Football State Championship Recap: Best Game, MVP, & All-Finals Team

2025 Football State Championships
Thursday & Friday, Nov. 20-21
Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wis.

Thursday, Nov. 20
10 a.m. – Division 7: Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic (14-0) 35, Cochrane-Fountain City (13-1), 19 - Story/Stats
1 p.m. – Division 6: Darlington (14-0) 42, Edgar (13-1), 18 - Story/Stats
4 p.m. – Division 5: Mayville (14-0) 42, Northwestern (13-1), 32 - Story/Stats
7 p.m. – Division 4: Winneconne (14-0) 28, Little Chute (12-2), 22 - Story/Stats

Friday, Nov. 21
10 a.m. – Division 3: Grafton (14-0) 17, Reedsburg (10-4) 15 - Story/Stats
1 p.m. – Division 2: West De Pere (14-0) 28, Notre Dame (13-1) 14 - Story/Stats
4 p.m. – Division 1: Arrowhead (13-1) 18, Bay Port (11-3) 15 - Story/Stats

The Division 1 state title game was never separated by more than six points, and ended in thrilling fashion, with a pair of touchdowns in the final minute plus a potential game-winning pass that fell incomplete in the end zone. Special teams played a key role, both good and bad, for Arrowhead. The Warhawks missed two field goals, two extra points, and failed on a two-point conversion, but the biggest special teams play came after Bay Port’s Brady Moon caught an 11-yard touchdown from Matt Stevens to put the Pirates up 15-12 following a conversion with just 46 seconds remaining. Bay Port attempted a squib kick, but state track champion sprinter Ryan Heiman caught it on the run and raced 76 yards for a touchdown with 35 seconds left. Amazingly, Bay Port was able to get in scoring position after a key pass interference penalty and a 31-yard completion from Matt Stevens to Jackson Otradovec down the right sideline set them up at the 11-yard line with one second left. Eschewing a potential game-tying field goal that could send the game into overtime, Bay Port head coach Steven Jorgensen chose to go for the win, but Stevens’ pass in the end zone fell incomplete, giving Arrowhead an 18-15 victory and the school’s first state title since 2012.

Brody Schaffer is off to the University of Iowa to play football next year, but first he had one more item to check off his list for the Winneconne Wolves. Schaffer did it all in a 28-22 win over Little Chute to lift the Wolves to the Division 4 state championship. Trailing 23-12 midway through the fourth quarter, he led the team on a pair of scoring drives. Schaffer threw for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 11-of-16 passing, rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, and also picked off a pass on defense. He added a pair of tackles plus 69 kick return yards as well. He finished his senior season with 1,883 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air along with 1,198 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground, adding six interceptions on defense with two Pick-6’s, two kick return touchdowns, and a punt return score.

Ryan Heiman, Arrowhead: Heiman only touched the ball three times, but his 76-yard kick return touchdown with just 35 seconds remaining ended up lifting the Warhawks to the Division 1 state title.

Brendan Foley, Arrowhead: Foley was all over the field for the D1 state champion Warhawks, leading the team with ten tackles, adding 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and a pass breakup.

Brock Gauthier, Bay Port: The All-State linebacker totaled a game-high 11 tackles, nine of them solo, to go with three tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble.

Brady Moon, Bay Port: Moon was on the All-Finals Team last year as well and repeats this season with 75 rushing yards plus 3 catches for 22 yards and a touchdown as well as 18 kick return yards in the D1 title game loss.

Patrick Greisen, West De Pere: Greisen capped off his prolific career with a big performance in the Division 2 championship game, throwing for 304 yards and two touchdowns, as he finished the year with the most passing yards and passing touchdowns in the state.

Judeah Kniskern, West De Pere: Kniskern was Greisen’s favorite target on Friday afternoon, hauling in seven passes for 164 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. He racked up 97 yards after the catch in the game.

Kingston Allen, Notre Dame: Allen posted 231 rushing yards on a new Division 2 state finals record 43 carries, scoring both of Notre Dame’s touchdowns. He broke the single-season rushing record in the contest, finishing his junior year with 3,436 yards and 57 rushing touchdowns, both records.

Graysen Bollech, Grafton: Bollech’s 35-yard field goal with six seconds remaining lifted Grafton to a 17-15 victory over Reedsburg for the Division 3 state title. He was also two-for-two on extra points in the game.

Will Mikonowicz, Reedsburg: Mikonowicz continued his huge senior season with 255 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries for the Beavers, adding an interception on defense with four tackles as well.

Brody Schaffer, Winneconne: See MVP section above

Reece Joten, Little Chute: The Mustangs’ hard-charging fullback rolled up 118 yards on the ground, with two touchdowns on 21 carries for the Division 4 runners-up. He was also second on the team with six tackles, five of them solo.

Joe Promersberger, Mayville: Promersberger hit on some huge plays for the Cardinals, going for 134 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries, as he averaged 19.1 yards per attempt. He also caught a 21-yard pass and tied for the team led with five tackles on defense.

Landen Baker, Mayville: Baker was a workhorse for the Cardinals in their Division 5 title game victory, carrying the ball 29 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

Tyson Teal, Northwestern: Teal ran for a team-high 58 yards with three touchdowns in the D5 title game loss, adding five receptions for 109 yards and a receiving touchdown as well.

Zeke Zuberbuhler, Darlington: Zuberbuhler was dynamic for the Redbirds in their Division 6 title game win over Edgar, rushing 12 times for 133 yards and three touchdowns, adding 64 yards and a touchdown on four-of-seven passing. He contributed four tackles on defense as well.

Callum Crist, Darlington: Crist was the thunder to Zuberbuhler’s lightning, pounding away at the Edgar defense with 104 yards on 16 carries. He also racked up a team-high nine tackles on defense with a tackle for loss and interception.

Maverick Butt, Edgar: Butt did his best to keep the Wildcats in it, rushing for 158 yards and two touchdowns. He also recorded four tackles, including one for loss, over on defense.

Zach Rizzo, Kenosha St. Joseph: Rizzo was outstanding for the Lancers, putting on a display for the ages in helping the team to a perfect season and the Division 7 state title for his coach and father Matt Rizzo. Zach completed 15-of-18 passes for 226 yards, a new D7 finals record, and three touchdowns, adding a short touchdown run as well.

Chris Kenesie, Kenosha St. Joseph: Kenesie topped the Lancers with 117 rushing yards, including a touchdown, on 19 carries in the Division 7 state title game. He also had five tackles on defense with a fumble recovery.

Dominic Rinaldi, Kenosha St. Joseph: Rinaldi set new Division 7 state records with 10 receptions for 177 yards, adding two touchdown catches. He topped 200 all-purpose yards and had three tackles on defense.

Aidan Lisowski, Cochrane-Fountain City: Lisowski only recorded 10 carries for the Pirates, but rambled for 81 rushing yards, including a 44-yard touchdown run. He also caught a ten yard pass and had three tackles on defense.

I went 4-2 in picking winners in the state championship games, finishing 208-34 overall (85.95%) on weekly picks. Below are my overall numbers in each division.

D1: 26-5; 83.87%
D2: 26-5; 83.87%
D3: 23-2; 89.70%
D4: 25-6; 80.65%
D5: 29-2; 93.55%
D6: 27-4; 87.10%
D7: 27-4; 87.10%
8-Player: 25-6; 80.65%