MADISON (NBC 26) — Wrightstown took home the silver ball for the second straight year after falling to Stratford, 21-6, in the WIAA Division 5 state championship game on Thursday.
Senior quarterback Trevor Vande Hey was responsible for the Tigers' only touchdown of the game.
Vande Hey scored the 61-yard rushing touchdown to get Wrightstown within a point in the second quarter.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game and we tried our hardest," Vande Hey said. "We did all we could; it just didn't turn out our way."
Vande Hey added that he is proud of his team for making it this far, and will cherish the memories that he made with his teammates.
"I've made so many amazing friends from football and it's just amazing to have them in my life," Vande Hey said.
Head Coach Steven Klister credited Stratford's defense for stopping Wrightstown.
"They're just really aggressive, fast kids," Klister said. "They're really good athletes and we had a tough time blocking them up front."
Klister added that the biggest shift in momentum was when Stratford scored a touchdown at the end of the first half, and then another to start the second half.
"That was huge," Klister said. "That was basically the difference in the game. If we could have kept them from scoring going in, maybe we would have had more momentum coming out but that's the way it goes."
Despite the loss, Klister emphasized how special the back-to-back trips to the state championship were.
"We talked to the seniors about setting history for Wrightstown High School," Klister said. "We've never been back to back. We came up short two times but still, after they sit down and think about it, it'll be very memorable for them."
Klister said the last two seasons were an awesome experience for the seniors and the community.
"We had a lot of great seniors," Klister said. "All of those skill guys are great players and they're going to be missed."
Running back Aiden Humphreys said this loss hurts even more than last year's because it is his last season playing football.
"Coming off last year, it's obviously not the outcome that we wanted, but it was a great run that we had," Humphreys said. "I'm proud of everybody here. Everybody did their job and everybody gave 100 percent. There's nothing better than playing football with your family."
Wrightstown finished its season at 12-2.
