Division 2 champion: Brookfield East Spartans
Final record: 12-2
State-title game: Brookfield East 42, Monona Grove 36
Conference: 5-2 in Greater Metro Conference (third)
Championship moment: On 4th and 1 from the Silver Eagles’ 42-yard line, Sam Santiago-Lloyd took the carry and ran for his record-setting fifth touchdown score, giving the Spartans a two-score lead with 2:31 to play. Monona Grove later scored with 58 seconds to pull within a touchdown, but the Spartans held on from there.
Title-game stats: Sam Santiago-Lloyd set a Division 2 state title-game record for rushing touchdowns (five, an all-division record) and rushing attempts (37) in racking up 197 yards rushing. Jake Graf was almost as good, running 25 times for 184 yards, and he also threw a key 22-yard touchdown pass. Bradley Dati finished with eight tackles. In a losing effort, Andryi Nahirniak had four catches for 111 yards and a score.
Playoff ladder: Brookfield East defeated Cedarburg (33-8), Menomonee Falls (27-3), Brookfield Central (21-0) and Menomonie (20-13).
Of note: East’s two losses this year included a 43-14 setback against Brookfield Central and 20-17 overtime loss to Marquette. The former was avenged in the playoffs, 21-0. It should be noted East was without a healthy Sam Santiago-Lloyd the first time around, who missed one full game during the season and played most of the year with some health issues. He did not practice in the week leading up to state.
Santiago-Lloyd missed almost his entire freshman and sophomore years with knee injuries. He bounced back to be the Greater Metro Player of the Year on both sides of the ball in 2015, then capped it off with a state title. He was named All-State as a running back again in 2016.
East was playing under first-year coach Ben Farley. Longtime coach Tom Swittel retired in the offseason and was part of the Division 1 radio broadcast team.
It was a matchup of Cinderellas – East was a No. 3 seed in its pool of eight and Monona Grove was a No. 5.
Leaders: Even without a full slate of games, Sam Santiago-Lloyd ran for 1,664 yards and 22 touchdowns. Jake Graf ran for 881 to accompany his 642 passing yards and 17 all-purpose scores. Brad Dati posted 117 total tackles, including 25 for loss and four sacks. Offensive lineman Max Aslin was named honorable-mention All State, as was Dati at inside linebacker.
Runner-up: Monona Grove (11-3) enjoyed a great late-season run after finishing second in the Badger South. The big win came over top seed Waunakee in Level 2, but an thrilling overtime win over Waukesha West in Level 3 was also pretty amazing, secured by a 2-point conversion in an all-or-nothing play in OT. The Silver Eagles also upset reigning state champ Homestead in Level 4 and did so convincingly, 35-6. Kicker Collin Larsh, an All-State choice, will kick at the University of Wisconsin. Defensive back Jarrett Maier was honorable-mention All State, as was Josh Isenberger on the offensive line and Alec Ogden at quarterback.