It's been a long time since a team plowed through Kettle Moraine the way Badger just did

WALES – During a 16-game winning streak in which it won the WIAA 2022 Division 2 football title, Kettle Moraine gave up no more than 21 points in a game, and that happened only once.

So what does that say about Badger’s performance Friday night on the Lasers’ home field?

The Badgers from Lake Geneva put that many on the board in the first half, played Kettle Moraine-like defense for 48 minutes and walked off the field with a 28-7 win that took them to within one victory of the title game.

“We knew we were going to handle them on offense all right,” Badger quarterback JP Doyle said. “I think we were a little surprised how well our defense did, and I think we handled them well. Every single guy did their job.

“Our O-line did an amazing job up front getting it done. I think we did everything we were supposed to do.”

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Badger (12-0) put the finishing touches on the victory without head coach Matt Hensler, who received medical attention on the sideline and then was taken to the hospital. After co-defensive coordinator Mike Koronkiewicz delivered a hopeful message to the players, he told reporters Hensler had experienced shortness of breath and was taken as a precaution.

Doyle rushed for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and threw to sophomore Matthew O’Grady for a 70-yarder with 31 seconds left in the first half.

The runs were emblematic of the Badgers’ season. But the long TD pass? That was just the third score through the air this season for an offense that has gained 10 times as many yards on the ground as it has via the pass.

“It’s not rare,” Koronkiewicz said, “but definitely part of our game plan is to pound the football. That’s our identity. That’s what we want to do.

“But we also have some playmakers and guys we want to get the ball to on the perimeter, so when we have opportunities we can throw the football as well as anyone.”

Kettle Moraine finally got on the board two minutes into the fourth quarter when senior quarterback Jonathan Ksobiech connected with junior Dylan Portz for a 61-yard TD.

O’Grady gave Badger its final TD on a 3-yard run with 2:11 left and then Doyle ended the Lasers’ final drive of the season with an interception.

Kettle Moraine coach Matt McConnell, emotionally exhausted from hug after hug after hug, managed a few smiles as players, families and fans gathered in the south end zone after the game. Although the Lasers’ run ended short, it was nonetheless impressive.

“They outplayed us,” McConnell said. “They were better than us up front. They were more physical than us. They did a great job controlling the clock and moving the ball. … It’s a fear anytime you play a team like that, like if they can just run the ball like that and shorten the game, it’s tough.”

The Badgers also caught some breaks and made more big plays, like drawing a penalty to keep their long second drive alive and getting an interception by Eli Brummett in the third quarter that stopped a Kettle Moraine threat inside the 1-yard line.

“Credit to them for making those plays,” McConnell said. “The last whatever games it’s been, that’s us making those plays.”

Badger will play its Level 4 game Friday night at Oconomowoc against Sun Prairie East, which beat Slinger, 35-6.

Advancing also completed a circle for the Badgers. After being eliminated by Mukwonago of the Classic 8 Conference in Level 2 a year ago, they’ve beaten teams from that tough league on consecutive Friday nights, first Waukesha West and now top-seeded Kettle Moraine.

“This team has grown tremendously,” said Doyle, also the starter last season.

“I think there’s a stigma about the Classic 8 that in the Southern Lakes we can’t compete with them, but our goal was to prove that wrong. Both times they predicted us to lose, and that kind of lit a fire under us. We got after it, and we wanted to stop that curse right now for whoever thought the Classic 8, we couldn’t beat them.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Badger upsets Kettle Moraine in WIAA Level 3 football playoff game