Hornets bring gold ball back to Colby

The tears spilled unchecked down the cheeks of Colby senior lineman Derek Jeske, and he did nothing to hide them. And why should he? After all, these were tears of joy, not sadness.

Derek looked up at the massive jumbo screen at the north end of Camp Randall, where, in giant script, it displayed the final score of the WIAA D-6 state title game: Colby - 22; St. Mary’s Springs - 7.

That Derek was even on the field was a testament to his hard work and grit after he nearly went down with a season-ending injury early in the season. His return epitomized the 2021 Colby Hornets.

No matter the obstacle or setback, the Hornets always got the job done. They overcame an Edgar squad that was ranked number one in D-7, battled a Hortonville team that boasted over 1,000 more students, and stopped the state’s leading rusher in his tracks in Level Four to return to Camp Randall for the first time since 2011.

So when Colby learned their opponents in the WIAA D-6 state title game would be Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs — the most successful football program in state history, and a team led by Billy Scrauth, a 6’6” 285 pound lineman with offers from Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Ohio State — the Hornets didn’t flinch. In fact, they welcomed the challenge. “A reporter asked me leading up to this week if I could describe this team with one word, and I had to pause for a few seconds because nobody had asked me that question before,” Colby head coach Jim Hagen said after the game.

“How do you sum up a team in one word that has accomplished so much? I just said ‘competitors.’ These guys love to compete, and the bigger the game the better the play, and they proved that in the state championship game and throughout the whole season.”

All week long the media painted the picture of a David-versus-Goliath narrative, of small town Colby going up against a juggernaut Ledgers squad making essentially its fourth straight trip to state after last year’s tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19 guidelines.

But when the Hornets took the field at Camp Randall last week, there was a steely look in their eyes, and a massive, Mt. Everest sized chip on their shoulder.

“What we wanted to do is come in, smack them in the mouth, and tell them who Colby football is and what we’re about,” senior linebacker Tristen Stange said about the mentality coming into the game.

The Hornets amassed 15 first downs and 276 yards on offense, with Brent Jeske leading the way with 170 all-purpose yards. Caden Healy added another 167 all-purpose yards, with 75-yards rushing, 40-yards receiving and a 52-yard kickoff return.

Like their namesake, the Hornets swarmed and stung the Ledgers tailbacks, giving up just 207 yards on the day as Colby registered six tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks from first team all state defensive end Andrew Jeske.

From the opening kickoff to the final seconds, the Hornets dominated St. Mary’s Springs, holding them to just nine first downs, including a paltry three first downs and 53 yards in the second half. The Hornets pass rush was relentless, and time and time again, Colby went toeto- toe with Schrauth, refusing to back down from the future NCAA D-1 commit.

“He’s just another man. That’s exactly I thought right off the bat. He’s just another man, you gotta bring it hard every snap,” senior lineman Cory Steen said about Schrauth. “From what I saw on film, he wasn’t that heavy of a hitter, and I can be a heavy hitter too. He’s a big guy, but so am I, and I think we won a lot more battles on the line than he did.”

Colby limited Ledgers’ QB Cullen King to five of 16 passes for 39-yards, and outside of a 52-yard scoring run from Levi Huempfner late in the second quarter, the Hornets were in complete control.

Junior Caden Healy set the tone of the game with the opening kickoff. Healy received the ball on the Colby 13-yard line, cut across the field to his left, and streaked past surprised defenders for a 52-yard return to the Ledgers own 35-yardline.

Brent Jeske snapped off an eight yard carry, Healy added another 12-yards and, two plays later, Jeske tip-toed in from four yards out for the first score of the day. A Tucker Brost PAT made it 7-0 with less than two minutes gone by.

The Ledgers were hoping to return the favor, but a Brost touchback forced Springs to start on their own 20-yardline. Isaac Hyland reeled off a 16-yard gain, but this was followed by a Pierce Geiger tackle for loss and an incomplete pass on 3rd and 1 that1 forced a Ledgers punt.

With those first two drives the Hornets had sent a message - Colby had come to play, and the Ledger’s legacy would not help them this day.

“The one thing about our players, we’re not going to back down to anybody,” Hagen told the media later. “We will not be intimidated by any team. We will play any team, anywhere, and that was the mentality our players had throughout the season.”

