The Cardiac Kids were back at it again this Saturday on a road trip to Eau Claire, as the Triton football team took down the Memorial Old Abes, 24-21 in OT.

Senior Aiden Wolfram made his second game-winning field goal of the season, this time from 37 yards out.

The game started out strong for the Tritons as they went up 10-0 in the second quarter, behind a 40-yard field goal from Wolfram and a 29-yard touchdown pass from Sam Lagowski to Will Drake.

Drake also had an interception in the first quarter, the first of his career.

However, the Abes rallied and scored a touchdown on a double pass trick play before the half to make it 10-7 at the break.

In the third quarter, after a Hogan Anderson interception, Wolfram knocked through another field goal from 32 yards out, but the 13-7 Triton lead would not last. The Abes put together a drive behind their passing attack and scored to make it 14-13 Memorial at the end of the third.

To start the fourth quarter, the Tritons put together a 10-play, 75-yard drive to get back into the lead, capped off by a rushing touchdown by Wolfram on 4th and goal. Lagowski ran it in on the two-point try to make it a 21-14 game. 

The Abes made one last ditch at sending the game to OT. On 4th and 4, quarterback Brice Wingad completed a 39-yard touchdown to Jack Redwine to tie the game up at 21-21. 

There was still some time for the Tritons, however. There was enough time to attempt a 50-yard field goal for Wolfram as time expired. On the kick, Wolfram had just enough leg but pushed it just left. The game would have to be decided in overtime.

The Tritons won the toss and elected to start on defense. The Abes started humming on offense, but sophomore Tate Milton forced a fumble inside the ten-yard line, as Drake recovered it.

Drake’s brother, Jack, a graduate of NDA, continued his football career at UW-Eau Claire and played on the same field that this one was played at Carson Park. Younger brother, Will, made the most of his opportunity in the clutch against Memorial.

“For us as a team, when we get into big moments, we have already been in these situations,” Drake said. “It gives us a massive advantage in the sense that it becomes more natural every time.”

Milton’s forced fumble and Drake’s fumble recovery set up the opportunity for Wolfram to make the game-winning field goal again. Just like the kick against Kewaunee earlier this year, it was perfect, as remains the Tritons’ record so far in their 2021 spring season.

“Personally, I felt this was the best game I played all season,” Wolfram said. “The reason we won that game is because we had guys make big-time plays at certain points of the game. As a team I feel that we are all comfortable throughout the entire game, no one is panicking and that helps us when we get to the end of games where some teams may buckle under pressure. We have done a really good job of playing our game and keeping our tempo.”

The class of 2021 has really capitalized on this season that Head Coach Mike Rader has called “for the seniors.” A season that many thought would not be gotten for the “Redeem Team” has been made the most of and many seniors have come up big when called upon.

“It is weird that this is all coming to an end. It doesn’t feel like too long ago that I was a freshman just joining the program,” Wolfram said. “It’s been a really fun four years and I won’t forget this.”

“With the lack of a playoffs, the end of this season is slightly different,” Drake said. “Our goal has stayed the same: go 7-0. We just have to work together to complete that goal.”

The Tritons will look to complete that goal over the next two weeks, as they play Superior at home on Saturday at 2pm, then travel to Stoughton next Saturday for the season finale.