In a dominant 42-6 win over the River Falls Wildcats on Friday night, the Tritons punched their ticket to the WIAA Division 2 state championship game for the second straight season, and once again, junior running back Kingston Allen led the charge.
Allen wasted no time setting the tone, scoring the first two touchdowns of the game to put NDA in control early.
He added a third score with just over six minutes left in the second quarter on a short run inside the five, stretching the lead to 21-0.
Not long after, the Tritons’ defense delivered a momentum swinging play.
With 4:19 left in the half, senior Miles Hunter jumped a pass for an interception and returned it to the River Falls 33-yard line.
The turnover set up yet another Allen touchdown– his fourth of the day– with 1:30 remaining before halftime, and with that, NDA took a commanding 28-0 lead into the locker room.
The Tritons wasted no time adding on after the break.
Less than two minutes into the third quarter, Allen broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown run, making it 35-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, River Falls fumbled, and the Tritons pounced on the loose ball at the 22.
Allen punched in his sixth touchdown of the night with just over 8 minutes left in the third, putting NDA up 42-0 and sealing the blowout.
River Falls added a late touchdown, but the Tritons blocked the extra point– a small reminder of how all three phases clicked for Notre Dame in a near flawless semifinal performance.
Head coach Mike Rader credited the team’s consistency and balance.
“We talked about how we’re here for a reason,” Rader said. “We play the game a certain way, and we don’t have to do anything different. We played good solid offense and really good defense, and we had a couple plays go our way on special teams as well. When you put all three phases together, good things happen.”
Rader also emphasized how experience has shaped this year’s group. “With the state run last year, that’s five extra games. This will be another five extra games our kids get to play together, and I think that shows once you get this far into the playoffs.”
Senior quarterback Max Peirce said the win was meaningful to him in more ways than one.
“It feels awesome– it just means we get another week with these guys. I mean these are my brothers,” Peirce said. “Being a senior, it’s so special, because I have been playing with these guys since I was a little kid and it just means that we get another week to play with each other. It’s my birthday next week, and I love practicing on my birthday, cause we did that last year, that’s how you know something good is happening.”
Peirce added that their journey isn’t over yet.
“We knew that coming into the season we had high expectations and we knew that this was definitely a goal for us, so it definitely feels really good, going back to Camp Randall, but job’s not finished.”
Notre Dame will now face West De Pere for the state title, looking to defend its crown and close out a second straight championship season.
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