Big Foot falls short of Division 4 state title
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MADISON — Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
That summed up Walworth Big Foot’s offense here Thursday night in the WIAA Division 4 state championship football game against Wautoma/Faith Christian.
The Chiefs (13-1) managed only 117 yards of total offense in a 20-0 loss at Camp Randall Stadium.
How frustrating of a night was it for Big Foot?
With time running down, the Chiefs were in jeopardy of setting a Division 4 record for offensive futility. Big Foot had only 53 yards, which was well under the mark of 75 set in 1988.
Fortunatel for the Chiefs, they picked up 64 yards on their last drive to avoid a dubious record.
“Maybe I abandoned the running game a little too quick,” Big Foot coach Rodney Wedig said, “but they loaded up the box and had us back on our heels.
“They were well prepared and well-coached. Their linebackers were as quick as we have seen all season, and we just couldn’t get anything going.”
The Chiefs held their own defensively, limiting the Hornets to 159 yards. Wautoma/Faith Christian scored late in the first half to take a 7-0 halftime lead, then added two scores in the fourth quarter to seal the co-op program’s first state title.
“We beat a very good football team tonight,” Wautoma/Faith Christian coach Dennis Moon said. “Offensively, they really bottled us up, but we made enough plays when we had to.
“Defensively, I don’t know if we can play any better than that.”
Big Foot caught a break to start the second half when the Hornets fumbled on kickoff. But two rushes for two yards, an incompletion and a sack quickly ended the drive at the Wautoma/Faith Christian 33-yard line.
“We got two turnovers on their first two possessions and couldn’t punch it in,” Wedig said. “That was huge in a game like this where field position was so important.
“And at this level, you gotta take advantage when you get opportunities like that.”
Leading 7-0, the Hornets pushed the advantage to 13 on their first series of the fourth quarter. All-everything quarterback Jare Abbrederis spearheaded the drive with two crucial pass completions, including a 22-yard strike to Bran Meckelberg on third-and-four. Abbrederis hit Brett Brown from five yards out to cap the drive as the Hornets led 13-0 with 8:22 left.
Mat Stepniewski finished the scoring for Wautoma/Faith Christian on a 1-yard plunge with 3:05 to play.
Big Foot finished with only 18 yards rushing, well below its season average of 231 yards per game, and the Chiefs didn’t have much more luck through the air. Junior quarterback Steve Dowden was only 6-for-24 passing and had three intercepted.
Travis Frederick, Big Foot’s behemoth 6-foot-5, 315-pound lineman who is headed to the University of Wisconsin, said the Chiefs underestimated the speed of the Hornet defense.
“They had us scouted really well, and we came out a little flat,” Frederick said. “Their linebackers made a lot of plays and a lot of tackles, and I don’t think we thought they were going to be that athletic.
“We adjusted better in the second half, but we couldn’t get anything going when we had to.”
The first half was a lesson in futility as well for Big Foot. The Chiefs managed only 43 yards of offense, including a mere 32 on the ground.
Wedig turned to the “Wildcat” formation on Big Foot’s third possession, hoping to spark the offense, but to no avail.
With running back Mike Walker taking the direct snap from center, the Chiefs ran a number of plays out of the Wildcat, but the Hornets responded by bottling up Walker.
Walker had only 26 yards rushing on 11 carries the first half, despite entering the game with a 7-yard per carry average. He finished with 16 carries for 28 yards after a season in which he ran for 1,208 yards.
The Hornets didn’t fare much better offensively, but manufactured the only points in the first half with the help of Theo Maglio’s interception deep in Big Foot territory.
Wautoma/Faith Christian started the scoring drive on the Chiefs’ 21 and scored six plays later on quarterback Jared Abbrederis’ 9-yard run off a broken play. Abbrederis missed the handoff on the scoring play, ran left, and then squirted through the Big Foot defense to the end zone before Walker hit him hard.
The ball squirted loose at the goal line, but the official ruled that Abbrederis had already broken the plane.
With a Silver trophy in tow, Wedig was retrospective in talking about his team’s season.
“These guys did everything I asked of them and have no reason to hang their heads,” Wedig said. “This trophy will be at the school forever, and this season is one they’ll never forget.”
It just didn’t end the way 11 seniors had hoped.
Nov 21, 2008 at 7:42 p.m.
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It was AMAZING to be in town when they came home last night..a fire truck parade and everything.. and the people.. it was so inspiring!
Nov 21, 2008 at 1:20 p.m.
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Great game - Wautoma Hornets #1
Nov 21, 2008 at 7:53 a.m.
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Nothing to feel bad about. You guys had an awesome season! You brought our school district together. Best wishes to Mr. Hainey, he was a great teacher and coach.
Nov 21, 2008 at 7:32 a.m.
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Congrats BF on a great season. It was worth every second watching you guys in the cold last night make history. You are an amazing team that has come a long way from just 5 years ago when I attended. Good luck seniors and good luck BF next year.
Nov 21, 2008 at 5:12 a.m.
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Good season Big Foot, you had more than just the Walworth area pulling for you, you have nothing to be feel bad about.
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