The Pulaski Roos came back from a 13-5 first-half deficit to defeat Middleton and win the Wisconsin Boys HS championship Saturday at Schneider Stadium in De Pere, Wisc.

Middleton, which moved up from DII after last season, were in it until the end, but too many penalties hurt them.

Pulaski took an early lead with a try from Levi Van Lanen, but soon thereafter Middleton replied to tie it up. A penalty and then a Shay Haase try put Middleton up 13-5. But they found the rest of the game tough going.

“Our aggressive style of play can draw penalties,” said Middleton Coach Paul Stroede. “And we started to get penalties. They played really good defense, too.”

Jake Jagielski’s try put Pulaski within three after Tyler Martens hit the conversion and it reined 13-10 at halftime.

“We knew we needed to just stick to our game plan,” said Pulaski Coach Fran Brunette. “We wanted to bend, not break, control the ball, and in the second half our defense came through.”

Openside flanker Caleb Vanderloop was hugely important in this effort as Middleston’s danger runner, Henry Dean, was contained somewhat by his efforts. Dean was still a problem for Pulaski, as Middleton threw everything they had at their rivals. But early in the second half, Tyler Wasielewski went over, and the Martens conversion made it 17-13 Pulaski. Middleton regained the lead 17-18, but then an interception try put Pulaski ahead to stay at 22-18. Middleton continued to mount attacks, and Pulaski continued to rebuff them. Martens iced the game with two penalties, including one right at the end, to finish it off 28-18.

“My hats off to them, they played a really good game,” said Stroede. “They didn’t turn the ball over and they didn’t commit penalties.”

“This was a goal for us,” added Brunette. “After winning last year we expected to get to the state final. We got there and the boys played a good, hard game.”

For Middleton, this was still a hugely successful season. Having opted to move up to DI from DII this year, they were tops in their conference.

“They did extra work on their own and really committed,” said Stroede. “I am really happy with what we did this season.”

For Pulaski, there will be some rebuilding to do, as they graduate 20 seniors. But they have discovered a new rival, and rivalries can often energize a team.