OSHKOSH – For the second consecutive season, the Bay Port Pirates football team is heading to the WIAA Division 1 state title game.
In thrilling fashion, the Pirates outlasted Muskego 38-35 in a D1 state semifinal game played at UW-Oshkosh’s Titan Stadium on Nov. 14.
Bay Port will play Arrowhead (12-1) for the state championship at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
“What a blast this game was,” Bay Port Coach Steven Jorgensen. “What a great group of kids and a great community to be a part of. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Trailing 35-31 with 5:24 remaining in the game, the Pirates (11-2) began their game-winning drive from their own 20.
Facing a fourth and five from the 25-yard line, Bay Port completed a short pass over the middle to keep the drive alive and the clock moving.
Seven plays later, with 48 seconds showing on the clock, Jackson Otradovec hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Matt Stevens to make it 38-35 after Beckett Koerten’s extra point.
With the Pirates unable to stop the Warriors’ offense all night, they came up huge on the final meaningful possession of the game.
After Muskego (11-2) completed its first pass of the drive, Bay Port forced three consecutive incomplete passes to seal the win.
“Our defense really couldn’t stop Muskego all night, but we came up big on the last drive,” Jorgensen said. “We played an excellent team, and the game turned into one of those old-fashioned Big 12 [college] games. What went right for us was that we got the stop when needed to.”
Brady Moon got the Pirates on the board first with a short TD run halfway through the first quarter before the Warriors struck quickly after the kickoff on a 71-yard TD run on their first play.
Ethan Orlando hauled in a 41-yard TD pass from Stevens on Bay Port’s next drive, only to see Muskego tie the score 14-14 a few minutes later.
Koerten booted a 25-yard field goal late in the first half before the Warriors took the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to the house for a 21-17 halftime lead.
After a scoreless third quarter, Moon scored his second TD of the night on a short run for a 24-21 lead after Koerten’s extra point.
On the next drive, Muskego again struck from distance with a 75-yard TD run and a 28-24 lead.
Moon then found paydirt for the third time in the game from 57 yards away, setting up the frantic finish.
Moon finished with 177 yards on 26 carries, while Stevens added 141 yards on 31 attempts.
Stevens completed 12 of 18 passes for 211 yards.
Otradovec hauled in five passes for 72 yards.
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