Arrowhead Defends Division 1 Title
Saturday, November 23rd, 2013 -- 11:02 AM
Arrowhead (13-1) won its second straight Division 1 championship and its sixth title overall with a 45-24 triumph over Franklin (12-2) in the State championship final Friday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.The Warhawks compiled a Division 1 State finals record 465 yards of total offense in the game and tied the record for the most points in a title game. In addition, the two teams combined for 892, which also set a new Division 1 mark. Eleven Division 1 State finals team records and nine individual records were tied or broken in the game.
Arrowhead converted an interception by Thomas Eggert into a 25-yard field goal by Trevor Ostling to take a 3-0 lead with 5:20 remaining in the first quarter. The Warhawks expanded their lead to 10-0 on a 9-yard pass from Johnny Duranso to Jake Miller on the second play of the second quarter.
Franklin fought back to tie the game with a 24-yard field from Austin Manning and a 4-yard run by Chad Walton with 2:40 remaining in second quarter. However, Arrowhead needed only two minutes to take a 17-10 halftime lead on another scoring strike from Duranso to Miller, a 1-yard slant to the middle of the end zone.
Franklin tied the game at 17-17 in the third quarter on an 8-yard run by quarterback Sean McGuire. The Sabers appeared to be driving for a go-ahead score, but the tide turned with Frankin mistakes. The Sabers fumbled deep in Arrowhead territory, and the Warhawks promptly marched 76 yards in 11 plays to grab a 24-17 lead on a Duranso to Ricky Finco 4-yard pass. The drive was aided by personal foul penalty, which would have otherwise been a third-and-17 situation at midfield. The Sabers blocked the point-after attempt and trailed 23-17.
Charlie Reuteman intercepted a McGuire pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown with a successful two-point conversion to give the Warhawks a commanding 31-17 advantage with 1:09 remaining in the third quarter.
The Warhawks erased any hopes of a Franklin comeback when Cody Sellhausen sprinted 66 yards to the end zone to increase the lead to 38-17 with 8:45 remaining in the game. Ty Jager raced 70 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown to expand the lead to 45-17. Franklin added a touchdown on 31-yard run by Walton as time expired to account for the final score.
Miller set a Division 1 State finals record with 11 receptions, good for 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Finco added five receptions for a record 113 yards. Duranso completed 18-of-29 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns. He also contributed 55 yards rushing on 19 attempts. Jager was the game?s leading rusher with 104 yards on seven carries.
Sean McGuire set the Division 1 records for passing completions, attempts and yardage by converting on 21 of his 37 passes for 250 yards. Walton led the Sabers? ground attack with 78 yards and two touchdowns.
Franklin finishes runner-up in its second State finals appearance.
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