Northwestern Football Set Sights on First State Title Since 1988

Kickoff between the Tigers and the Cardinals at Camp Randall Stadium is on Thursday at 4 p.m.

MAPLE, Wis.-The magical season for the Northwestern football team continues on Thursday afternoon.

The Tigers will hit the field at Camp Randall Stadium for their first state championship game appearance since 1993.

Northwestern punched their ticket to the big dance last Friday, after defeating Stratford 22-13 in the State semi-final round.

Now in the championship game it’s a battle of two 13-0 teams.

The Tigers will face Mayville for the Division 5 title.

Northwestern understands that when the top two teams in the state play each other it’s going to be a battle for all four quarters.

“They are going to make plays, it’s the state championship game. So, we have to react to adversity in a positive manner,” said Jovin Kroll. ” They’re big, they’re physical. They run an offensive scheme very similar to us. We know we have to be gap sound, dominate at the line of scrimmage.”

“We know they run the ball, so we just got to focus on stopping the run and I feel like that’s our best attribute to our defense is stopping the run,” said Finley Nelson.

Another point of emphasis for the Tigers in the state championship game is the importance of protecting the football and scoring on every possession.

” At this point of the year, every play is the most important one of the seasons because you never know which is going to be the one,” said Kroll. “We treat every play like it is the most important one they have ever had because at this point it is. It is going to be a ball control football game. We have to possess the football, control the football, don’t turn it over.”

” If we turn the ball over, I think we lose the game. So, it’s going to be crucial to hold on to that ball and score every time we get that ball,” said Nelson.

Kickoff between the Tigers and the Cardinals at Camp Randall Stadium is on Thursday at 4 p.m.