Taylor Schaumberg showed the entire state what everyone in the Flyway area already knew.
The senior rushed for 216 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Lomira Lions to their first state championship in program history, beating Grantsburg 26-19 in the WIAA Division 6 title game.
His 216 yards ranks fifth in history in a D6 championship game.
Schaumberg scored both of Lomira’s first-half TDs, the first a 33-yard run and the second a 32-yard run with less than a minute left in the first half.
"He's one of the best backs in the state for a reason," coach Bryan Gregory said. "He's just different. He sees cuts and angles, he's patient, he trusts his offensive line and he's as humble as the day is long.
"He gives all the credit to everybody else around him. Just a good kid and one that I'm proud to have coached here over the last four years."
During the first half, Schaumberg eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark on the season and went over the 100-yard mark in a game for the 13th time this year.
"They were paving the way for me up front," Schaumberg said. "They were able to unlock my specialty. That's getting into open space and making guys miss, so once I was able to get through the first level, it was all on me."
Schaumberg said the O-line was making adjustments on the fly to continue to keep the Grantsburg (12-2) defense on its heels.
"All credit goes to them and the line coach Adam Kinyon for just making adjustments and they were able to get the job done today," Schaumberg said.
On the first drive of the second half, Schaumberg broke off runs of 38 and 23 to get the Lions into the red zone.
Gregory made the call to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the 4-yard line and Jackson Goebel found Sam Schraufnagel for a TD.
"I trust the ball in Jackson's hands," Gregory said. "He's been a great decision maker all year and he's going to make the right read.
"And Sam, whenever we need a big play, he's always there to make it. Kind of the unsung hero with our O-line. [He's a] lead blocker a lot of times, but you can see he's still a great athlete and a really good ballplayer and someone I'm extremely proud of."
It was not the only time that Goebel and the offense turned to Schraufnagel on fourth down, for the senior quarterback found his tight end again in the fourth quarter on fourth-and-5. Schraufnagel made the catch and rumbled 16 yards down to the 6.
Goebel said he credits the gameplan that the coaching staff put in and said the team had been working on that play concept all week.
"We game planned for their man-coverage all week and we game planned that specific play," Goebel said. "We executed perfectly, they got the rub, we got Sam open and I just made the easy read and got the ball out to our athletes and they made plays."
Schaumberg scored on the next play to extend the Lomira lead to 26-10.
Lomira (12-2) won the turnover battle 2-0. Kolton Wagoner forced a Reece Jensen fumble in the second quarter, which Nate Steinman recovered.
Wagoner was excellent, finishing with a team-high 12 tackles, a sack and that forced fumble. He also recovered the second of Grantsburg's onside kicks to help seal the win.
On the next possession, Brody Luedtke intercepted wide receiver Dane Lozier on a trick play. The play was a source of contention because Grantsburg coaches and players thought Lomira got away with a pass interference.
Lomira scored off of that possession with one of Schaumberg’s long runs, giving them the momentum with a 13-7 lead headed into halftime.
In addition to those turnovers, the Lions also turned Grantsburg over on downs twice.
Schraufnagel made five tackles from his defensive end spot, which was tied for third on the team. Schraufnagel had to stay patient defensively during the playoffs with teams double-teaming him nearly every down.
"Being a [defensive] end, your job is kind of selfless," Schraufnagel said. "You get game-planned first because you've got to control the line of scrimmage. I just took it as I've got to do my job and trust the guys behind me to make plays and we did all postseason."
Punter Dalton Zingsheim made an incredible, momentum-saving play with 5:04 left in the third quarter. The snap went over his head and about 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage, he was able to track it down, pivot and get the punt away for about 35 yards.
FOR THE COMMUNITY
Gregory talked multiple times about the Lomira community taking a chance on him as the right man to lead the program. As the seconds ticked off the clock, he stared at the large crowd of Lions fans behind the bench.
"Everybody I've talked to just told me to soak it in as much as possible, so trying to really take in the crowd, the atmosphere, all of that stuff," Gregory said. "Nothing's promised in the future so trying to enjoy this one as much as possible.
"To be able to repay the community that took a chance on me and has supported us from the get-go. They welcomed my family in, I get to do this with my dad by my side, this is a dream come true not just for my family, but for this community. I couldn't be prouder to call myself a Lomira Lion today."
Lomira had never been to a state championship in football, let alone win it, but it had also been nearly 34 years since the last championship of any sort, which was the 1991 state baseball title.
"The city of Lomira has never seen one of these in football," Goebel said. "It's an amazing accomplishment to know that we made our community proud, and we are going to be remembered forever."
"We're immortal and it feels amazing," Schraufnagel said.
During the entire season, Lomira had massive crowds following the team as the roughly 2,700-person community sensed a potential special season in the works.
"It's meant so much to bring a small community together like this," Schaumberg said. "Playoff runs like this don't come very often, so I think we really knew we had to take advantage of it."
TURNING IT AROUND UNDER GREGORY
The leaps made by the Lions since Gregory took over in 2022 have been stark, for Lomira went from two wins in his first year to a 12-win state championship season two years later.
Goebel said once Gregory fully installed what he wanted to do offensively last year, everything started to click.
"We've come a long way," Goebel said. "His first year here we were 2-7. Since then, we just took off with the offense, we grew and we got better."
Lomira finished the year 4-3 last year, which included a rivalry win against Mayville, an upset of Milwaukee Academy of Science and a one-point loss to Husticon in Level 2.
During that stretch, it seems Gregory installed more than just and offense, but also belief.
Goebel highlighted the offseason, during which he said the entire program bought into working hard to better itself for this year.
"We stayed committed in the weight room over the summer and that's truly what won all these games for us," Goebel said. "If we don't lift as a team this summer, we don't bond, we don't create this chemistry, we're not standing here with a gold ball right now."
Last week, Goebel said that he believes Gregory is up until 3 a.m. some nights during the football season to make sure he puts the team in the best position to be successful.
Schraufnagel echoed the commitment he sees from Lomira's coach.
"He cares a lot about us," Schraufnagel said. "He's with us during the football season more than he is with his own family. It's just that trust and bond that we've built over the last four years with him."
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