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Marquette's defense limited Franklin to 30 yards of offense in the second half to secure an impressive 27-10 victory in the WIAA Division 1 state football title game.

The offense did its part as well, especially sophomore running back Tommy Novotny, who showed he's one of the most promising Class of 2026 players in the state with 167 yards and two carries on 38 hard-fought carries. 

An explosive play in the passing game opened the scoring for the Hilltoppers, with Cam Russell getting behind the defense for a 44-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Franklin put together its best drive of the game on the ensuing possession, driving 80 yards in six plays, capped by a 14-yard touchdown catch by Andrew Human from Joey Kallay. 

The teams traded field goals in the second half, a 39-yarder by Marquette's Erik Schmidt and a 37-yarder from Franklin's Cooper Mueller, left the game tied at 10 heading into the halftime break.

The second half was dominated by Marquette, as not only did the Hilltoppers hold Franklin to 30 yards of offense, they produced 154 yards of their own after the break.

Marquette's second possession of the third quarter was a statement drive, as the Hilltoppers marched 86 yards on 15 plays as Novotny scored the first of his two touchdowns, this one from a yard out.

After forcing a Franklin punt, Marquette struck again, with Novotny going in from two yards out this time to give the Hilltoppers a two-possession lead at 24-10 early in the fourth quarter.

With Franklin needing to put together something to get back in the game, the Sabers picked up a pair of first downs, but would go backwards on and end up with an insurmountable 4th and 32 from their own 22-yard line, as Marquette forced a punt.

Murphy Monreal, who played an outstanding game in the Marquette secondary, picked off a pass on the next Franklin possession, setting up a 38-yard field goal by Erik Schmidt that provided the capper on things for the Hilltoppers.

A fourth down stop on the next drive set up Marquette to kneel things out inside the Franklin five-yard line.

Peter McDevitt had a nice game throwing the football for Marquette, completing 11-of-19 passes for 155 yards and a score. Cam Russell caught three of those balls for 64 yards and a touchdown. Junior linebacker Mitchell Nigro had a team-high eight tackles, including 2.5 sacks. Tate Kowalik added 1.5 sacks, while Murphy Monreal recorded four pass breakups, including an interception. Marquette limited Franklin to just three net yards rushing in the contest.

Despite a late interception and getting sacked six times for a loss of 48 yards, Franklin junior quarterback Joey Kallay threw for 220 yards and a touchdown, with Jacques Brooks hauling in eight passes for 100 yards. WFCA Large School Offensive Player of the Year Terrance Shelton was limited to just 24 rushing yards on only nine attempts, though he did catch four passes for 21 yards.

It is Marquette's second WIAA state title, joining a Division 1 championship in 2009. The Hilltoppers also won eight state championships in WISAA, the private school association.

Franklin takes home a third runner-up trophy to go with a pair of state titles.

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

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.