Records: Galena 14-0, Tuscola 12-2.
The game story: All the talk before Friday’s Class 1A title game at Memorial Stadium had to do with John Wienke, Tuscola’s Michigan-bound quarterback.
When it was over and Galena had romped 35-7, people were talking about Wienke’s counterpart, Galena’s Gavin Kaiser.
After Tuscola went up on Wienke’s 2-yard sneak, Kaiser returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards — a Class 1A record — to tie the game with 6 minutes 25 seconds left in the half.
Kaiser’s 28-yard pass to Matt Hilliard gave the Pirates a 14-7 halftime lead. And then in the third quarter, Kaiser, a Class A state track sprint qualifier, showed his toughness.
He got blindsided on an incomplete third-down pass and was slow to get up, but still punted on the next play and assisted on the tackle.
“It was a good hit. I felt it,” he said. “I got really pumped up on that one. I needed to get back in the game. I had to shake it off and go down and be aggressive. You can’t back down after that.”
After the Pirates stopped Tuscola on one of its four unsuccessful fourth-down tries, Kaiser scored on a 1-yard keeper with 1:47 left in the third quarter for a 21-7 lead. Next he converted two fourth downs before Hilliard ran in a 16-yard score with 6:37 left in the game. A final Kaiser 55-yard run ended the scoring with 1:05 left.
The senior finished with 217 all-purpose yards from nine runs for 93 yards and two kickoff returns for 124 yards. He completed 10-of-15 passes for 145 yards. Hilliard added 87 yards on 17 carries and caught five passes for 101 yards.
Tuscola, which entered with a scoring average of 46 points per game, played without four starters and four reserves who were suspended after the semifinal win over Arcola.
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