MUSKEGO – Colin Gardner could feel the pressure of over 3,000 sets of eyes focusing on him as he lined up for the most important kick of his life.
With the Eagles locked in a 3-3 tie with No. 1 seed Muskego, Case’s senior kicker trotted nervously onto the field with four seconds left in what had been a dramatic sectional final. The entire Case football team had taken a knee along the sideline, praying for a brace-faced kid with little more than peach fuzz on his chin to make the biggest play in program history.
Gardner felt the urge to vomit as the nerves continued to build, but kept his head down and instead focused on the trust he had in his teammates. The kick, from 28 yards out, was a kick he had made hundreds of times before but never with stakes this high.
All of those nerves melted away when the ball was finally snapped. Before the ball had even crossed through the uprights, Gardner’s arms were raised in victory.
“This is one of the happiest moments of my life,” Gardner said. “I won’t lie, I almost threw up out there. But I kicked it and I trusted my snapper and I trusted Landon Gibbs on holding it.”
With one swing of Gardner’s leg, the Eagles sent shockwaves across Wisconsin with a 6-3 victory over the Warriors. Case had been a nice underdog story in recent years, putting together impressive regular seasons before eventually getting overwhelmed by the big dogs in the region.
The Eagles are now officially one of those big dogs, and their bite is something to behold.
This was an upset both on paper and especially in historical context, but the Eagles were clearly the better team on Friday night. Facing a Muskego offense that had averaged over 250 rushing yards per game heading into the game, Case’s ferocious front seven held the Warriors to 18 rushing yards, 48 passing yards and five total first downs.
“When you break down and take time to look at their film, their offense is time-based,” Case senior defensive lineman London Hadley said. “If you can start breaking it down, taking them out of their time and getting them out of their comfort zone, you can really make something happen.”
Muskego’s defense lived up to its reputation, limiting star running back Morrell Jackson to a season-low 105 rushing yards on 31 carries. But Jackson came through when the moment mattered most, breaking four tackles on a 16-yard run and then drawing a 15-yard facemask penalty to set up the game-winning kick.
“They never give up,” Jackson said about the Muskego defense. “They just kept fighting and that’s what I really respect about them. I tip my hat to all of them for sure, especially all of the linebackers and safeties.”
The program has won a sectional championship for the first time since the WIAA Football Playoffs expanded past four teams in 1981, and Case will face No. 1 overall seed West De Pere (12-0) next Friday night at Sun Prairie East High School in its first State Semifinal appearance since 1980.
“Tonight was a big one,” Case coach Anton Graham said. “It was great to see our boys just keep fighting and keep battling. They never stop believing. These boys want big things and they’re trying to leave a special legacy.”
“It’s still not over, we still want two more games to play,” Hadley said. “We’re gonna have a little bit of fun – safe fun tonight, but when Saturday rolls around we’re locking in and getting ready.”
Now the Eagles have that signature win that will earn them statewide respect, and they earned it in one of the most wild finishes imaginable.
Prior to Gardner’s kick, there had been four turnovers in the final two minutes of the game. What had been a relatively clean first 34 minutes of football with no turnovers from either team quickly unraveled in a span of eight plays and 70 seconds.
A final two minutes like no other
As the clock was winding down at Inpro Stadium, it appeared that Case was driving for a moment it had been working five years towards.
It started when sophomore wide receiver and punter Sincere Assad cornered a punt inside the Muskego one-yard line with just under six minutes remaining. The terrible field position for the Warriors led to a quick three-and-out and the Eagles got the ball back at the Muskego 41-yard line with 3:31 to go.
Another facemask penalty drawn by Jackson moved the ball inside field goal range, and Jackson converted on third-and-short to move Case inside the red zone. With under two minutes remaining, Muskego would have to burn all three of its timeouts and the Eagles would at worst have a makeable field goal attempt with under 30 seconds remaining.
But all chaos broke loose on the ensuing play. Quarterback Jayson Jefferson and Jackson fumbled the handoff exchange and the Warriors quickly pounced on the ball at the 19-yard line. After the Muskego offense had failed to pick up a first down for the entire second half, quarterback Joey Shaw connected on an 11-yard pass on the first play to completely flip momentum.
