State record 10th state title
By Casey Krautkramer
Signs in the Stratford area signified that the football team was chasing ‘X,’ meaning 10 state titles in school history which would be the most of any school in WIAA state history, leading up to Thursday’s WIAA Division 5 state championship in Madison. Mission completed.
Stratford beat Wrightstown, 21-6, in light rain Thursday night at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison to win their third consecutive state championship and WIAA state record 10th state football title in school history. The Tigers won Division 6 state championships in 2022 and 2023 before winning the Division 5 state title this season.
Tigers senior outside linebacker Caleb Wrensch was one of the team’s top defensive players this season. He is proud to be a member of Stratford’s football team that accomplished the three peat of state championships.
“It’s just unbelievable, I mean not many people get to experience winning a state championship once but for us to experience coming down to Camp Randall and playing here three times in a row and winning a gold ball all three times is just unbelievable,” Wrensch said. “It’s crazy. We finally hit double digits in state championships and it’s nice that in the third year in a row we hit the eighth, ninth and 10th so it’s just perfect.”
His senior teammate, middle linebacker Xander Curtice, had probably the best game of his Stratford playing career with seven tackles, including three tackles for loss, and two quarterback sacks while blocking an extra point kick for the second straight playoff game. Senior defensive lineman Walker Weis and junior defensive back Coltan Breit each had a tackle for loss in the state championship.
Wrightstown senior dual-threat quarterback Trevor Vande Hey, who’ll play Division 1 college baseball at the University of Iowa next year, ran for a 61-yard touchdown in the second quarter but Stratford’s
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STRATFORD’S FIRST TOUCHDOWN IN THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP - Stratford senior dual-threat quarterback Jack Tubbs keeps the football for an eight-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter of Thursday’s 21-6 win against Wrightstown in the WIAA Division 5 state championship.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER Three peat
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defense completely shut him down in the second half. Stratford senior free safety Alec Chapel and senior defensive back Jett Schoenherr each intercepted a pass in the state championship.
Stratford’s football team concluded this season with a perfect 14-0 record. The Tigers have won 26 straight games dating back to early last season.
Tigers head coach Jason Tubbs said this year’s team was determined to win their third straight state championship, even though Stratford was moved up a division this season because of the WIAA’s threeyear cumulative tournament performance factor.
“It was just a great team effort all year long,” he said. “These guys worked their butts off. They wanted it from day one after last year. They were working out right after last year’s repeat and they just wanted to do it.”Tubbs coached his son, talented senior quarterback Jack Tubbs, and Stratford’s football team one last time in Thursday’s state championship. He is retiring to start a new chapter in his life including watching his son play college baseball at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota next year.
“This is emotional because it is my last game too,” Jason Tubbs said. “I am going to retire and let these other young coaches take over, so if I am going to got out then I’m going out with my son because he is a hell of a player and a better son. I am super proud of him because he played his butt off tonight.”
Jack Tubbs had a stellar Division 5 state championship on Thursday by completing a perfect five of five passes for 31 yards and a touchdown while running the football 15 times for 94 yards and a touchdown. He was determined not to lose his father’s final game coaching football.
“It would have sucked to lose his last game so it was kind of a fairytale ending to win so he could go out on top,” Jack Tubbs said. “Everyone is going to miss him. He is a great guy and a great coach. The juniors are telling him that he should stay for one more year but he’s ready to start a different chapter in his life. I am moving on so he is moving on too.”
Jack Tubbs scored the first points in the Division 5 state championship on an eight-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Breit caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Tubbs with just over two minutes left in the second quarter. Junior Brooks Vanderhoof ran for a one-yard touchdown with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. Vanderhoof led Stratford’s rushing attack with 15 carries for 94 yards in the state championship. Junior Mason Miller was a perfect three for three on his extra point kicks.
Jason Tubbs was Stratford’s defensive coordinator underneath head coach Cal Tackes when the Tigers won a state record six consecutive Division 6 state championships. Tubbs was Stratford’s head football coach when the team was Division 5 state runners-up in 2018 and 2019. He coached the Tigers to Division 6 state titles in 2022 and 2023 and the Division 5 state title this season.
Stratford’s only state championship that Tubbs has not been a part of was its Division 5 state title in 1986.
“I’ve been here for nine of them and it doesn’t get any better,” he said. “It is surreal every time you get down here and it’s awesome to see the community that we have.”
WATER BATH SEND OFF - Stratford senior football captain Walker Weis (75) douses head coach Jason Tubbs with water on Thursday night after the team’s 21-6 win against Wrightstown in the WIAA Division 5 state championship. Tubbs announced his retirement from coaching football after the game.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
