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Christian Collins smashed the previous state record with 408 rushing yards as Notre Dame's ground-and-pound was too much for Catholic Memorial in the Division 3 state title game, as the Tritons pulled away for a 49-28 victory.

Collins carried the ball 39 times, a Division 3 state finals record, and scored five rushing touchdowns, tying the all-divisions record for the state championships. The 408 yards ties the Camp Randall record set by Wisconsin Badgers running back Melvin Gordon in his famous romp over the Nebraska defense in 2014.

It was the perfect ending for a dominating season and career for Collins, who led the state in rushing as a junior and ended up doing so again as a senior, despite missing the first two games of the season with injury. He became just the second player in state history to eclipse 3000 rushing yards in a season, finishing with 3,084 on 350 carries with 42 touchdowns. His rushing total is second all-time. He ran for at least 300 yards in five of the final six games this year, including four of the five postseason contests. He finished with 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns in the playoffs.

After a Catholic Memorial punt on the opening drive of the game, Notre Dame marched 48 yards in just four plays, capped by a Christian Collins 25-yard touchdown run. Catholic Memorial answered with a nice drive, as senior quarterback M.J. Mitchell found Jake Berkholtz for a score. 

Notre Dame marched right down for another touchdown as Jack Collins got in on the fun, scoring from eight yards out. On the ensuing possession, Notre Dame's Cayden Kiefert picked off a Mitchell pass and raced 35 yards for a touchdown to put the Tritons up by two scores.

Catholic Memorial wouldn't go away, as Mitchell found Marvaneous Butler-Brown streaking down the right side line for an 87-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, before another touchdown pass to Berkholtz later in the period tied the game at 21.

Christian Collins had an answer, rushing for a 41-yard toucodhwn just before halftime to put Notre Dame back on top 28-21 at the break.

It was another Christian Collins run, this time from 65 yards out, later in the third quarter that pushed Notre Dame's advantage to 35-21. 

Catholic Memorial put together another scoring drive, capped by a 16-yard pass from Mitchell to Butler-Brown, but Collins ripped off a 75-yard touchdown on the very next play, and added a seven-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Tritons ground out the victory.

Of Notre Dame's 50 offensive plays, 40 of them went to Christian Collins, as he added a 13-yard reception to go with his 39 carries for 408 yards.

Catholic Memorial senior M.J. Mitchell set a new Division 3 state finals record with 309 passing yards and four touchdowns, completing 15-of-26 passes. He led the team with 23 rush yards on 16 carries, though there were 49 yards worth of sacks included in that. Marvaneous Butler-Brown capped his career with eight catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Damyias Lopez added four catches for 96 yards, while Jake Berkholtz had a pair of touchdown receptions.

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.