STRATFORD FOOTBALL HEADING BACK TO STATE AFTER WIN OVER AMHERST IN WIAA DIVISION 5 SEMIFINAL
By Paul Lecker For Zaleski Sports
SCHOFIELD – For the first time all season, the Stratford football team found itself trailing and it was gut-check time for the Tigers.
Stratford’s undefeated season and quest for a second-straight trip to the state finals in Madison were on the line midway through the third quarter and, not being in this position all season, the question was: How would the Tigers react?
Stratford, down 7-6 to Amherst, drove 63 yards in 10 plays to score and regain the lead, then forced two turnovers on the Falcons’ next three possessions and went on to a 19-7 win in a WIAA Division 5 state semifinal game Friday night at Stiehm Stadium at D.C. Everest High School.
Stratford (13-0) will take on Lake Country Lutheran (12-1) in the Division 5 state championship game at 4 p.m. Thursday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. Lake Country Lutheran beat Prairie du Chien 25-0 in the other D-5 semifinal on Friday.
Stratford, which lost in the D-5 state finals last year to Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs, is looking forward to making a return to trip to Madison in search of the eighth state title in program history.
“It means everything to us,” Stratford senior quarterback/safety Max Schwabe said. “Losing last year helped us to push harder than we ever have. We worked hard all offseason, we’ve been focused, and we’re a family, so we’re always bumping each other up.”
Stratford took the opening kickoff, and much like in its Level 3 win over Northwestern last week, the Tigers used a punishing running game to find pay dirt.
The Tigers went 78 yards in 16 plays, all but one on the ground to five different ball carriers. Schwabe ran in from the 2 to give Stratford a 6-0 lead following the 7 minute, 47 second drive.
Stratford reached midfield in its other two possessions in the first half, but were forced to punt and it held on to the 6-0 lead going into halftime.
Amherst then did something no other team had been able to do this season against the Tigers’ defense – score.
The Falcons took the opening possession of the second half and went 76 yards in 11 plays, the final 37 on a pass from Lincoln Cullen to Carmelo Aleman where Aleman wrestled the ball away from a Stratford defensive back on the pass to score the first touchdown allowed by Stratford this season. The extra point kick by Mason Czech was good, giving the Falcons a one-point lead with 6:28 to go in the third quarter.
It was time to see how Stratford would react to a rare instance of adversity. The Tigers came through with flying colors.
“Them putting it in the end zone was great for us,” senior lineman Ben Barten said. “Them scoring, that was something we could move on. Oh, that was a big mistake, well not a mistake obviously, you want to put up points, but that was something powerful. That got us going.”