Shaw connected again on a seven-yard pass as the Warriors inched towards midfield when three Eagles broke through on a pass rush to force a panicked throw high into the air to no one in particular. Freshman cornerback Amare Ozier located the ball first and quickly adjusted to it, making a basket catch just above the turf for a game-changing interception at midfield with 1:17 remaining.
“I barely caught that with my fingertips,” Ozier said about the interception.
The Eagles tried to get back into field goal range on the next play, dialing up a deep pass 30 yards downfield to star receiver Tolan Johnson. Jefferson’s pass was a touch long, and Muskego safety Taylen Czarniak beat Johnson to the spot for an interception.
The Warriors drew a defensive holding penalty on their first play of the ensuing drive and were nearing midfield again with time running down. Once again, Case’s pass rush forced a panicked throw from Shaw. The senior quarterback saw the rush, stepped up in the pocket and fired a pass towards a receiver in the middle of the field.
The throw was behind the intended target but landed directly into the hands of Ozier at the Muskego 42-yard line for his second interception in less than a minute.
“We were just thinking that we had to make something happen,” Ozier said. “I wasn’t trying to lose. I didn’t want to start basketball early.”
This time, the Eagle offense was ready for the moment. Jackson took a delayed handoff and had plenty of room to run before breaking four tackles on his 16-yard run. Jackson nearly had a touchdown on the run, but Czarniak made an impressive open-field tackle at the Muskego 26-yard line.
Jackson was wrapped up in the backfield two plays later for what appeared to be a loss, but his facemask was twisted by a Warrior defender and a 15-yard penalty was awarded. Case ran the clock down to four seconds and called a timeout, then Muskego tried to ice Gardner by calling both of its remaining timeouts.
While Gardner went on to make the attempt, he acknowledged that icing him twice did impact his nerves leading up to the moment.
“It definitely hurt,” Gardner said. “I just wanted to get that over with. But in the end, timeouts didn’t matter.”
“When they called the first timeout, I went on the field and just told him that they’re trying to delay this victory,” Graham said. “We were a few seconds away from creating a legacy. And then they called the second timeout and I went out there and said ‘That’s how nervous they are. What they don’t know is we won’t flinch.’”
Gardner, who had converted on five field goal attempts in impressive wins over Franklin and Kenosha Bradford but had missed his last three attempts, drilled this attempt with room to spare and set off a raucous celebration. Water bottles were sprayed and helmets thrown into the night sky, players chased each other around the field while others ran to celebrate with the student section.
“I was scared,” Gardner said. “I knew I could do it and knew it wasn’t too far, but the nerves were getting to me. I just remembered to keep my head low and just do my job.”
Down by the line of scrimmage where the kick happened, freshman lineman Elijah Goana fell to his knees and pointed toward the sky while half of the Muskego defenders sat motionless, stunned in disbelief from what happened on Friday night.
“It was a lot to experience,” Jackson said about the crazy final two minutes. “But I knew our defense would have our back. They just continued to dominate.”
Case defense dominates game
Since Anton Graham was hired after the 2021 season, the Eagles had struggled in two previous matchups at Muskego.
One week after Case won a playoff game for the first time in school history back in 2023, the Eagles traveled to Muskego for a Level 2 showdown and learned just how much further their program had to go.
The Warriors moved the ball at will out of their Wing-T offense, piling up nearly 300 yards in a 37-10 blowout victory. The two teams met again last season in Level 2, and once again Muskego dominated 34-6 with 290 total yards and five interceptions.
Heading into the third meeting between these two teams in the past four years, Graham had a good feeling that defensive coordinator Dennis Gallagher would have his unit ready. The Eagles and Warriors shared the field as part of a preseason scrimmage with several other teams back in August, and the defense held Muskego’s offense scoreless for the two drives that starters played in.
On Friday night, it was clear from the opening play just how different this game would be. The Eagles quickly swarmed the Muskego running back to hold him to a one-yard gain, then celebrated the stop like it had just won them the game. Case kept that energy on defense throughout the night, and the Warriors seemed shell-shocked on how to counter.
