State champions!
By Casey Krautkramer
It’s only fitting that Edgar’s varsity football team enjoys listening to Frank Sinatra’s popular song, “My Way.” That’s because the Wildcats did things “their way” by predominantly running the football in Thursday’s 36-6 win against the Black Hawk/Warren, Ill. Warriors in the WIAA Division 7 state championship.
Edgar rushed for all but three of its 256 total offensive yards against Black Hawk/Warren, Ill. Wildcats senior Karter Butt rushed for 171 yards on 19 carries, setting a new Division 7 state title game record with five rushing touchdowns. He also recorded a game-high 15 tackles and had an interception on defense in the fourth quarter.
“I figured it’s my last game throwing on the green and gold so I kinda got to lay my life on the line for these guys because they did so much for me growing up and everyone else on the team,” Butt said. “Coach (Jerry) Sinz kinda stressed that we do have 13 seniors to their five so we should definitely beat them at that aspect of the game.”
Edgar avenged Division 7 state title losses to Black Hawk, 22-15, in 2018 and to Black Hawk/Warren, 6-0, in 2019. Butt said the Wildcats were determined to beat the Warriors on Thursday.
“It’s definitely a great feeling just win-
See WILDCATS CAPTURE D-7 STATE TITLE/ page 10
EIGHTH STATE TITLE IN STATE RECORD 14TH APPEARANCE- Edgar’s varsity football team senior captains on Thursday hoist up the WIAA Division 7 state championship tropy with their head coach, Jerry Sinz, after easily beating Black Hawk/Warren (Ill.) 36-6 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. Pictured, from left to right, are Brett Baumgartner (44), Teegan Streit (11), Coach Sinz, Karter Butt (21) and Harrison Graveen (74).
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER WIAA DIVISION 7 STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
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ning state in general and we kind of came out with an edge against these guys because they beat us twice in the past, and we thought that we did a great job preparing all week and our guys stepped up and they made plays,” Butt said.
Edgar won its eighth state championship in school history, all under head coach Jerry Sinz, who has now won state titles in five different decades including the 1970’s, 1990’s, 2000’s, 2010’s and 2020’s. The Wildcats have also won six state runners-up trophies under Coach Sinz in the school’s state record 14 state championship appearances.
Edgar players doused coach Sinz with two large water buckets after Thursday’s victory against Black Hawk/Warren at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. Luckily for him, it was a warmer than normal day for this time of the year. The temperature was 60 degrees at 12:30 p.m.
when the Wildcats won the Division 7 state championship.
Coach Sinz reflected on Edgar winning its eighth state championship in school history.
“They are all great because it’s always different parents and kids involved, but Black Hawk/Warren was kind of a pain in our side in 2018 and 2019,” he said. “They played us pretty physical and I thought today the message was we need to match their physicality early and I thought we did that, which kind of set the tone for the rest of the game. It always helps to have a guy like Karter Butt.”
Butt had a spectacular postseason running the football. He rushed for a total of 918 yards on 118 carries for 17 touchdowns in five playoff games including the state championship. Coach Sinz commented on how great of an impact Butt had both this season and during his Edgar high school career.
“He’s just a hard runner,” he said. “The guy is built low to the ground yet he has great cutting ability and vision. He weights a legitimate 215 to 216 pounds and is five feet, nine inches tall and squats about 500 pounds. He’s a tough guy to handle and he’s been starting for us the past three years both on offense and defense so we’ll miss him, that’s for
See WILDCATS CAPTURE D-7 STATE TITLE/ page 14
EDGAR PLAYERS GIVE LEGENDARY HEAD COACH A WATER BATH- Wildcats senior kicker and tackle Harrison Graveen (74), fully engulfs head coach Jerry Sinz in water before time expires on the team’s 36-6 win against Black Hawk/Warren, Ill. in the WIAA Division 7 state championship in Madison.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
FIRST OF BUTT’S FIVE RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS- Edgar senior running back Karter Butt on Thursday reels off a 42-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter of the Wildcats 36-6 win against the Warriors in the WIAA Division 7 state title game.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER Wildcats capture D-7 state title
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sure.”
Butt scored his first of five touchdown runs early in the first quarter against Black Hawk/Warren Edgar’s offensive line did such a great job blocking that once Butt got to the edge of the defense, there were no defenders even close to him during his 42-yard touchdown run. Senior Kohlbe Weisenberger ran in the two-point conversion to give the Wildcats an 8-0 lead against the Warriors. Butt plunged into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown near the end of the opening quarter. Black Hawk/Warren stopped him short of the end zone in his twopoint conversion run attempt. Edgar still led, 14-0, at the end of the first quarter.
Black Hawk/Warren gained some momentum right before halftime when junior quarterback Eli Schliem completed a five-yard touchdown pass to senior Lane Marty. Edgar’s defense prevented Marty from scoring the two-point conversion run. The Wildcats still held a 14-6 halftime advantage against the Warriors.
Butt scored three more rushing touchdowns in the second half while Edgar’s defense held Black Hawk/Warren scoreless the rest of the game. Butt ran for a 29-yard touchdown slightly over four minutes into the third quarter and senior quarterback Teegan Streit ran for the two-point conversion to give Edgar a 22-6 lead. Butt rushed for a 20-yard touchdown toward the end of the third quarter and senior Harrison Graveen kicked the extra point to help Edgar extend its lead to 29-6. Butt ran for a four-yard touchdown three minutes, 50 seconds into the fourth quarter and Graveen kicked the extra point to seal Edgar’s Division 7 state championship win.
Edgar senior defensive end Brett Baumgartner recorded the second-most tackles in the game, 10, behind Butt with 15. Weisenberger, a linebacker, had the third-most tackles of nine among both teams in the state championship. He also recovered Schliem’s fumble for a 19-yard return near the end of the third quarter. Sophomore defensive back Tucker Streit intercepted Schliem’s pass for a 13-yard return midway through the third quarter. Junior linebacker Ty Schnelle had a quarterback hurry. The Wildcats conclude this season with a 13-1 record. Edgar won 13 consecutive games since losing its season opener, 8-6, to Division 4 Ellsworth at home. This season Edgar’s football team won its 29th Marawood Conference championship under Coach Sinz.
