Edgar wins state title as Karter Butt scores record five touchdowns
MADISON - Karter Butt capped his high school football career with a record-setting performance and a state championship.
Butt ran for 171 yards and a record five touchdowns on 19 carries to lead Edgar to a 36-6 victory over Black Hawk/Warren, Ill., in the WIAA Division 7 state title game Thursday at Camp Randall Stadium.
Butt surpassed the previous Division 7 record of four touchdowns in a title game and matched the mark of five set by Sam Santiago-Lloyd of Brookfield East in Division 2 in 2016.
“He’s just a hard runner,” said Edgar coach Jerry Sinz, in his 49th season. “The guy’s built low to the ground, yet he has great cutting ability and vision. He weighs a legitimate 215, 216, at 5-9. Squats about 500 pounds. He’s a tough guy to handle. He’s been starting for us for three years, both offense and defense. We’ll miss him for sure.”
Edgar, playing in its 14th title game, most in WIAA history, won 13 consecutive games after a season-opening 8-6 loss to Ellsworth. It's the Wildcats' eighth state title, but first since 2016.
“As you saw in the stands, the community all came out,” Butt said. “Every store was closed in Edgar today. They all came out to watch us play and that just means so much. We put in the work and they support us. It all just kind of works together. And, I guess it showed up in the final score.”
Butt, who entered with 1,773 yards and 31 touchdowns rushing this season, had scoring runs of 42 and 4 yards in the first quarter, and 29 and 20 in the third quarter to give Edgar a 29-6 lead. He added a 4-yarder early in the final period.
Black Hawk-Warren (12-2), averaged 38.9 points during the regular season, and 36.5 in its first four playoff games.
“We want to play smash-mouth, pound the ball and play great defense,” Black Hawk coach Desie Breadon said. “They just played better defense than we did. They owned that line today.”
Edgar led 14-6 at the half and pushed its lead to 22-6 on Butt’s 29-yard touchdown run on its first possession of the third quarter. The Warriors went three-and-out and Butt returned the punt 16 yards to the Black Hawk-Warren 38. On the third-and-1, Butt broke a tackle at the second level and then eluded a defender at the 5 to score at the left pylon. Teegan Streit ran in the two-point conversion on a perfectly executed fake kick.
“I think if we had gotten a score coming out of half, or at least a long drive and took it deep, I think it would have been a whole different second half,” Breadon said.
The Wildcats' ensuing possession started after Tucker Streit returned an interception 13 yards to the Black Hawk-Warren 27-yard line. On fourth-and-3, Butt burst up the middle for a 20-yard touchdown to make it 29-9.
The Warriors fumbled on their next series, and Butt capped the 31-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to make it 36-6 with 9:52 remaining.
Edgar led 14-0 after one quarter, but Black Hawk-Warren got a momentum-changing score on a 5-yard pass from Eli Schliem to Lane Marty with 15 seconds left in the half to make it 14-6. Owen Seffrood kept the 16-play, 78-yard drive alive on fourth-and-1 with a 9-yard run to the Edgar 18.
Butt staked the Wildcats to an 8-0 lead on their opening drive with his 32nd rushing touchdown of the season, a 42-yard dash around the left end. Kohlbe Weisenberger ran for the two-point conversion.
The Warriors went three-and-out on their first possession and the Wildcats answered with a 55-yard drive, capped by Butt’s 4-yard touchdown run to put Edgar up 14-0.
Black Hawk defeated Edgar in the 2018 title game and then again in 2019 as the co-op team Black Hawk/Warren.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Edgar wins state football title as Karter Butt scores five touchdowns