The Hornets continued to hammer the ball downfield, and their next drive began with a 17-yard Mateo Lopez return. Colby continued to run angry, plowing into Ledger linebackers for extra yardage. A minute later, Colby was back knocking on the door of the endzone.

Brent Jeske scored on a one yard keeper to cap the six-play, 48-yard drive. Brost’s PAT gave the Hornets a 14-0 lead with 5:04 left in the first quarter as Ledgers’s fans were stunned into silence.

“That was the goal,” Brent said about Colby’s hot start. “We knew we had to get up on them. Darlington last week let up a 24-0 lead, and we knew we couldn’t do that. We came out, and that first drive we dominated. We kept coming and I think that wore them down.”

Colby’s defense continued to dominate, holding the Ledgers to just three yards on three plays, forcing another punt. The Hornets offense piled up the yards, with Mason Voss, Brent Jeske and Healy gashing the Ledgers for big runs that brought Colby back to the Red Zone.

A pair of incomplete passes halted the promising drive, and Brost came on to attempt a 38-yard field goal. The kick had the distance, but was just wide of the mark, but the Ledgers were forced to start their next drive on their own 20-yard line with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The Ledgers finally began to move the ball downfield at the start of the second quarter. Humpfner snapped off a nine yard run, and Issac Hyland got loose for a 34-yard scamper that put the Ledgers in Colby territory for the first time.

Just when it seemed the Ledgers would finally get on board, fate intervened. The Ledgers Cullen King fumbled the ball and Brent Jeske scooped it up and rumbled downfield for a 63-yard TD.

Brost’s attempted PAT was blocked, but Colby’s lead grew to 20-0 with 11:21 to go before the break. The score did more than give the Hornets a three score cushion, it gave them all the momentum.

“Yeah, that was maybe the biggest play of the game there,” Brent said. “They had a bad snap and the ball tipped my way, and at first I was surprised, but once I had it, it was just a footrace, and I knew they couldn’t catch me.”

The Ledgers would eventually answer late in the second quarter, scoring their only points when Huempfner shed several would-be Colby tacklers to rattle off a 52-yard scoring run. The Ledgers PAT was good, making it a 20-7 game with 3:42 to go before halftime.

Colby went to the locker room with a two-score lead, but the Ledgers comeback over Darlington was on everyone’s mind — and the desire to not let history repeat itself.

“We talked about that at halftime. We knew we couldn’t give up anything,” Brandon Voelker said. “If we did, they’d come back. We weren’t going to let that happen. We wanted that gold football bad, and we weren’t going to leave Madison until we got what we came for.”

If the first half was an offensive flurry, the second half was a defensive standstill. The Ledgers took the opening kickoff in the second half, and went on an eight-play, 3:46 drive, but that drive netted just 18-yards, and St. Mary’s Springs was forced to punt once more.

The Hornets began the drive with 7:44 to go in the third, and while they came away empty-handed, the drive took over six minutes off the clock, and pinned the Ledgers on their own 22-yard line.

The ensuing drive went into the fourth quarter, where the Ledgers attempted to move the ball, but their drive led to just one first down, and ended in disaster.

Nate Mueller muffed the snap, and Stange knifed in, blocking the punt.

Andrew Jeske recovered the ball on the Springs’ 26-yard line.

Colby was hoping to add more points to the scoreboard, but a false start penalty pushed the Hornets back to the six-yard line, and a 23-yard field goal attempt by Brost was blocked. Despite not scoring the Ledgers began their next drive with terrible field position, and with the clock their enemy, Springs took to the air to push the ball downfield.

The Hornets pass rush led to King incompletions as Colby held the Ledgers to just three of 11 third down conversions, and stopped their only fourth down attempt.

Colby had another drive that ended deep in Springs’ territory, and the Hornets were content to go for it on fourth down, pinning the Ledgers on their eight yard line. A false start penalty pushed the Ledgers even further back.

Andrew Jeske delivered the final nail in the coffin, beating his man on the edge, and rushing in for the sack and safety to make it 22-7 with 4:27 left to play.

“He was in the end zone, and I had a clean shot at him, and I was just like ‘Wow, this is going to be a good play,’” Jeske said about his safety.

