MADISON − Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines adversity as “a state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune,” and for Muskego this season there’s not much the Warriors haven’t been through.
After working through one of the toughest paths in the seven state football playoff brackets as a four-loss No. 4 seed out of the rugged Classic 8 Conference, the Warriors found themselves down a touchdown 14 seconds into the WIAA Division 1 state title game Friday against Bay Port and down 19 points at halftime with just 20 yards of total offense.
Despite a furious second-half rally from the Warriors, the Classic 8 powerhouse fell just short of a miraculous comeback victory in a 25-18 defeat at the hands of the Pirates to close the 2024 high school football season.
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“I’m so proud of the resiliency of this team,” Muskego coach Ken Krause said, noting the offseason mental training his players go through in preparation of the season.
“All that paid off this year, because we really had in the first game. We’re down 21-3 to Neenah at half and came back and won. Tonight, we told them at halftime, ‘It’s gonna be like the Neenah game.’ “
Brady Moon’s 80-yard sprint down the Muskego sideline on the game’s first offensive snap put the Warriors behind the 8-ball again after allowing an opening kickoff touchdown to heated conference rival Mukwonago in last week’s state semifinals.
The Warriors managed just 20 yards on 13 total offensive plays in the first two quarters with no first downs, while the Pirates steamrolled their way to 259 yards, 10 first downs while possessing the ball for over 18 first-half minutes and took a 19-0 lead into the locker rooms.
Muskego built some momentum in the opening drive of the third quarter with an 11-play, 65-yard drive, but a Jack Labisch fumble that Bay Port’s Alex Warden came away with halted any early second-half momentum.
The Warriors defense got a quick three-and-out and the offense finally broke through with a 48-yard touchdown catch-and-run sequence from Joey Shaw to Jackson Niemiec to trim the deficit to 11 after Labisch somehow caught a Shaw pass attempt in the end zone on the two-point try.
“We had that nice opening drive and had the fumble,” Krause said, “If we don’t have that, that’s maybe a touchdown right there and another seven points for us that we needed. But it wasn’t from a lack of effort. The guys gave everything they had.”
Moon busted through the Muskego defense again for a 67-yard touchdown run two snaps later to make it a 25-8 contest after the two-point try failed. The junior finished with 241 yards on the ground and three scores on 24 carries. He was also Bay Port’s leading receiver with two grabs for 29 yards on three targets.
“Brady’s our playmaker, but our offensive line does the work to get him some holes,” Bay Port coach Steven Jorgensen said. “He finds them, though. Brady’s our guy for a reason. We put our faith in him for a reason because of how he works. What a great young man and what a great player as well.”
Facing a 17-point hole and the end of the season, Muskego showed one last resilient push. Niemiec found pay dirt for the second time with 11:02 left on a 28-yard touchdown run and then a surprise onside kick from Gabe Walden got the Warriors the ball back immediately. Bay Port’s defense stoned the Warriors on three plays, but Walden struck a 33-yard field goal cleanly to make it a 25-18 game just inside of four minutes to play.
The Warriors decided to kick it deep after initially showing an onside look on the kickoff and senior outside linebacker Thomas Gover drove Pirates quarterback Matt Stevens to the turf on a fourth-and-1 keeper at the Bay Port 39-yard-line with just 67 ticks left.
After Shaw was almost picked off on the first play, a holding penalty, a sack, a spike and a Hail Mary attempt that fell incomplete, Muskego’s season ended with a silver ball for the second time in its fourth trip to Camp Randall Stadium.
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“We felt that if they were going to be a passing team, that we were gonna be in a good spot,” Jorgensen said. “That’s a running football team and we absolutely turned them into a passing team. Yeah, they hit us on a deep one, but Muskego’s known for running the football. I think we did a great job shutting that down.”
Muskego finished with 117 yards on the ground, but averaged just 3.5 yards per carry on 33 total attempts. Shaw threw 15 passes Friday, six more attempts than he threw in the previous four playoff games combined.
“We just kept improving. Everybody kept coaching hard and the players stayed positive,” Krause said on Friday’s performance and the rollercoaster season his team had.
“We could see we were practicing better. Some of those new guys started getting comfortable. We got a couple guys back and then we played to our ability. We beat some great teams and this playoff run was fantastic. I’m so proud of the guys.”
