LAKE GENEVA — The Badger High football team won’t return to the WIAA Division 2 state championship game to defend its title following a 35-28 loss to Slinger.
In a game with plenty of offense, one empty drive by Badger proved to be the difference.
The Badgers took the opening kickoff 82-yards to score on a 1-yard touchdown run and PAT by Matthew O’Grady to put them up 7-0.
Slinger followed with a touchdown of its own to tie the game at 7 going onto the second quarter.
The Badgers second drive was much like its first, relying on its punishing ground attack and capping it off with a fourth-down run for a touchdown to give Badger the lead back at 14-7 with 2:03 left in the half.
And again, Slinger mixed pass and run to tie the score at 14 with a little over 2 minutes in the half.
That’s when Badger picked up the tempo, moving deep into Slinger territory on a 40-yard pass completion from O’Grady to Nolan Basso.
A 6-yard halfback touchdown pass from Alec Welch to Basso put the Badgers back on top 21-14 at the half.
Slinger received the second-half kickoff and scored, but a blocked PAT kept the lead at 21-20.
Badger’s first possession of the second half extended into the beginning of the fourth quarter and ended with an O’Grady 1-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown to push Badger’s lead to 28-20 with 11 minutes to play.
However a score and 2-point conversion on Slinger’s next possession tied the game at 28.
Badger’s next possession was stalled by a penalty which forced a punt to give Slinger the ball with 5:47 left in the game.
Slinger converted two fourth-down plays to eventually score and take its first lead of the game at 35-28 with 1:39 left.
But an interception ended the Badgers’ hopes of a return to state.
