Madison defeated Milbank in the ‘Bulldogs Bowl’ 11A championship game on Friday afternoon in Vermillion to win their fourth state football championship.
Milbank received to start the ballgame and ate up around seven-minutes before stalling in the opponent’s territory. Madison had a similar first possession on offense, picking up a few first downs, but unable to get into scoring range.
End of the 1st Quarter: Madison 0 Milbank 0
Trey Smith put Madison on the board with 5:22 to play in the half by knocking in a 25-yard field goal.
On Milbank’s next possession, Madison defensive back Mike Peter’s jumped in front of a Kaden Krause pass for an interception. A few plays later, Smith ran it in from five-yards out to make it a 10-0 game.
Madison’s Peyton Wolf intercepted Krause on the final play of the half on what was one last deep throw heave to try and get points before halftime by Milbank.
Halftime: Madison 10 Milbank 0
Smith would score again for Madison early in the third quarter, this time from 13-yards out. Madison found the end zone once more midway through the third quarter, this time on a one-yard quarterback keeper from Nate Ricke. This gave the Bulldogs of Madison a 24-0 lead over the Bulldogs of Milbank.
Madison would score one more time, late in the third quarter, when Ricke hit Joe Gors on a four-yard roll out to the flat.
End of the 3rd Quarter: Madison 31 Milbank 0
Milbank was pushing the ball downfield late, but Peter’s spoiled a Krause pass again, this one near the end zone, for his second interception of the game.
Final: Madison 31 Milbank 0
Trey Smith ran for 51-yards and two touchdowns for Madison, while also kicking four extra-points and a field goal in the contest. He accounted for nineteen of the total points. Milbank was led by Marshall Voeltz and Karson Weber, who together combined for 83-yards on the ground.
Madison has won four state football championships in the playoff era. They were three-peat champs in 2015, 2016, and 2017.