Port spoils rival’s homecoming, seals share of GTC title

At the end of the day, Port Washington High School’s air raid made just enough plays to send Grafton to a homecoming loss in an electric atmosphere and packed house last Friday.

The Pirates held a 14-point lead in the first half, then fell behind by seven after the Black Hawks rattled off 21 unanswered points. But Port came up big in the fourth quarter to pull out a 35-28 victory.

“What an environment. Holy cow. That looked like a level 4 playoff game to me,” Port coach John Bunyan said.

The Pirates remain undefeated and earned at least a share of the Glacier Trails Conference title.

“It meant a lot. The past two years we got blown out by 20 at least. I needed this one for my senior year, for everyone’s senior year,” Port senior wide receiver Kiya Sullivan said.

Sullivan had the clutch catch deep down the left sideline on third and five for a 37-yard gain with two and a half minutes left that allowed Port to run out the clock.

“I was one-on-one. My quarterback knew it. He trusted me to go get it,” Sullivan said.

“I’m not going to pass up on that,” quarterback Jack Bunyan said. “We went after it. It’s awesome.”

Another clutch play helped set up Port’s winning score. With Grafton driving and the score tied at 28, Port’s Brody Goeden, in his second week back after fracturing his elbow, grabbed quarterback Hunter Klippel, and Klippel flung the ball to avoid a sack. ThiLar Goodman snagged the ball out of the air with one hand and pulled it in at Port’s 15-yard line.

Seven plays later, Kade Kintop took the snap in the wildcat formation and ran for a 14-yard score on fourth and goal.

The teams traded punts before Port’s Joe Rico intercepted a bomb intended for Hank Doyle, one of the top tight ends in the country. The Pirates didn’t let Grafton have the ball again.

Grafton gave it everything it had.

“We already knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle, a fistfight in a phone booth,” senior Jason Grunwaldt said. “We came up short, but we’re just going to look ahead and go 1-0 next week.”

“It was a lot of grit and heart,” Klippel said. “To be honest, I think a lot of our student section and our fans didn’t think we’d be in the position we were in the end of the game.”

Port took a 14-0 first-quarter lead on Bunyan touchdown passes to Kade Kintop for 26 yards and Eyob Sullivan down the seam for 40.

A Klippel 11-yard scramble cut the lead in half, and a Luke Benter leaping interception in the end zone stopped another Port scoring threat.

Eyob Sullivan later caught a three-yard touchdown, and the Hawks were down, 21-7, with three minutes left in the half and in danger of being blown out.

But they wouldn’t give up. On the ensuing drive, Port picked up two straight unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Coach John Bunyan said cornerback Zeke Rico claimed a Grafton player was grabbing his private region, and he reacted.

Klippel ended the drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Malik Cain.

On the next possession, Grafton’s John Boesch blocked a punt, and Caleb Butler returned it several yards to Port’s 10-yard line. Klippel scrambled to the right for a touchdown with 3.6 seconds left in the half.

“Any big game comes down to a handful of plays. They were on the right side of a handful more,” Grafton coach Jim Norris said.

“Everyone battled. There’s no question that they wanted it and were willing to put their bodies on the line.”

The Pirates did the same thing.

“This team can overcome anything,” Kintop said. “We proved it again tonight. I really love these guys. I’m hurting right now. I think everybody gave it everything they had.”

Regardless of the score, Port stuck to its air-raid, no-huddle offense.

“It’s some stuff normal high school teams just can’t do,” coach Bunyan said. “It’s more of a collegiate-level thing. Our kids have bought in and are understanding the system.”

Jack Bunyan went 16-for-29 passing for 295 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Kintop had four catches for 80 yards and a score. Aedyn Brownmiller caught five balls for 64 yards. Kiya Sullivan caught three for 64 yards and his brother Eyob caught three for 58 yards and two scores.

“It’s what you dream of, scoring in a game in a rival’s homecoming. Helping the team get the victory, it’s all I could ask for,” Eyob said.

Mason Schwanz ran 15 times for 98 yards in Port’s one-back system.

Kintop, a former quarterback, ran nine times for 126 yards and two scores out of the wildcat.

“That was something that had been in the works a little bit,” coach Bunyan said.

“The O-line played great. No sacks and to run the ball for 200 yards is awesome.’

Goodman had 11 tackles. Kintop had 10, and Austin Knapp and Jackson Hatfield each had eight.

For Grafton, Jack Nelson ran 31 times for 111 yards and a touchdown, and Klippel ran eight times for 47 yards and two scores. He went 14-for-28 passing for 126 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Grunwaldt had 11 tackles, including a clean hit on Brownmiller that sent him out of the game for a play or two.

“It’s just exhilarating. You get the adrenaline rush,” he said of making a good stick. “It’s just fun flying around. Still being a kid while I can as a senior. It’s my last year so I’ve got to put my heart on the field.”

Reed Schaefer had nine tackles.

“I’m really proud of the way we fought until the last minute and proud of my boys tonight despite the loss,” he said.

Grafton nearly took an early lead. Nelson ran up the middle from Port’s 34-yard line, and everyone stopped when they heard a whistle. The officials didn’t stop the play, so Nelson ran into the end zone, but it was later ruled an inadvertent whistle, killing the play.

The Hawks lost starting linebacker Cooper Ehr to an injury during the game. He didn’t return.

Port, (5-0 in the GTC and 7-0 overall) hosts Plymouth (4-1 GTC, 6-1 overall) for homecoming on Friday, Oct. 9.

Grafton (3-2 GTC, 4-3 overall) hosts Kettle Moraine Lutheran (1-4 GTC, 3-4 overall).

The race for the postseason

Wisconsin is in the second year of a new playoff matrix system to determine postseason qualifiers. A points system ranks teams each week. Bound Wisconsin details the new matrix at https://tinyurl.com/wtb5vw8n. 

The unofficial rankings are available at https://andylavoy.com/football. Andy Lavoy is one of the co-designers of the matrix.

As of this week, Port Washington (Division 3), Grafton (D2), Cedar Grove-Belgium (D6) and Random Lake/Ozaukee (D5) are all in the playoff field.