a short touchdown on Mukwonago's previous possession, leaving just over four minutes for the Kimberly offense with the team down 30-27.

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"I just knew that I got the feeling when they scored ... I looked at all of our offense and I knew we were going to score," he said. "That entire drive through the good and bad, we kept our heads up and we kept getting at each other and encouraging each other and to get that final block and that being my final play in my high school career is really special. I’ll remember it forever."

Youngworth, a 6-1, 260-pound senior, said he and his fellow linemen were "so confident" they could get the job done in crunch time.

"We knew it was all on us," he said. "We knew that probably was our last drive as a team and as a group and we were ready to go and punch that ticket to the gold ball.”

Offense earns praise from Doucette

Kimberly senior linebacker Ethan Doucette admits the team's defense didn't play particularly well against Mukwonago.

And in that way, the Papermakers' championship was the definition of a team victory, because there were instances during the season where the defense led the way in victories.

"The offense did an amazing job," Doucette said. "They played an amazing game. Honestly, if it weren’t for the offense we would not be in this position to have this opportunity to win this game. Defensively we had a lot of stuff that we could have done better, but we won and that’s all that really matters. Hat’s off to the offense."

Doucette altered the game in a big way early in the first quarter. Mukwonago star running back Wynn Stang broke his collarbone after a hit from Doucette that resulted in a 5-yard loss. Stang, who entered the game as the top rusher in the state with 2,761 yards and 42 touchdowns, finished with two carries for 1 yard.

“It changed a little bit because the whole (defensive) game plan was based on his run game," Doucette said. "After he was out we had to figure out their main threat, which turned out to be (Herbig)."

The Papermakers' defense sealed the win with a game-ending interception by Thomas Meyers off Herbig.

"It was a great team win," Doucette said. "A great team state championship. It’s the best way in the world to go out as a senior and I couldn't be happier for the guys and everyone on the team."

Win special for seniors

This was the last hurrah for 30 Kimberly seniors and Dechant said to end their careers as champions was "something special."

"Words can’t even describe it," he said. "I remember freshman year sitting down with these guys and just after our last freshman game we looked down and said, 'We’re going to be here. We’re going to go to Camp Randall and we’re going to win.'

"It just means a lot to me and my team, but also I appreciate the alumni. I know all those guys ... they couldn’t get the chance to get here and ultimately we did it for them and for anyone past and present for Kimberly. I’m just really excited."

Said Doucette: "It was amazing because my best friends − Blake Barry, Blaike Loker, Seth Miron − this is the only thing we wanted since freshman year. And the first thing that I’ll remember is going up to Blake and going up to Seth and hugging them and saying, 'Hey man, we did it.' It’s the best feeling in the world to know all that hard work paid off."

Adding to the legacy

Friday's championship was the eighth for the Papermakers and the first since a string of five consecutive from 2013 to 2017, which included a Division 2 title in 2013. That run also included a 70-game winning streak, the longest winning streak in state history. Kimberly also won Division 2 crowns in 2007 and 2008.

"We fought a lot of adversity this year," Barry said. "We didn't get the (top) seed and I mean we really proved that we were more than the three seed and driving down to Waunakee and Neenah (in the playoffs). I think it was a tough road in the playoffs and it showed just how (resilient) our team is."

Youngworth agreed.

"It's super satisfying," he said. "Just being able to grind with the boys every single day for months and months on end. Being able to have the satisfaction of having the gold ball is insane."

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Here are 5 takeaways from Kimberly's WIAA Division 1 state championship