Muskego had no answers for the Eagle defense, and more specifically it had no answers for London Hadley. The senior defensive lineman lined up across from the center all night long and routinely wreaked havoc in the backfield. On several occasions, Hadley was wrapping up the running back mid-handoff.
“From the opening kick, I only had one thing on my mind: set the standards for my brothers so they can fall right in my step and we can battle out there,” Hadley said.
Hadley finished with eight tackles, three of which were for a loss. Those totals seem low, but the Warriors only managed to run 31 plays on offense in this game. Hadley directly stopped nearly 25 percent of those and his disruption led to big stops on numerous other plays throughout the game.
“We have 11 guys on defense and every one of them did their job, but when you’ve got a guy like London Hadley on your team right know…He’s just unreal and gets to a level that most people can’t play at,” Graham said. “I truly believe he’s the best defensive player in this state.”
If Muskego tried to run up the middle, Hadley and several other large bodies were there for a quick tackle. When the Warriors tried to run on the edges, a swarm of linebackers and safeties were there to swallow the runner up.
The Warriors did not pick up a first down until halfway through the second quarter, and that first down came on an offsides penalty against the Eagles on fourth down.
“They’re really good,” Muskego coach Ryan Lucchesi said about Case after the loss. “44 [Hadley] is a beast. He’s a great football player and we knew he wasn’t the only one. Hats off to them, they’ve been really good defensively all year and they showed that again tonight.”
That one penalty did prove costly, as Shaw immediately capitalized with a 28-yard pass to Braedon Dibb on the next play to get into field goal range. Shaw, who had an impressive night kicking and punting the ball as well, converted on a 40-yard field goal to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead with 5:45 left in the first half.
Morrell Jackson runs toward the sideline in the fourth quarter.Source: Matt Hardesty
Case offense plays complementary football
Despite not scoring a touchdown on the night, the Eagle offense might have played the most important role in the win.
While Muskego’s offense could barely gain a first down, Case was able to move the ball and keep the clock running against a very talented defense. The Eagles only had two possessions without a first down – a fourth quarter turnover on downs in Muskego territory and Jefferson’s interception in the final minutes.
Morrell Jackson didn’t have any of his signature long touchdown runs, but he kept the offense moving forward. More importantly, Jefferson made several critical plays to keep Muskego’s defense from flipping the field.
Jefferson, who watched from the sidelines last year as two senior quarterbacks combined to throw five interceptions on this field, did not turn the ball over until the final two minutes of the game. He extended several drives with both his arm and his legs, completing eight of 12 pass attempts for 75 yards and had seven scrambles for 33 yards.
Muskego’s elite defense forced pressure on him throughout the game, but Jefferson made the smart plays and took four sacks instead of trying to force a throw or fumble the ball.
“It feels wonderful,” Jefferson said about the win. “I put the team on my back at times and the team put me on their back at times. I didn’t play my best game today but I’m thankful for Jackson and for the O-line.”
Jefferson also handled several bad snaps throughout the night without losing possession. While those plays stalled promising drives, they helped Case control the field position battle that eventually led to the win.
“Jayson doesn’t play like a junior,” Graham said. “He stays pretty even-keeled. The thing I love about him is that he stays that way the entire game. He’s going to give you everything he has and I thought the big difference tonight was his feet. He was able to create some plays and we were able to do some things with him that we haven’t shown before.”
Case freshman Amare Ozier celebrates after his two interceptions in the final minutes helped the Eagles stun Muskego 6-3.Source: Matt Hardesty
Ozier continues to shine
Amare Ozier is only a freshman but it is clear that he is a star in the making for the Eagles.
Reminiscent of recent St. Catherine’s graduate Lamont Hamilton, Ozier entered high school as a two-sport phenom better known for his talents on the basketball court. But like Hamilton, Ozier made an immediate impact on the football field playing both sides of the ball.
