MIDDLETON HOLDS OFF WISCONSIN RAPIDS IN FINAL SECONDS TO WIN DIVISION 1 LEVEL 2 FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
Updated: Oct 31, 2021
Zaleski Sports
WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Middleton stuffed a two-point conversion attempt with four seconds remaining to edge Wisconsin Rapids 21-10 in a thrilling WIAA Division 1 Level 2 football playoff game Friday night at South Wood County Stadium.
Middleton (8-3) moves on to a Level 3 matchup at No. 1 seed Sun Prairie (12-0) next Friday, Nov. 5. Sun Prairie defeated Fond du Lac 35-20 on Friday. Wisconsin Rapids finishes its season with a 7-4 record.
Wisconsin Rapids trailed 14-0 heading into the fourth quarter before Leo Brostowitz scored on a touchdown runs of 1 and 26 yards to tie the game.
Middleton responded with a long drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Gabe Passini with 1:57 to go.
Wisconsin Rapids took over at its own 29-yard line with no timeouts. With the help of three pass interference penalties, the Raiders reached the Middleton 15 with 10 seconds left. On fourth down, Teal Lucas found Austin Junemann in on the left sideline for a touchdown with four seconds to go.
Wisconsin Rapids decided to go for the win rather than a kick to force overtime and Brostowitz, the Raiders’ bulldog running back, was stuffed inside just short of the goal line and Middleton escaped with the victory.
Brostowitz ran for 112 yards, accounting for nearly half of the Raiders’ 233 total yards in the game.
Cardinals 21, Raiders 20
Middleton 7 0 7 7 - 21
Wisconsin Rapids 0 0 0 20 - 20
First Quarter
M - Elijah Gray 1 run, 6:34 (Owen Halverson kick)
Third Quarter
M - Caden Gmur 12 pass from Gabe Passini (Halverson kick), 5:23
Fourth Quarter
WR - Leo Brostowitz 1 run (Adam Kaup kick), 11:43.
WR – Brostowitz 26 run (Kaup kick), 7:36.
M – Passini 2 run (Halvorson kick), 1:57.
WR – Austin Junemann 15 pass from Teal Lucas (run failed), 0:04.
Records: Sun Prairie 8-3; Wisconsin Rapids 7-4.