Winneconne rallies past Little Chute to win Division 4 state football championship

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MADISON — A furious rally in the fourth quarter allowed the Winneconne football team to capture the WIAA Division 4 state championship at Camp Randall Stadium on Nov. 20.

Mason Mathe's 8-yard touchdown run with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter completed a memorable comeback for the Wolves as they held off Little Chute 28-22 to claim their second championship in program history.

The Mustangs led 14-7 at the half, running for 188 yards on 27 carries and besting Winneconne in time of possession by nearly five minutes. Reece Joten had a 24-yard touchdown run with Tyler Hietpas breaking off a 63-yard score.

Winneconne had a 2-yard touchdown run by Brody Schaffer, but also had a fumble that killed another potential scoring drive.

The Wolves scored first in the third quarter, with Karter Hawthorne catching a 31-yard touchdown pass from Schaffer but a missed extra point left the Wolves trailing 14-13.

Joten had a 1-yard score late in the third quarter and also ran for the 2-point conversion to put the Mustangs up 22-13.

The fourth quarter belonged to Winneconne, however, with Hawthorne catching his second touchdown of the night, a 9-yard toss from Schaffer that made the score 22-20 in favor of the Mustangs.

A high snap on a punt attempt from Little Chute late in the fourth afforded the Wolves an opportunity to take the lead, which they did on Mathe's touchdown run and Hudson Samolinski's 2-point conversion run.

Schaffer finished with 123 yards on 22 carries. He also had 149 yards passing and the two scores to go with an interception on defense. Ryan Quigley also had a strong game at receiver, finishing with 65 yards on four catches.

Ethan Duel had 13 total tackles with Bryce Jones adding nine for the Wolves defense.

Joten had 118 yards on 21 carries and the two touchdowns with Hietpas adding 69 yards on four carries. James Thiel had eight solo tackles, including two for loss, with a sack and forced fumble. Kaden Hoffman also had two sacks with William Goffard collecting an interception.

Little Chute reached the state finals with wins over Ripon (40-2) and West Salem (49-20) in the first two rounds before a 23-12 victory at Racine St. Catherine's in the state quarterfinals and a 35-25 win against Columbus in the semifinals.

Winneconne beat Baldwin Woodville 28-8 in last week's state semifinal. The Wolves beat Freedom 31-15 in the quarterfinals and started the postseason with a 71-0 rout of Milwaukee North/Lifelong Learning and a 28-6 victory against Altoona in the first and second rounds, respectively.

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Winneconne Wolves top Little Chute to win WIAA state football title

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