Ozier made two of the most memorable plays of the night with his interceptions in the final minutes, but he also had three critical catches for 46 yards that forced Muskego’s defense to defend the pass and not key in entirely on Jackson.
The freshman has 15 catches for 198 yards and three touchdowns this season, along with three interceptions, a forced fumble and six tackles for loss on defense. For comparison, Lamont Hamilton has 12 catches for 222 yards and five touchdowns in his freshman season with two interceptions and three tackles for loss on defense.
“He’s the best freshman I’ve ever seen,” Jefferson said about Ozier.
“That’s a kid that I’ve known since he was probably about six years old,” Graham added. “He came up in the youth program and he’s been a special kid for a long time. It’s great to see him getting an opportunity to showcase his skills.”
Ozier has also been playing with a heavy heart over the past six weeks following the death of his older cousin and Case alum Koreem Ozier on Sept. 20. As a tribute to Koreem, Amare now ends each of his postgame interviews saying “Long live K.O.”
“It’s crazy,” Ozier said about this season. “I just want to keep on doing this for the next three years.”
Case coach Anton Graham speaks to his team after a 6-3 win over Muskego in the Sectional Finals.Source: Matt Hardesty
A historic moment for Case
When Anton Graham was hired by Case athletic director Joe Arbinger in 2021, the Eagles were reeling off an 0-7 season that ended with a 76-0 loss at Franklin.
This was far from the only losing season for Case, which finished with a winning record in only one of the previous 29 seasons prior to Graham’s tenure. It only took two seasons for the Eagles to break that trend, going 7-4 in Graham’s second year and winning a playoff game for the first time in program history.
But one week after that historic moment for the Eagles, their season ended with a 37-10 loss at Muskego. From that season on, Case earned a reputation as a talented program that would win a lot of games in conference play but would struggle against the top-ranked teams like Muskego and Franklin in the playoffs.
The Eagles had talented players and great coaching but struggled to compete with a program like Muskego. The Warriors have nearly double the amount of players in their program, a massive varsity roster that dwarfs Case’s by 30 people without a single freshman included, plus the school has both a brand new indoor practice facility and a massive weight room that rival what most colleges have.
For all of the progress that had been made under Graham, Muskego was another dragon that the Eagles had yet to slay. Dating back to when the Warriors were in the Southeast Conference, Case had lost nine straight games in the series with only one of the games being particularly close.
With the schools being just over 25 miles apart, the WIAA’s procedures for seeding sectionals meant that unless the two programs both earned No. 1 seeds they would likely be facing off in the first three rounds of the playoffs. If Case ever was to make a deep postseason run, it was going to have to go through Muskego.
The Eagles have now slain that dragon and this was no fluke. Case’s defense dominated against overwhelmed opponents, then proved it can do the same against an elite one. The Eagle defense has not allowed a touchdown in the past five games and has only allowed one offensive touchdown since week two.
For the Warriors, the loss marked the first time since 2023 that the team did not win their sectional. It was the first time that Muskego did not score a touchdown in a game since 2024, and it ended a streak of 49 consecutive playoff games with a touchdown dating back to 2002.
“I’m not shocked,” Lucchesi said about the loss. “I’ve gotten to know Coach Graham and I’ve always had a healthy and mutual respect for him. It takes a lot of work, year-round. They get a lot of credit for that and they should feel a lot of pride in that. As a friend of Anton’s, I’m kind of proud to see that program grow.”
Case is still relatively new to playing postseason football annually, but it is starting to develop a good reputation on defense. The Eagles have now won six playoff games over the past four years and have held their opponent without a touchdown in five of those wins.
“We can’t get too big on this win,” Ozier said. “This is not our championship. We’re trying to make the push to State, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”
Case’s win was also historic at the local level. The Eagles are the first public school from Racine to reach the WIAA State Semifinals since Park’s 2005 State Championship run. It was Case’s first time playing in a sectional final, and Horlick and Park had lost in all three sectional final appearances since 2005.
The 2026 Eagles are the eighth team from RUSD to reach the State semifinals, but only the third to do so since the WIAA Playoffs expanded to 32 teams and five rounds in 1996. Including the rest of the city, St. Catherine’s has appeared in four State Semifinals and Racine Lutheran has reached the Final Four twice.
