MADISON, Wis.— It’s where every high school football player wants their season to end. After a 2020 season without traditional state playoffs, seven teams once again left Camp Randall Stadium this week with state championship trophies.

Four teams were crowned Thursday, with the final three divisions kicking off Friday.

In Division 3, Pewaukee quarterback Carson Hansen rushed for both touchdowns, including the game-clinching score at the 1:40 mark of the fourth quarter, to defeat Rice Lake 15-6. Both teams entered as No. 5 seeds, but the Pirates were able to complete the unlikely run to their program’s first state title.

“[We] in the locker room were the only people in the state who thought we could really do it,” Hansen said. “We just felt like we were getting slept on. We just came out like we had something to prove every game.”

In the Division 2 final, Homestead hoped to bring a gold ball back to Mequon after a matchup with Waunakee, which has not lost since the 2019 final at Camp Randall. Homestead forced four first-half turnovers to keep the high-powered Warriors offense in check. The Highlanders tied the game at 7 when Sal Balistrieri rushed for the first of his two touchdowns in the second quarter. But Waunakee’s Ben Farnsworth returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, the longest kick return touchdown in state championship history, regardless of division. Senior tight end Andrew Keller, an Iowa State commit, caught two touchdowns as Waunakee prevailed 33-21 for the school’s seventh state title.

“It’s a special finish to a special group,” Keller said. “For the class above us, this is just as much a trophy for them as it is for us. They didn’t get an opportunity to play in a game like this. They helped us, they showed us the way, so this is for them.”

The final game of the high school season was a heavyweight clash between Franklin and Sun Prairie, as each entered the Division 1 final with 13-0 records.

Franklin held a 17-3 halftime lead and went up 24-3 before Sun Prairie turned up the heat. Jerry Kaminski’s 4-yard touchdown run cut the deficit to 24-17 late in the third quarter. However, the Sabers were able to chew clock when necessary, and quarterback Myles Burkett’s fourth-down touchdown pass to Keaton Arendt capped a 14-play, seven-minute drive to all but seal the game.

As the final seconds ticked away in the 38-17 win, tears streamed down Burkett’s face as he sat alone on the Franklin bench. The Wisconsin commit’s final high school game delivered his school’s first state title since 2006.

“I’m never, ever going to forget about these moments,” Burkett said. “How ironic I get to come to Madison where I’m going to play, and I get to bring these guys with me and we get to go home with a gold ball? That’s something you see in stories and movies, but we just wrote a new story.”“I’m never, ever going to forget about these moments,” Burkett said. “How ironic I get to come to Madison where I’m going to play, and I get to bring these guys with me and we get to go home with a gold ball? That’s something you see in stories and movies, but we just wrote a new story.”

Burkett will be a Badger next fall, but said no matter what happens in his college career, his first win at Camp Randall will always be his favorite.

Find scores from all seven championship games below.

 

Division 1: Sun Prairie 17, Franklin 38

Division 2: Waunakee 33, Homestead 21

Division 3: Rice Lake 6, Pewaukee 15

Division 4: Ellsworth 12, Catholic Memorial 21

Division 5: Mayville 26, Aquinas 28

Division 6: St. Mary’s Springs 7, Colby 22

Division 7: Reedsville 17, Coleman 0