High school football season concludes with 3 champions crowned Friday

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – The Wisconsin high school football season has concluded with the final three championship games on Friday.

Divisions 1, 2, and 3 crowned their champions in action at Camp Randall Stadium. Arrowhead, West De Pere, and Grafton claimed titles in three competitive contests.

Four programs (Kenosha St. Joseph, Darlington, Mayville, and Winneconne) won titles on Thursday in addition to the trio of squads Friday in the Divisions 4 through 7 games. On Saturday, McDonell Catholic defeated Gilman to win the 8-player football championship.

Division 3: Grafton (14-0) 17, Reedsburg (10-4) 15

A tense, low-scoring game went back and forth in the final minutes, and it was Grafton emerging as the Division 3 state champions.

The Black Hawks got a 35-yard field goal to connect with six seconds remaining in a 17-15 win over Reedsburg, only moments after the Beavers scored and converted a 2-point conversion with 1:39 left in the quarter to go up 15-14.

Going in, both teams were expected to feature their outstanding ground games, and that is what transpired as all four touchdowns scored between the teams in the game were via the rush.

Grafton’s Jack Nelson ran for 167 yards and a pair of scores on 30 carries while Tyler Deer caught seven passes for 129 yards to lead the way for the Black Hawks offense, which ended up with 393 total yards. Reedsburg’s Will Mikonowicz had a D3-record 255 yards rushing on 38 carries and two scores, as well as a 2-point conversion, in addition to a pair of pass break-ups and an interception on defense and 235 punt yards, with four of his five punts downed inside the 20. He accounted for all but 17 of the Beavers’ 272 yards on offense.

Grafton won its first state title since back-to-back championships in 1981 and 1982. For Reedsburg, the Beavers finished as runner-up for the second time in its third title game appearance.

RECAP: A Clutch Kick Sends Grafton Home With a Division 3 State Title (Jimmie Kaska for Bound Wisconsin)

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Division 2: West De Pere (14-0) 28, Notre Dame (13-1) 14

Most of the scoring done in the D2 title game happened in the game’s first 15 minutes. West De Pere led 21-14 with 9:49 to go in the second quarter en route to a 28-14 victory.

Phantoms quarterback Patrick Greisen set a Division 2 record for passing yards, tossing for 304 on 16 of 26 passing and a pair of scores.

Tritons running back Kingston Allen set a new state record for rushing yardage in one season (3,436) and rumbled for 231 yards and two scores on a D2-record 43 carries.

West De Pere won its third state championship in the program’s sixth state title game appearance.

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Division 1: Arrowhead (13-1) 18, Bay Port (11-3) 15

An absolutely wild finish to a defensive masterpiece culminated the 2025 high school football season in Wiscosnin.

Arrowhead led 6-0 halftime before Bay Port took its first lead of the game in the third quarter, 7-6. Arrowhead jumped back out in front with 7:35 to play in the fourth quarter to go up 12-7.

Bay Port drove 76 yards in 12 plays and chewed up the clock for the rest of the quarter, with the Pirates scoring with just 46 seconds left to take a 15-12 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, a squib kick was taken to the house by Ryan Heiman from 76 yards away to put the Warhawks up 18-15. Bay Port was able to drive down to the Arrowhead 11 for a final play, and threw to the end zone incomplete to end the game and the season.

Arrowhead won its 7th state championship with the victory.

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The 2025 Season In Review

It was the first year of the new playoff qualification and seeding system which saw only one team (Reedsburg) advance from a double-digit final divisional ranking in the new points system. Outside of a handful of teams with winning records being left out, there weren’t the same widespread complaints of the previous system, which erroneously left out two teams that had actually qualified.

Going forward, football will still deal with some of the recurring issues brought on by declining enrollment and school consolidation: A reduction in the number of standalone programs, more teams moving from 11-player to 8-player football, and a participation issue at several schools that has forced game or even season cancellations or emergency co-ops.

However, the sport itself continues to boast the highest numbers in terms of overall participation, both in Wisconsin and nationally, and in the state, there are few schools that do not offer the sport. 2026 is also the start of a new biennial cycle of conference realignment, which will change schedules for dozens of teams.

You can see a full rundown of the 2025 state football championships on the WIAA website.