“I’m really honored, knowing where Case came from in the last five years,” Jackson said. ‘It’s just a blessing that Anton Graham put this program together. We fought for as long as we could and we put the pieces together. Why not us? Why not go on a run to State? Why not win State? Let’s go do it.”
“If I’m being honest, the respect won’t come,” Graham said about his program. “As long as you’re a Racine team, I just feel like teams will always write us off. There’s no doubt that Muskego wrote us off. But go ahead and buy into that mindset because we’re going to keep pushing. You’ll find out come game time that we’re different.”
Morrell Jackson (02) looks to run up field in the fourth quarter.Source: Matt Hardesty
Player of the Game
The Case defense as a whole deserves this award, but Morrell Jackson’s individual efforts stood out enough for him to earn this honor.
Jackson wasn’t deterred by a tough Muskego defense or apparent cramping issues in the second half, making the plays that the Eagles needed to win this game. Every time Case called his number in critical situations, he delivered.
Jackson’s two facemask penalties drawn in the fourth quarter were also pivotal, setting up the final game-winning field goal.
With his 105 yards on Friday, Jackson also surpassed 2,000 rushing yards for the season. He comfortably leads the Division 1 rankings by over 200 yards and now ranks fourth in the state overall.
Play of the Game
In a game that featured a walk-off field goal and four turnovers in the final two minutes, my favorite play of the game actually happened late in the second quarter.
Jayson Jefferson had just taken a 13-yard sack that seemingly pushed the Eagles out of field goal range just before halftime. On third-and-23, Jefferson handed the ball off to Jackson, who scampered outside his tackles and weaved through defenders upfield.
Jackson had just crossed the Muskego 30-yard line when he collided head on with star safety Taylen Czarniak. Despite the safety having a noticeable height and weight advantage, Jackson pushed his legs forward towards the middle of the field and moved the growing pile of defenders seven yards forward before finally being brought down.
Jackson was tackled three yards short of the first down, but his extra effort put Case back into field goal range. Gardner needed every single inch that Jackson gained on that run, as his 40-yard field goal attempt barely snuck over the crossbar with just over a minute left in the first half.
“18 is known for laying the wood, but when he and I got into the hole we collided and he fell on his butt,” Jackson said about the play.
“If you look at Morrell’s size you’d think he’s all speed,” Graham said. “But he loves contact and loves to hit. He’s a kid that can truly do it all.”
Up next
After shutting down Muskego’s potent Wing-T offense, the Eagles will face the exact opposite style of offense this Friday night in a WIAA Division 1 State Semifinal against West De Pere (12-0) that will be played at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium in Sun Prairie, Wis.
The Phantoms are the reigning WIAA Division 2 State Champions, winning their third championship in dominant fashion. The WIAA’s Tournament Performance Factor moved West De Pere up to Division 1 for the first time in program history this season, where it has won 11 of its 12 games by 10 points or more.
West De Pere runs a dominant spread offense, throwing the ball 317 times for 34 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Four different receivers each have over 25 catches and over 400 receiving yards. The Phantoms have a dominant offensive line as well, which has helped the offense run for 2,165 yards and 27 touchdowns.
On defense, West De Pere ranks second in Division 1 with 17 interceptions. The Phantoms also rank fourth in the division for sacks, one spot below Case.
The Phantoms also have a reputation for playing incredibly aggressive on special teams, attempting onside kicks at unexpected times and frequently going for it on fourth downs.
Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium seats 4,000 people, with both schools expecting large crowds to travel over 100 miles to see this showdown. The winner of this game will be right back in Dane County the following week, facing the winner of the other semifinal between Sussex Hamilton and Bay Port Friday afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
It’s already been a memorable season for Case, but the Eagles are hoping for more than one trip to Dane County this November.
“From the beginning of summer camp, we knew we had something special,” Hadley said. “We knew we had a bond that wouldn’t break. We knew we’d reach far because we’re the Eagles and the sky is the limit for us.”
