Stratford football stings unbeaten Kewaunee in WIAA Division 5 state quarterfinal

KEWAUNEE – The Stratford Tigers came out on a mission against undefeated at top-seeded Kewaunee and didn’t let the Storm up for breath.

Stratford scored five touchdowns in the first half to open up a huge lead and rolled to a 42-12 victory in a WIAA Division 5 Level 3 state quarterfinal on Friday night at Kewaunee High School.

Stratford (10-2) moves on to a D-5 state semifinal next Friday, Nov. 9, against Spencer/Columbus Catholic (11-1). The game will be played at Medford High School beginning at 7 p.m. with a state finals berth at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison on the line.

The Tigers lost to Spencer/Columbus 27-7 back in the season opener on Aug. 17, and SC has knocked Stratford out of the playoffs twice since the Tigers’ last state finals appearance in 2008, which capped off a string of six-straight WIAA state titles. Spencer/Columbus last made it to state in 2015, the program’s only trip to Camp Randall, where it lost to Amherst.

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Kade Ehrike ran 26 times for 234 yards, accounting for about one-third of the Tigers’ offense. He scored on a 65-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to put Stratford ahead to stay.

Chase Flink added TD runs of 6, 8 and 15 yards, Ehrike had an 8-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and quarterback Max Schwabe had a 2-yard TD run for the Tigers.

Stratford’s defense was tough again, allowing just eight first downs and 140 total yards in the victory.

Tigers 42, Storm 12
Stratford 19 16 0 7 – 42
Kewaunee 0 0 6 6 – 12
First Quarter
S – Kade Ehrike 65 run (klck missed).
S – Chase Flink 6 run (Two-point try failed).
S – Max Schwabe 2 run (Reed Curtis kick).
Second Quarter
S – Flink 8 run (Ehrike run).
S – Ehrike 8 run (run successful).
Third Quarter
K – Owen Kudick 43 run (PAT missed).
Fourth Quarter
S – Flink 15 run (Curtis kick).
K – Kudick 5 run (PAT missed).
Team Statistics
First downs: Stratford 19; Kewaunee 8.
Rushing: S 47-335; K 29-74.
Passing: S 3-5-13-1; K 8-17-66-2.
Total yards: S 348; K 140.
Penalties (no.-yards): S 2-5; K 3-16.
Fumbles lost: none.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: S, Kade Ehrike 26-234, Chase Flink 6-64, Derek Marten 6-23, Eli Drexler 4-14, Max Schwabe 5-0. K, Owen Kudick 20-94, Travis Reinke 3-8, Ryan Carmichael 5-minus 33.
Passing: S, Schwabe 3-5-13-1. K, Carmichael 8-16-66-2, Max Hanrahan 0-1-0-0.
Receiving: S, Marten 1-10, Drexler 1-5, Ehrike 1-minus 2. K, McCory 4-39, Alex Hewett 2-21, Hanrahan 1-4, Kudick 1-2.
Interceptions (defense): S, Drexler, Lance Heidmann.
Records: Stratford 10-2; Kewaunee 11-1.