WIAA Division 5 state championship features undefeated teams, Mayville and Northwestern

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

MAYVILLE – The seniors on the Mayville football team know what it’s like to play in a state championship. They did so as freshmen and lost 22-14 to Aquinas and now have a chance to avenge that loss.

“I think what we learned from that, like what we talked about with the guys was, there’s going to be a lot of excitement going around school. People are celebrating, having a good time, a lot of smiles and what’s important for us is that we have to continue the grind,” Mayville coach Scott Hilber said. "We’ve had a lot of practices with those guys in that year and then that time since, having runs in the playoffs. So these guys, they’re battle tested.”

Mayville will put its undefeated, 13-0 record on the line against Northwestern who’s also undefeated, in the WIAA Division 5 state championship. The game will start at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, and be played at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.

It’s the seventh appearance in a state championship for Mayville. In the previous six appearances it has one win, in 1994.

“We got a lot of silver balls in the trophy case. Last time we got a gold one was 1994 and my father was coaching,” Hilber said. "We’d like to bring that back to town. The community has been following this team and rallying around them for a really long time and we would definitely like to give them that.”

Northwestern’s path to the state championship started with a 67-20 win over Prescott in Level 1, then followed that with a 47-20 win over Saint Croix Falls in Level 2, beat Grantsburg 44-16 in Level 3 and beat Stratford 22-13 in Level 4.

Mayville’s path included two one-score games after having just one in the regular season. It beat Chilton 41-0 in Level 1, Winnebago Lutheran 28-21 in Level 2, Amherst 26-21 in Level 3 and Lake Country Lutheran 27-15 in Level 4.

“The kids have been tested and they’ve been put in positions where they really have to lean on each other and they have to trust each other, trust the coaches and that goes vice versa,” Hilber said. “When we find ourselves in tough spots and we’ve been there in the regular season and in the playoffs, the kids, they never get too high, they never get too low. They’re just pretty calm.”

The 4 p.m. kickoff will be the earliest start of a game that Mayville will have played this season and with that comes a different routine.

“When all of a sudden you have to adjust and you’re playing at a different time, the fortunate thing is it’s probably going to be dark shortly after we start so it still feels like a night game,” Hilber said. "You’re getting on a bus at noon, you’re getting over to Camp Randall early and it’s a different schedule, but it’s different for everyone so I guess it’s an even playing field after all.”

Key Players

  • Landen Baker, Mayville, RB/LB: Baker does it all on both sides of the ball. He leads Mayville in rushing with 1,767 yards and 23 touchdowns on 255 carries. On defense he has a team-high 79 total tackles, which includes 12 tackles for loss.
  • Joe Promersberger, Mayville, RB/DB: Promersberger is second on the team in touchdowns with 13 total. He has 697 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns on 85 carries. Defensively, he has 32 total tackles, three interceptions and a fumble recovery.
  • Owen Steger, Mayville, OL/DL: Steger leads Mayville in sacks and tackles for loss with counts of five and 21. He’s second on the team in total tackles with 69 and also has a fumble recovery.
  • Tate Drinkwine, Mayville, TE/DL: Drinkwine has 3.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 47 tackles on the season.
  • Tysen Teal, Northwestern, SK/DB: Teal in Northwestern’s leading rusher with 1,829 yards and 29 touchdowns on 152 carries. He also has 24 catches for 574 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, he has 21 total tackles and three interceptions.
  • Kamden Kroll, Northwestern, SK/DB: Kroll has 1,118 passing yards, 16 touchdown passes and two interceptions. On defense he has 20 total tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
  • Ricky Ericksen, Northwestern, RB/LB: Ericksen is Northwestern's leading tackler with 111 total tackles, eight tackles for loss and two sacks. He also has two fumble recoveries.
  • Gage Nollet, Northwestern, TE/DL: Nollet has a team-high nine sacks, 25 tackles for loss and 82 total tackles.

By the numbers

  • Points per game, Mayville: 36.2
  • Opponents PPG, Mayville: 8.4
  • Points per game, Northwestern: 45.7
  • Opponents PPG, Northwestern: 9.1
  • Pass yards per game, Mayville: 28.8
  • Rush yards per game, Mayville: 331.2
  • Pass yards per game, Northwestern: 98.5
  • Pass yards per game, Northwestern: 342.6

About the game

Contact or send game stats/info to Ben Schultz at BSchultz@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @benschultz52.

This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Mayville football to compete for WIAA D4 title

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos