Sun Prairie East rallies past DeForest 28–13

DeForest competed closely with Sun Prairie East before the Cardinals pulled away for a 28–13 football win.

After opening the season with three straight road games, DeForest returned home to a familiar sound: the ring of “Hells Bells” blasting boastfully through the speakers as they took the field on Thursday, Sept. 10, against the Sun Prairie East Cardinals.

DeForest seized a lead five minutes into the third quarter, but the Cardinals scored the game’s final 17 points, erasing a 13-11 deficit to upend the pesky Norskies, 28-13, on Thursday, Sept. 10, at DeForest High School.

In spite of the loss, DeForest coach Todd Grundahl was proud of his team’s effort Thursday night.

“We got guys that are going to fight for each other,” Grundahl said. “They put in the work. They’re there every single day. We just got to continue to get better with the adversity and deal with it.”

How the game unfolded

In the first quarter, DeForest’s defense set the tone.

Senior cornerback Gabe Wahl snagged an interception inside Sun Prairie East’s 33-yard line, rallying a jam-packed DMB Community Bank Stadium behind him.

DeForest quickly turned its defense into offense when senior quarterback Tru Killerlain rushed for a three-yard touchdown, giving DeForest a 7-0 lead with 4:14 remaining in the first quarter.

Junior Michael Allen (#25) celebrates with senior Tru Killerlain (#16) after Killerlain scored a three-yard rushing touchdown to give DeForest a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on Thursday, Sept. 10 at DMB Community Bank Stadium.

DeForest held onto its 7-0 advantage before Sun Prairie East got on the board early in the second quarter.

Cardinals’ senior wide receiver Brayden Johnson corralled a 25-yard touchdown reception on a pass from sophomore quarterback Carter Kavanaugh, who split time at quarterback with senior Braylon Peterson throughout the game.

Kavanaugh tossed for 110 yards on two touchdowns, while Peterson recorded 139 yards on 13-for-14 completions. DeForest’s defense, however, held Sun Prairie East’s rushing attack in check. They limited the Cardinals to just 50 rushing yards, while DeForest rushed for 114 yards.

After the touchdown, the Cardinals’ extra-point attempt was fumbled, but Sun Prairie East recovered it in the end zone, ruled a two-point conversion that put DeForest behind 8-7 with 7:20 remaining.

Sun Prairie East later cashed in on a 35-yard field goal from senior Caleb Crase with 3:35 remaining to take an 11-7 lead over DeForest at the half.

But DeForest turned their four-point deficit around in a hurry.

With possession to open the third quarter, senior running back Dalton Lee raced unscathed into the end zone for a 68-yard touchdown, but a holding call on DeForest bought the play back.

But Tru Killerlain — who has led the team in rushing yards each game this year — kept the valiant Norski drive alive. The speedy-quick senior rushed for a first down on 4th-and-3, putting his team firmly inside Cardinal territory at the 33-yard line.

Killerlain rushed for another gain, this time for 13 yards, before lofting a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Owen Taylor to take a 13-11 advantage with 7:13 remaining.

It was the result DeForest would have the rest of the evening.

On the ensuing kickoff, junior wide receiver Kevin Packard III nearly returned a touchdown, just eight yards short of the end zone, for an 80-yard return.

Additional details

To DeForest’s credit, its defense forced Sun Prairie East to settle for a field goal. However, with the ball back, sophomore Payton O’Hearn picked off Killerlain inside DeForest’s 35-yard line late in the third quarter.

And on the very next play, Packard III caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Kavanaugh to take a 21-13 lead over DeForest heading into the final 12 minutes of action.

As the fourth quarter began, the Cardinals’ defense delivered, perhaps, their biggest stop of the game. DeForest, threatening to score, was bottled up three times at the one-yard line.

Junior linebacker Alex York celebrates after a tackle during Sun Prairie East’s 28-13 win over DeForest on Thursday, Sept. 10 at DMB Community Bank Stadium. After trailing 13-11 in the third quarter, Sun Prairie East outscored DeForest 17-0.

While Sun Prairie East’s defense held strong, this, naturally, put their offense in a unique situation.

The Cardinals mustered just three yards of offense on two plays before Sun Prairie East secured much-needed breathing room, completing a 3rd-and-3 from their own three-yard line for a 39-yard gain.

This set Sun Prairie East up to pad onto its lead. Methodically marching up the field, Braylon Peterson capped the lengthy drive on a 16-yard rushing touchdown to give the Cardinals a two-touchdown cushion, 28-13, with under five minutes to go.

While the result wasn’t what DeForest had hoped for, Coach Grundahl believes his team is making progress — game after game, week after week, day after day.

“I told the team after the game, ‘We’re getting better every day’, and we have to continue to do that,” he said. “We can’t dwell on mistakes. We just have to keep moving forward.”

“We’re going to be alright.”

Up next for DeForest, DeForest host Waunakee on Friday, Sept. 18, before traveling to Milton a week later. Sun Prairie East will face Sun Prairie West before traveling to Monona Grove on Friday, Sept. 25.