After he announced his retirement in midseason, his final Pirates squad earned him a second state championship after a wide-left, extra-point attempt gave Galena a 21-20 double-overtime victory over LeRoy in the Class 1A title game Friday at Memorial Stadium.
“With it being Coach’s last game, it was a huge motivation for us,” said senior Alex DuPlessis, who finished with 96 yards and two touchdowns?one in the second OT?on 28 carries for Galena (11-3), which also captured a title in 1997.
Tied at 14-14 after one extra period, Galena needed DuPlessis’ 1-yard TD on fourth-and-1 for the lead. Matt Randecker kicked his third extra point for a 21-14 lead.
LeRoy (13-1) followed with Kyle Koerner’s 5-yard TD pass to Josh Day, but the extra-point attempt missed.
“It’s only fitting to send [Korte] out a state champ,” said senior Nick Heitkamp, who had an interception, one of three LeRoy turnovers. “As hard as he works for us, he deserves every bit of this.”