Waupaca aims for 3rd state title in 7 years

WAUPACA - After ending West De Pere's 39-game winning streak last week, Waupaca is on the verge of winning its third state football title in seven years.

The Comets play Catholic Memorial at 1 p.m. Friday in the Division 3 state championship game at Camp Randall Stadium. While Waupaca was pushed aside by West De Pere the last few seasons in Division 3, the Comets are back.

Winners of the 2006 and 2008 state titles, Waupaca is no secret in high school football. It’s a good program and it starts at the top.

“The coaches help us out a lot; (Coach John Koronkiewicz) has been here a long time, he knows what he's doing,” running back/linebacker Beau Ash said. “He's always there for the kids, for the players as a coach and off the field. The players, we work hard and we want to succeed and that's what ‘Kronk’ wants us to do also.”

Waupaca (12-0) entered last week’s Level 4 game taking a backseat to the two-time defending state champion West De Pere, but served notice against the Phantoms it was ready for the big time. West De Pere had a habit of overpowering teams with its offensive and defensive lines, but Waupaca was up to the test, played tough and used its speed.

Friday, the Comets meet a similar challenge in Memorial (10-2).

“The strength of this team is its character,” Koronkiewicz said. "We've probably been overmanned from a weight standpoint, size standpoint all year, which is a credit to our guys. They play fast, they play very physical football, we have excellent linebackers. Our guys up front do an outstanding job up front of tying up blockers."

Waupaca held West De Pere to 158 rushing yards and 4.5 yards per carry, and the Phantoms entered the game averaging 7.8 yards per carry. That kept Waupaca in the game and then it took a 16-14 lead late on an Ash 22-yard field goal with 69 seconds to play.

The defense then held and Waupaca won its biggest game since the 2008 state title. The Level 4 win felt like a state championship game because of the opponent and now the Comets must win one more game.

"There's such a high that goes with that kind of victory, that it's hard to bounce back from that,” Koronkiewicz said. “That's a challenge for our guys this week.

“It was one of the best high school football games I’ve been apart of. It was a great win for our program and to have it launch you into the state title game is special.”

That win will not be forgotten, but Waupaca hopes there is another special moment Friday.

"It's always been a dream for many of us players to make it to the state game,” Ash said. “I remember talking about it when we were young always wanting to go to state our senior year, to do it. To actually be there our senior year is probably one of the greatest things and to win it would make it 10 times better."

Notes
If Waupaca wins it will mark three straight years a team from Northeast Wisconsin wins the Division 3 state title and fifth in seven years (West De Pere won the last two state titles). ... QB Sam Menzies has 1,309 passing yards and leads the Comets with 1,106 yards. ... Ash adds 1,028 rushing yards. ... Waupaca has 61 offensive TDs this season, 43 via the ground. ... Catholic Memorial lost the 2010 state title game to West De Pere, 35-0.

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

doug.ritchay@wluk.com