Player of the day: Walworth Big Foot running back Michael Walker, who rushed for 255 yards, had two catches for 51 yards and scored five touchdowns as the Chiefs beat Kewaunee 42-13 for their first WIAA Division 4 title. “To be honest, I thought the most remarkable thing (he did) was when he fielded a short-hop punt, took two steps (to avoid a tackle) and got off a (51)-yard punt to seal them down at the 20-yard line,” Big Foot coach Rodney Wedig said. “You don’t have a whole lot of kids who can do that.”
Game of the day: There wasn’t one. None of the four championship games went down to the wire and two (Division 5 and 6) featured a running clock after the margin reached 35 points.
Play of the day: Dylan Smith’s 61-yard TD catch for the first of six Edgar touchdowns in a 46-7 win over Eau Claire Regis in the Division 6 final. The pass hit off the shoulder pads of teammate Dakota Heidmann, the intended receiver.
Stat of the day: Annual tuition for the two Division 7 state finalists (courtesy of research by madison.com WIAA state finals blog reader Pete): $6,400 at Burlington Catholic Central and $2,850 at Chippewa Falls McDonell. And if you’re not from a supporting parish? It’s $7,050 at Catholic Central and $4,125 at McDonell.
Justin Sinz, Edgar: If the temptation was to look up at the University of Wisconsin football coaches’ offices to see if anyone was watching, the Wildcats’ senior quarterback resisted it.
“You can’t really see up there anyway,” Sinz said after passing, kicking, punting and tackling his way to a 46-7 win over Eau Claire Regis in the WIAA Division 6 championship game.
“I was more focused on the game,” he said. “I caught myself looking at the JumboTron a couple of times. But then I noticed that the camera was on me and it looked like I was looking right into the camera so I had to turn away because it was kind of embarrassing.”
His showing was anything but embarrassing.
Armed with his first NCAA Division I scholarship offer courtesy of Purdue earlier this week, Sinz showed why his father — Edgar coach Jerry Sinz — thinks that he can play quarterback at that level. He was 5-for-10 passing for 179 yards — an impressive total considering the Wildcats’ worst starting position was their own 33-yard line — and three touchdowns in the rout.
He also kicked a 21-yard field goal, averaged 36 yards on two punts and 53.8 yards on six kickoffs and made 5½ tackles at strong safety.
“I just wanted to come out and play well; I didn’t play the best last year when I came down here,” Sinz said, referring to a 7-3 championship game loss to Stratford in which he was 8-for-16 for 73 yards with two interceptions and two sacks. “Our team is better this year. I just wanted to make sure I came out and led the team and did everything I could to get the ‘W.’”
With the school’s fifth state football championship secured, Sinz can now shift the focus back to himself and the recruiting process. Besides Purdue, he also has received a scholarship offer from Illinois State, an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision school, and worked out at tight end for Notre Dame and UW.
“I’m open to playing anywhere,” Sinz said.
Happy it’s over: As happy as he was to see his team win its second WIAA state title after eight in WISAA, Fond du Lac Springs coach Bob Hyland was even happier to have this season behind him. His wife Carol was treated for cancer this summer, shortly before he came down with pneumonia and had knee replacement surgery, forcing the 39th-year coach to spend the season sitting on a stool on the sideline.
Asked if he feels like oft-hobbled Penn State coach Joe Paterno with all his aches, Hyland replied: “No, I feel like Bob Hyland, who’s ready for a vacation. Tomorrow night at this time, I’ll be in Escanaba, Mich., fishing for big walleyes.”
And one for the thumb? Hyland still wears a jacket with Springs’ old school colors — navy blue rather than the current royal — because it’s the jacket that lists the years of the Ledgers’ previous nine state titles with room for the one they won Thursday night in the right column.
“I have room for one more,” said Hyland, who has no plans to retire after his 39th season at Springs, “and a whole ’nother column.”
He’s gaining on him: With the win, Hyland (348-99-2) moved within one win of Milwaukee Marquette coach Dick Basham (349-91) on the state’s all-time victory list. He might be two back by the time the 2010 season starts — Marquette plays in today’s Division 1 final.
Thrill of a lifetime: Arcadia coach and Boscobel native Derek Updike relished the trip to Camp Randall. “This is my favorite ... place in the world other than my home,” he said. “I even got to throw a couple of passes in warmups like I always wished I could do on this field.”
Seasons change ... in a hurry: Burlington Catholic Central’s Will Paulus won’t have much time to savor a second straight title. He has a basketball practice Friday. “I don’t think (coach Eric Henderson) is going to kill us,” Paulus said. “I think we’ll just be shooting and stuff.”
Low profile for UW’s Frederick: UW freshman Travis Frederick, the 315-pound lineman who helped Big Foot get to the state title game last year, watched the game from the Chiefs’ sideline. “He’s such a low-key guy,” Wedig said. “He texted me (Wednesday) night: ‘Coach, I don’t want to impede, but do you mind if I come down on the sideline?’ I said, ‘I don’t mind if you suit up, but (Kewaunee) might.’”
• Big Foot’s Walker set a Division 4 record and tied an overall record with his five TDs. Teammate Alec McGreevy tied a Division 4 finals record with three interceptions.
• Fond du Lac Springs set a Division 5 finals record for most total offense (469 yards), breaking the mark of 448 set by Somerset in 2002.
• Edgar’s Sinz tied a Division 6 finals record by throwing three touchdown passes.
Posted in Rob_hernandez, Football on Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:10 pm Updated: 11:08 pm. | Tags: 2009 Wiaa State Football, Prep Football
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