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Big Foot fans get fired up about title

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Big Foot v Kewaunee Div 4 State Championship

Photos from The Walworth Big Foot Chief's 42-13 victory over the Kewaunee Indians in the Division 4 State Championship game at Camp Randall.

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MADISON — Today’s going to be a good, good day at Big Foot High School.

Freshman Gretchen Arndt, 14, made that prediction minutes into Thursday night’s WIAA Division 4 state championship against Kewaunee.

“We really want to win this,” Arndt said. “If we win, school will be awesome tomorrow.”

The Chiefs proved her right, pounding the Kewaunee Indians into the ground for a 42-13 win.

Even though the red-clad Big Foot fans took up less than a tenth of the bleachers at UW-Madison’s Camp Randall Stadium, they raised goose bumps as they cheered the team onto the field.

The students were having fun of course. They cheered and danced around. Several shirtless pep band members pretended not to shiver under their red paint.

Last year they might not have lasted as long. Many fans at Thursday’s game said they were grateful for the mild weather. Last year, fans shivered in the snow and wind.

Rain fell before the game but slowed to a very light drizzle by kickoff.

As much fun as the kids were having, the adult fans might have been having a little more.

Just before halftime, Tom Hausner couldn’t stay in his seat after Big Foot’s fourth touchdown. He ran up the steps to high-five his friends and ran back down to hug his wife, Deann.

“Now it’s our half,” Hausner shouted as the clock ticked down.

Even that soon in the game, things felt totally different than last year’s 20-0 loss against Wautoma/Faith Christian, Hausner said.

“It’s a different atmosphere. They’re playing Big Foot football,” he said.

Deann agreed. The team was a lot less nervous than it was last year and was working better as a group, she said.

“They’ve got the feel of the field this year,” Deann said.

By the way, the Hausners of Fontana don’t have a son on the football team. Theirs isn’t old enough yet.

Unlike Tom Hausner, Marlene MacIntosh managed to stay in her seat—for part of the first half anyway. That was a relief for her three daughters surrounding her in the stands. The 80-year-old MacIntosh was beaming was she watched her three grandsons play: twin seniors Gavin and Morgan Volbrecht and sophomore Spencer Volbrecht.

“I taught them how to kick a football, you know,” said MacIntosh of Walworth.

MacIntosh was at the championship game last year and has been to every Big Foot game this season, she said.

“The excitement is unbelievable,” she said.

Lots of moms in the crowd were feeling the pressure despite Big Foot’s lead.

“I’m like a nervous wreck,” said Tracy Volbrecht, MacIntosh’s daughter and the mother of Gavin, Morgan and Spencer.

Patty Kivlin couldn’t contain herself when senior Mike Walker scored Big Foot’s third touchdown of the night. Kivlin, the mother of junior kicker Sean Kivlin, grabbed the shoulders of the nearest person and started shaking.

That person happened to be a Gazette reporter who was then scooped up in hugs by Kivlin’s friends.

“Having been here last year and walking away with our chins down, we just want this to happen for them,” the tearful Kivlin said.

Students and community members bought more than 1,000 advance tickets to the game. The school chartered seven buses—five for fans and two for band members, said Principal Mike Hinske.

“This is a great night for us, for our community,” Hinske said. “We’re real proud of our kids. They did a great job bringing our community together.”