Muskego, Slinger, Catholic Memorial all aim for high school football state titles

 

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) - On the final day of the high school football season, three southeast Wisconsin teams hoped to bring home some hardware.

On Thursday, Racine Saint Catherine's and Lomira won state titles.

In Division 2, Slinger took on last year's Division 3 champion, Rice Lake. The Owls trailed for most of the game until 3:29 to play in the fourth. Michael Thiede scored a 2-yard rushing touchdown, one of his three on the day, to give Slinger a 31-30 lead following an extra point.

From there, the Owls forced a Warriors turnover on downs and ran out the clock. Slinger wins its first state title since 1998 with a 31-30 win over Rice Lake. It's just the fourth championship overall in Slinger's history and the second fall season in a row the Owls bring home hardware. The girls cross country team did the same in 2023.

Catholic Memorial was the first team to step on the field Friday in Division 3 to face Notre Dame out of Green Bay, falling 49-28.

The game featured several record-setting performances on offense. For Catholic Memorial, MJ Mitchell finished with a Division 3 state title game, 309 passing yards and four touchdown passes. His top target on the day, Marvanous Butler-Brown, also set a Division 3 title game record for receiving yards, with 160 yards to go with his two touchdowns. But it was hard for the Crusaders to contain Tritons running back Christian Collins. The state's rushing leader ran for 408 yards, more than anyone in any division in a state title game and matches an all-divisions record with five touchdowns.

One team is left to play Friday.

The final game of the day is at 4 p.m. featuring Muskego and Bay Port in Division 1.