Were down to two teams in Wisconsin as Pulaski faces Middleton Saturday in the state final.

Pulaski, which is one of the few teams from the state to consistently find games outside their region, somehow survived a very tough semifinal Monday against Elkhorn. Meanwhile, Middleton showed how far they had come with a 46-3 pasting of Whitefish Bay, a team they had tied earlier in the season.

For Pulaski, close games are normal. They edged newly-minted Illinois state champions Morton 10-8 in a friendly, and performed well in a tough single-school bracket in the Midwest championship tournament. Their only losses were in that tournament, to Brownsburg and Notre Dame De La Salette. 

Monday they beat Elkhorn 21-20, scoring three tries to Elkhorn’s four. The difference was prop Jeremy Bartels, a HS All American prospect and a powerful force in tight. In addition, he’s probably the best goalkicker in the state, and slotted all three conversions, including two from the sideline, to help his team win.

No. 8 Brett DeGrave is another HSAA prospect and a huge force with the ball in hand, while inside center Levi Van Lanen is a leader in the backs and an all-state football player.

“We have some players who have been playing for a while, and we’ve got some good athletes,” said Pulaski Coach Fran Brunette, who also coaches the Wisconsin select side. “But I know Middleton is really good. We have about nine of their players on the select side this year.”

In fact, the coach for Middleton, Paul Stroede, is the Wisconsin select-side backs coach, so he and Brunette know each other well.

“We feel very good,” said Stroede, and well they might after their improvement over Whitefish Bay. “Things are going well for us and I feel good about my team one through 23.”

Middleton had a supposedly easy game to finish up their schedule, but were surprised somewhat. They won, but not easily, and Stroede said it was a good time to get humbled.

“They came back from that game and got to work,” he said.

Much of the Middleton attack goes through flyhalf Henry Dean, who arrived in Wisconsin from Florida as a freshman with rugby experience, and has started in the #10 jersey for four years. He is a smart field general and dangerous attacker. His centers, Adam Frye and Max Boehnen, are tough runners, while up front the props Austin Collins and Max Milovets set the tone.

Pulaski has a reputation of having the stronger forwards, and Middleton the better backs, but both coaches would likely argue that they are well-rounded, and shouldn’t be overlooked. 

That will be tough to do. Saturday’s final will be played at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisc., in a stadium that seats about 7,000. Organizers expect to sell it out.