A dream season came to an end with a thud for Racine Lutheran, but that doesn't take away from its remarkable season.
The Crusaders made their first state championship appearance in program history against Iola-Scandinavia, and the Thunderbirds started strong, taking a 29-0 lead at halftime, and never looked back.
It ended in a 43-14 loss, but after the game there was plenty of pride on the Racine Lutheran sidelines.
"We knocked off three conference champs and we beat Lancaster," said coach Scott Smith. "The stage was just too big for us. We gotta learn from what happened and hopefully we come back next year and have a chip on our shoulder."
"We weren't predicted to come up here and get all the way to state," said quarterback Colton Kraus. "It's been an amazing experience and next year, they can keep it up because they have some studs coming back next year."