The Hornets received the kickoff after the safety and picked up several first downs courtesy of Brent Jeske and Mason Voss. From there, the Hornets took a knee, draining the time off the clock.

When it struck zero, the Hornets could no longer control their emotions. Some players dropped to their knees, others sought out teammates to hug, and others just stared at the scoreboard, hands on hips, tears streaming down in awe at what they had just accomplished.

“We just won state! It’s been a childhood dream ever since we were younger and in our CUDA days,” Voelker said. “We always watched the Hornets on the field, and I was at the game in 2011 when Colby won it. It’s just surreal to be out here now as state champions.”

Others, like Mason Voss, struggled to put into words what it meant to win a state title in his final season with Colby.

“Amazing? Magical? I mean, how else do you describe a season like this? Voss said. “It’s the best feeling I’ve ever felt, but there’s a lot of mixed emotions too. I’m kinda sad I’m never going to play football again, but what could we have done better? We took it all the way and we won state.”

For others, winning the title carried with it added significance. Tristen Stange was not only elated to win state, but he carried on a legacy begun by his father, Maynard Stange, who was part of the first Colby team to win state in 1998, becoming the first father-son duo from Colby to bring home the gold ball.

“I don’t even know how to explain it,” Stange said as he took in Colby’s 22-7 victory over the Ledgers. “I’m sure it’s gonna hit at some point later in the day that we’re freaking state champions, but right now, I’m just trying to celebrate with the team and all the fans that showed up.”

Above all, one theme kept coming in over and over, and that was the special bond that this team has. A bond that makes them family, and allowed Colby to persevere and overcome all challenges.

“We’re just so close. We’re a family. We hang out all the time, it’s a close knit bond that we all have,” Stange said. “We’ve been playing ball together since we were little kids, and we just have that bond that you just can’t break, and that’s what got us here today.”

A season that began in the summer ends on the perfect note for the Colby Hornets, and dreams first hatched as children watching past Colby teams play for state titles, has now came true.

The gold ball will now adorn the halls of Colby High, and more numbers will be placed on the banners and perhaps a new helmet will be constructed on the concourse.

And perhaps somewhere in that sea of Colby faithful that made the trip to state on Thursday was a small child who saw Colby win. Perhaps they’re already dreaming of their own state title.

For if there’s one thing this year’s team has demonstrated, it’s that dreams can come true, and with some hard work, even magic can happen.

CONGRATS ON THE TD -Colby High’s Cory Steen (#76) hugs quarterback Brent Jeske after Jeske scored for the second time in the WIAA D-6 state championship game to give the Hornets a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Hornets dominated the Ledgers in the first half, out-scoring them 20-7, with Brent Jeske scoring all three touchdowns, two on offense, and then a 63-yard scoop and score on a fumble recovery. Steen and his fellow offensive and defensive linemen refused to back down from future NCAA D-1 commit Billy Scrauth as Colby racked up the yards and stifled the Ledgers for a fourth state championship.

WE’RE NUMBER ONE -Colby QB Brent Jeske raises his hands in the air as he and teammate Brody Decker (#11) celebrate another Colby touchdown, as the Hornets take 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

SPLIT THE UPRIGHTS -Tucker Brost boots the football from the hands of Kaden Wiese during Colby’s WIAA D-6 title tilt with St. Mary’s Springs. Brost was good on two PATs, and had one touchback. STAFF PHOTOS/ROSS PATTERMAN

FUTURE CHAMPS? -A group of elementary and middle school students from Colby cheer on the Hornets. Many of this year’s seniors were in the stands of Camp Randall Stadium in 2011, when Colby last played for a state title.

GOOD RETURN - Mateo Lopez evades a would be tackler as he picks up 17-yards on a punt return in the second half of the state title game.

NOT BACKING DOWN -Two way lineman Derek Jeske goes toe to toe with St. Mary’s Springs lineman Billy Schrauth, above, a top ranked recruit with over 30 NCAA D-1 offers. Jeske and his Hornets got the better of Schrauth, amassing nearly 300-yards of total offense.STAFF PHOTOS/ROSS PATTERMANN

RUNNING OVER, THROUGH AND AROUND -Junior Caden Healy (#21) fights to break tackles as teammate Brayden Boyer (#72) works to open a running lane. Healy had 167-all purpose yards, including a 52-yard kickoff return.