'It's crazy that we just won': Stratford downs Mondovi to win eighth state football championship

MADISON – After two weeks of the high school football season, the Stratford Tigers had not won a game.

They didn’t panic, they believed in what they were doing and now they are state champions again.

Stratford rallied in the second half and then rode its punishing defense to a 32-14 victory over Mondovi on Thursday in the WIAA Division 6 state championship game at Camp Randall Stadium.

The championship is the eighth in program history for Stratford, which won the Division 5 title in 1986 and then won six consecutive Division 6 titles from 2003 to 2008.

Stratford, which finishes the season with an 11-2-1 record, was also state runner-up in Division 5 in 2018 and 2019.

“It ended up exactly how I wanted it to, so that’s all that matters,” Tigers senior linebacker and captain John Seitz III said. “A gold ball in the trophy case. We had to bring home a gold one for (the 2019 team).”

Stratford tied Mosinee in the season opener and then lost to rival Edgar in the second week. The Tigers also lost to Amherst in the regular-season finale, but ran off five consecutive victories in the playoffs to bring home the title.

“lt was cool growing up in Stratford, always making it far in the playoffs, and a couple years ago we made it to state two years in a row,” junior Koehler Kilty said. “But to finally be here with my teammates and myself – honestly didn’t really think coming into the season we’d be here – but it’s crazy that we just won a gold ball and are bringing it back to Stratford.”

Kilty ran for 192 yards and 35 carries and scored three touchdowns for the Tigers. His 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave Stratford a 13-0 lead, his 2-yard run in the third quarter put Stratford ahead for good at 19-14 after Mondovi had rallied to take the lead, and he capped the scoring with a 1-yard TD run with 34 seconds remaining in the game.

Braeden Schueller and Gavin Leonhardt hooked up for two touchdown passes for the Tigers, a 23-yard scoring play to cap the opening drive of the game to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead, and then an 11-yard connection early in the fourth quarter when Leonhardt made a nice catch in the back of the end zone to make it 25-14.

After Mondovi went ahead 14-13 with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter on a 36-yard pass from Jarod Falkner to Cade Fremstad, the Stratford defense made life difficult for the Buffaloes the rest of the game.

Mondovi went three-and-out on its next drive after Stratford had regained the lead, Stratford held Mondovi on downs the next two drives and then Ashton Wrensch intercepted a deep pass and returned it 30 yards to set up the final touchdown and seal the win.

“Credit to (defensive) coach Marshall Lehman,” Kilty said. “He drew this defense up and we all followed his lead and we just played Stratford football. Play physical. Play fast.”

Dawson Rud ran for nearly 2,000 yards and Falkner ran for over 1,000 this season for Mondovi, but Rud was held to 32 yards and Falkner had 30.

“Stats don’t lie,” Seitz said. “We hold our teams to bare minimum yardage. I think it really speaks volume of all our kids because we all have one job to do, finish it and get the job done. So with our coach’s game plan and how we execute the game plan, I think it’s just amazing defense.”

Wrensch and Ryan Becker each had seven tackles to lead Stratford. Connor Weigel added six tackles and the Tigers had six tackles for loss. Stratford also recovered two fumbles and scored 14 points off turnovers.

“We fought, fought, fought and we won. This is 100% worth it. I’m just really proud of everybody,” Seitz said.

Tubbs said finishing the season with a gold ball after the slow start to the season is the epitome of the Stratford program.

“We’re one of those teams that likes to get better every week, every week, every week,” he said. “These guys worked their tails off and I’m just so proud of them. They came out firing on all cylinders. It’s a long season.”

Tubbs was the head coach for Stratford in 2018 and 2019 when it finished second, so his first state title as head coach is extra special.

“It is an amazing feeling as a head coach,” he said. “Twenty years at Stratford and get down here 10 times. That’s pretty special for any coach across the country. This community is amazing. They support us everywhere we go. It’s just fun to be a Stratford Tiger.”

Stratford  6  7  6  13  -  32

Mondovi  0  7  7  0  -  14

SCORING PLAYS

First Quarter

S – Gavin Leonhardt 23 pass from Braeden Schueller (kick failed)

Second Quarter

S – Koehler Kilty 3 run (Evan Danielson kick)

M – Jarod Falkner 1 run (Cody Wagner kick)

Third Quarter

M – Cade Fremstad 36 pass from Falkner (Wagner kick)

S – Kilty 2 run (run failed)

Fourth Quarter

S – Leonhardt 11 pass from Schueller (kick failed)

S – Kilty 1 run (Mason Miller kick)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing – Stratford: Kilty 35-192, Schueller 3-11, Connor Weigel 1-10, Leonhardt 1-(-1). Mondovi: Dawson Rud 15-32, Falkner 14-30, Jake Linse 1-21.

Passing – Stratford: Schueller 6-11-2-78. Mondovi: Falkner 9-18-1-144.

Receiving – Stratford: Leonhardt 3-57, Ashton Wrensch 2-15, Kilty 1-6. Mondovi: Fremstad 4-110, Rud 2-27, Linse 2-6, Austin Remington 1-2.

This article originally appeared on Marshfield News-Herald: Stratford beats Mondovi to win WIAA Division 6 state football title