Marquette shuts down Franklin to win first Division 1 state football title since 2009

MADISON – The Hilltoppers are back on top.

Behind a spectacular 38-carry, 167-yard, two-touchdown performance from sophomore running back Tommy Novotny and a dominant defensive performance from one of the state's best units, Marquette (12-2) beat Franklin (13-1) in the WIAA Division 1 state championship game, 27-10, Friday night to win the program's first football title since 2009.

"He's amazing," Marquette coach Keith Klestinski said on the super sophomore back Novotny. "He does not quit. Two weeks before the playoffs, he hyperextended his knee and we gave him some time off. He came back and said, 'I'm ready to go.' I'm watching him in practice and I'm like, 'Are you really ready to go?'

"He came back in that Bay Port game (in Level 2) and had a great game for us. We brought him up as a freshman last year and we knew he was a talent, but this year, he's really kinda come into his own. He's seeing the field so well. His vision is incredible. And here's the other thing, the toughness. He's tough."

BOX SCORE: Marquette 27, Franklin 10

REPLAY: WIAA state finals, with winners Rice Lake, Badger and Marquette

The two stellar Milwaukee County programs locked horns to a 10-10 draw in the opening half, but Novotny's efforts and the play of the offensive and defensive fronts from the Hilltoppers made a massive difference as the game progressed.

"We said if we're gonna win this thing, we're gonna have to go through a gauntlet of teams that know where the weight room is," Klestinski said. "We wanna say we know where the weight room is, too, and we knew we were gonna have to run the ball.

"We couldn't just be a passing outfit and all year long and I think we've surprised people by how well we've ran the ball."

Novotny took over the game in the third quarter on the second drive for the Hilltoppers offense. A 15-play, 86-yard drive was capped by one of Novotny's two scores where he had 82 yards alone, including a run of 16 yards after a botched snap resulted in a seven-yard loss back to their own 7-yard-line. He alsos had an absurd 34-yard catch later over Franklin defender Nathan Kazmierczak from a tough Peter McDevitt throw rolling right that set up Novotny's eventual go-ahead touchdown with 10:54 left in the third.

"We knew we were gonna have to punch through them anyway," Novotny said, who shook off a stinger early in the 86-yard drive and missed just one play.

"We just went straight at them. It's what we've been doing all season and it worked. It was just heart. We've been running behind this offensive line all year and we've been pushing. We just knew if we kept going, body blows, body blows, we're just gonna keep moving right through them."

From that drive on, it was all Hilltoppers and then some. Marquette shut out Franklin in the second half and the defense held the Sabers to just 30 total yards on five second-half possessions.

Jacques Brooks made some key plays early to finish with eight catches for 100 yards for Franklin, but Buffalo recruit Terrance Shelton had just 24 yards on nine carries against Marquette's box and the Sabers finished with just three total rushing yards as a team.

"I think we went toe-to-toe with them in the first half and I think they wore us down a little bit," Franklin coach Louis Brown said. "They didn't make mistakes. They didn't. They didn't turn the ball over. They got a turnover. You gotta give them a lot of credit."

All-state linebacker Mitchell Nigro had a team-high eight tackles and 2.5 sacks, while Murphy Monreal had four pass breakups and an interception with 5:13 to play to seemingly ice the game after his 97-yard kickoff return touchdown was called back on a holding penalty to open the second half. Six Hilltoppers had at least three total tackles and the defense had six pass breakups as a whole.

Tate Kowalik, Evan Maier and Bryce Roder all registered a sack of Joey Kallay, who started hot for the Sabers by completing 10 of his first 13 passes, but finished 20 of 36 for 220 yards with a first-half touchdown to Andrew Human (six catches, 57 yards) and the pick late to Monreal that seal the Sabers' fate.

"Up front, they're really good. We knew that on film," Brown said. "Any time you have to pass on offense – they shut down our run, so I'll give them credit on that. When you have to pass, they can kinda pin their ears back and it makes things real tough for an offensive line. I don't care how good your offensive line is."

The win marked the eighth in a row for Marquette dating back to a Sept. 22 drubbing at the hands of Greater Metro Conference champion Sussex Hamilton, who Franklin beat 35-0 a week ago. It's the second WIAA title for the Hilltoppers after seven other titles on the private school scene before joining the WIAA back in 2000.

"We challenged these guys," Klestinski said. "We told those guys we just had to get the ball back to our offense. We knew we had to make a stop here, we had to make a stop there, and I think our defensive backfield, we knew they'd be stretched and challenged all day because they've got some real talent. But to be able to do what we did against (Terrance) Shelton was amazing. He's an amazing talent, an amazing back. Hats off to our defense."

As for the feeling of winning the program's first state title in 14 seasons – a team that Klestinski was an assistant coach on under coach Dick Basham – he had two words to describe the euphoria of being back on top with the Hilltoppers.

"Long overdue," Klestinski said with a smile.

DIVISION 2 RECAP: Badger completes emotional climb to first WIAA state football title with win over Waunakee

DIVISION 3 RECAP: Grafton football team's memorable run to state final ends with a valiant effort in 28-20 loss to Rice Lake

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette wins 2023 WIAA Division 1 high school football state title