Darlington’s last football state championship came in 1995. Since then, the Redbirds have played in seven others, always coming up short with the silver ball. That streak is now over after the Redbirds were dominant in the Division 6 state championship game to the tune of a 42-18 victory over Edgar.
Travis Winkers’ group scored on its first four offensive possessions and were physical, fast, and bruising at the point of attack all afternoon.
The offense went 65 yards in nine plays on its first possession, finishing with a 20-yard touchdown pass from junior Zeke Zuberbuhler to senior Broker Buschor.
After forcing a three and out on Edgar’s first possession, Darlington went 81 yards on ten plays and capped it off with an eight yard Dante Glendenning touchdown run.
The luck wouldn’t change for Edgar as on the very first play of the following possession, Darlington’s Calum Crist jumped a screen pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 21-0.
Edgar did respond with a touchdown run by Gavin Mauer on the first play of the second quarter but failed the two point conversion.
Darlington again worked its way down the field and capped off a nine play, four minute, drive with Zuberbuhler touchdown keeper.
Five minutes later, Zuberbuhler broke free on the option read and raced to a 90-yard touchdown run to give Darlington a 35-6 lead, which would stand until halftime. The Redbirds out-gained the Wildcats 297-94 in the first half.
Edgar controlled the clock in the second half and held Darlington to just 54 yards of offense, but it was too little too late and despite winning the second half 12-7, Darlington held on for a 42-18 victory.
Darlington has a stable of playmakers at the skill positions and a line up front on both sides of the ball that move bodies.
Zuberbuhler finished with 64 yards passing and a score while adding 133 yards and 3 scores on the ground. Crist had that interception for a touchdown, but, 9 tackles, and added 104 yards on the ground.
The Redbirds defense played downhill all afternoon, recording seven tackles for loss, and five sacks as a team.
For the Wildcats, senior Maverick Butt did the lion’s share of the work, rushing 21 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns and adding four tackles on defense.
Edgar’s plan for three-peat was thwarted in the program’s sixteenth state championship appearance under legendary coach Jerry Sinz.
Colton Wilson serves a contributor and member of Bound Wisconsin. Wilson has worked in high school sports for 10 years, covering the state of Wisconsin in various sports. He has had roles in content creation, boys basketball coverage, director of events, and data management. Wilson is a graduate of Richland Center High School where he will currently serves as the Varsity Reserve boys basketball coach, entering his eleventh year coaching at the high school level. Wilson also has officiated basketball and organized youth tournaments for multiple years. You can follow him on Twitter at @ColtonWilson23 or reach him at [email protected].