Kewaunee holds on to top Southern Door

KEWAUNEE – Max Hanrahan wasn’t going to let go of the football Friday.

The Kewaunee junior was celebrating with teammates after scooping up an interception when he remembered to give the football back to the official with 1 minute, 27 seconds left on the clock.

Hanrahan’s pick allowed the Storm to hold on for a 31-28 victory over Southern Door in a WIAA Division 5 second-round playoff game.

“I just saw the ball and made a play on the ball,” Hanrahan said.

Kewaunee (11-0) will play host to Stratford (9-2) next week in a D5 state quarterfinal matchup after nearly letting its undefeated season slip away against its conference foe.

Friday’s rematch against Southern Door was a far cry from the 41-12 win the Storm enjoyed in Week 4.

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The Eagles (7-4) put themselves in position to have a chance at scoring the go-ahead touchdown after recovering an onside kick with less than 2 minutes to play.

However, Hanrahan’s diving interception to seal the game came off a pass thrown by Southern Door senior Derik LeCaptain as he was chased to his left out of the pocket.

“In big games like this you need players to make plays and that’s what he did,” Kewaunee coach Randy Charles said. “We needed a play, and he went up and made it.”

The Storm committed two turnovers in the first half and 11 penalties overall in playing its closest game of the season.

Kewaunee ultimately used big plays to upend Southern Door for a second time, as junior quarterback Ryan Carmichael threw touchdown passes of 33, 25, and 46 yards. Junior Owen Kudick added 26-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The first of Carmichael’s scoring strikes went to senior McCoy Walechka, while the latter two went to senior Alex Hewett, who tallied the deciding points of the game with a 38-yard field goal with 3 minutes remaining in the contest.

“You just have to keep battling,” Charles said. “We talked to the guys at halftime and told them to just keep battling and keep fighting. In playoff football, that’s what it is going to come down to. There is going to be no such thing as winning by a couple scores anymore. This is what we expected from a very quality opponent that we faced tonight and we just have to make sure we stay focused now.”

Kudick finished with 131 rushing yards on 26 carries, while Carmichael completed 12 of 19 passes for 227 yards with the three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Both of the interceptions were made by Southern Door senior Kyle Daoust in the first half, which ended with Kewaunee leading 13-7 after LeCaptain rushed for a short touchdown with 24 seconds left.

LeCaptain finished his decorated prep career with 105 rushing yards and a touchdown and a game-high seven tackles. He also completed a pass to Daoust on a 2-point conversion to tie the game at 21-21 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

“He’s a very good athlete,” Charles said. “He goes and make plays and you’re going to get that out of him. You just have to make sure you try and limit him as much as possible, but a kid like that you’re not going to fully contain.”

Kewaunee outgained Southern Door 396-333 in yards of offense. It was 7-for-10 on third down. Defensively, the Storm was led by six tackles from senior Daniel Stangel and two tackles for loss by senior Wyatt Kruse.

The Storm will be attempting to advance to the state semifinals for the first time since 2013 when it hosts Stratford, which is coming off a 48-0 shutout over Colby and will be trying to advance to the state semifinals for the first time since it won six straight D6 state titles from 2003-2008.

“That’s what anybody wants,” Charles said about facing Stratford. “You want to go against some of the best teams in the state and Stratford is obviously there year after year. I think it’s going to be a good measuring stick to see where we’re at.”