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WSN15: Football Top Teams #11 - 2012 Saint Mary's Springs Ledgers

12/08/2017, 9:23am CST
By Travis Wilson

The WSN15 series will celebrate the 15th Anniversary of WisSports.net by looking back at the top players, teams, and moments of the past 15 years (2003-2017). 

For the Top 15 Teams countdown, more than one season of a program was considered for inclusion on the list, as long as the seasons featured different waves of players. For example, the 2008 and 2012 teams of the same school would be considered, but not necessarily the 2012 and 2013 teams.

The Top 15 Teams countdown is not a "Who would beat who?" list, as that would be heavily weighted towards big schools. Factors in determining the Top 15 Teams included: how dominant the team was compared to contemporaries, how impressive the team was in big games, quality of competition faced, number of high-level players, and more.

Top 15 Teams: #11 - 2012 Saint Mary's Springs Ledgers

Saint Mary's Springs has been one of the top programs in the state for decades, and it coincides with an incredible coaching career of Bob Hyland. After going 0-8-1 in his first season as head coach of the Ledgers (1971) and 1-7-1 the following year, the team started a run of four consecutive WISAA runner-up finishes just a few years later. 

All told, Springs would win eight championships in WISAA with six runner-up finishes before moving to WIAA with the other private schools in 2000. Just two years later, Springs would capture a Division 6 title on November 16th, 2002, just two days before wishoops.net was launched.

In the WSN Era (2003-2017), the Ledgers have added six more championships with three more runner-up finishes. Four of the titles capped unbeaten seasons, making it difficult to choose one that stands out above the rest.

For my money, I'd give the 2012 group an ever-so-slight edge. Coming off an unbeaten state title in 2011, the 2012 group was heavily favored to repeat. 

Not only would they repeat, but the Ledgers posted one of the most dominating seasons in state history. Going 13-0 in a shortened schedule, the Ledgers outscored opponents by a combined score of 622-73, or an average of 48-6. Ten of 13 games ended in a running clock.

After going virtually unchallenged through the regular season and playoffs, the Ledgers would face off against fellow unbeaten Regis in the Division 6 title game.

Springs would jump out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, but Regis' ground game kept pounding away, and would tie the game with 1:57 left in the first quarter. 

That's when Springs executed an outstanding two-minute drill, capping a 13-play, 75-yard drive with a seven-yard Evan Henderson to Ryan Grandlic touchdown with 17 seconds remaining in the half. Henderson completed eight of ten passes on the drive as Saint Mary's Springs took a 21-14 halftime lead.

Things remained tight, with each team trading blows, though neither could find the end zone in the third quarter. After driving inside the Regis ten-yard line, Mitchell Herron kicked a 24-yard field goal to give Springs a 24-14 advantage, as they held on for the victory.

For the season, Henderson completed 68.2% of his passes (90-for-132) for 1,491 yards with 24 touchdowns against just two interceptions. The ground game featured a pair of dynamic runners, with Darin Ward and Ike Floyd each rushing for more than 1000-yards. Defensively, Matt Austin was a WFCA All-State choice after racking up 118 tackles.

Springs went down to Darlington in the state semi-finals in 2013, but rebounded to capture titles in 2014 and 2015, to go with an unbeaten championship in 2017. 

In an incredible 47-year career, Springs head coach Bob Hyland has amassed a record of 451-105-2 with a total of 15 state championships (8 in WISAA, 7 WIAA) to go with nine runner-up finishes.

For the latest and most up to date football news and recruiting information, follow Travis on Twitter @travisWSN. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Travis at travis(at)wissports.net.

Tag(s): News Archive  News  Travis Wilson  WSN15