Edgar football heading to state title game

EAU CLAIRE – Alec Hafferman was a ball boy for the Edgar football team when the Wildcats won a state championship six years ago.

On Friday he helped the Wildcats earn their first trip back to Camp Randall since that title game.

The Wildcats senior running back rushed for four short touchdowns as Edgar downed Bangor 29-6 in a WIAA Division 7 state semifinal football game at Carson Park.

“I remember all the hard work I saw those guys (in 2010) put in to get down to state — going into the weight room, running sprints and doing everything extra … and it all paying off (for them),” Hafferman said. “Hopefully we can feel that same payoff next week.”

Edgar (10-3) won its fifth straight game and will have an opportunity for the program’s seventh state championship. The Wildcats play Shullsburg in the Division 7 title game at 10 a.m. Thursday in Madison. It’s the 11th trip to the state finals for Edgar and first since 2010 when the Wildcats won the second of back-to-back Division 6 state titles.

Hafferman scored on runs of 3, 1, 3 and 8 yards and rushed for 119 yards. The Wildcats totaled 225 yards overall on the ground

Bangor entered the game averaging 54.3 points per game but were limited to a short touchdown run by Luke Reader in the first half. The Cardinals averaged about 307.5 yards on the ground this fall, but Edgar held them to 242 yards.

Hafferman capped two long scoring drives — a 61-yarder late in the second quarter and a 65-yarder on the opening possession of the second half. The two drives took a combined 30 plays, and the latter one lasted 8 minutes, 4 seconds.

Edgar quarterback Karson Butt had two key scrambles to keep the third quarter drive alive. He ran 19 yards on a third-and-13 to give the Wildcats a first down at midfield and then picked up a first down inside the Bangor 10 on a fourth-and-1 play from the Cardinals 16.

Hafferman took the handoff on the play and tried to pick up the first down up the middle. He was stopped around the line of scrimmage but as he was going down he pitched the ball back about seven yards to Butt, and the quarterback went around left end to get the first down.

“That stuff starts in the backyard when we were about seven years old,” Butt said of the pitch. “Last week it happened actually (in a win over Loyal) on a punt return. He was getting tackled, I was right behind him and he pitched it. We got a pretty good return off it.”

The Wildcats have allowed only a touchdown in all four playoff games so far. Edgar forced two fumbles in the game and Bangor never got closer than the Wildcats 23 in the second half.

Bangor (12-1) the defending state champions, are the second undefeated team that Edgar has faced in the postseason so far. Edgar routed Wild Rose 50-7 in a Level 2 game.

It was the first postseason matchup between the two programs since 2011 when Edgar rolled to a 53-6 win in a Division 6 Level 3 matchup. The loss snapped Bangor’s 26-game winning streak.

Edgar’s defense set the tone on the opening drive.

The Wildcats, who have forced a turnover in every game of the playoffs, recovered a fumble at the Bangor 45 on the third play of the game to set up a six-play scoring drive. The key play was a 36-yard reception by Will Raatz as he hauled in a pass that was batted into 8 the air inside the Bangor 9.

Hafferman scored on a 3-yard run two plays later and Tyler Engel connected with Kade Schraufnagel for the two-point conversion.

“I thought that was really big to get that first score and the two-point conversion,” Edgar coach Jerry Sinz said. “We feel pretty good with eight (points). If we get 15, well, we’re feeling better. If we get 22 then we’re feeling really good.”

Bangor drove to the Edgar 5 on the ensuing possession, keyed by a 43-yard pass play. But a penalty pushed the Cardinals back and the drive ended with a missed 25-yard field goal.

Bangor drove 70 yards on nine-plays on its next possession. Reader capped the drive with a 2-yard run on the second play of the second quarter to bring the Cardinals to within 8-6.

The Wildcats drove 69 yards on 13 plays late in the second quarter. Hafferman capped the march with his second touchdown to give Edgar a 15-6 lead at the break.

Edgar continued that momentum with the drive to open the third quarter in which they converted a pair of fourth-and-1 opportunities.

“(The talk at half) was that we wanted to come on score on that first drive of the third quarter just and get that three-possession lead,” Hafferman said. “That was big.”

Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or timothy.johnson@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @timmyjo11

First quarter

E-Alec Hafferman 3 run (Kade Schraufnagel pass from Tyler Engel), 9:00

Second quarter

B-Luke Reader 2 run (pass fail), 11:31

E-Hafferman 1 run (Joshua Burish kick), 2:26,

Third quarter

E-Hafferman 3 run (Burish kick), 3:56.

Fourth quarter

E-Hafferman 8 run (Burish kick), 9:33