At some point, nearly every young football player dreams up the scenario of trailing in the fourth quarter of a championship game, then having to play hero and rally the team for the game winning touchdown in the final moment. The entire #1 ranked Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear football team got to live that moment in real life, capping off the 2025 high school football season with an unforgettable final chapter, rallying from a 36-14 deficit entering the fourth quarter, and coming back to win 44-42 over the #2 ranked Woodbine Tigers in the Iowa High School Athletic Association 8-player state championship game.
Dreams of the third state title in program history, and second in the past three seasons, looked bleak late in the third quarter after Woodbine’s four-star prospect Landon Blum caught a 30 yard pass, extending the ball just over the goal line in spite of Bishop Garrigan’s Tate Foertsch hanging all over him, giving the Tigers a 36-14 lead with 1:47 left in the third following the two point conversion. It was the third touchdown pass of the day by Pryor, who delivered in spite of being drilled by the rushing Carter McGregor, and second touchdown catch of the day by Blum.
Bishop Garrigan had not trailed by more than two points all season long, and had never trailed in the second half of a game, finding themselves in unfamiliar territory and in search of answers on offense. The answer came in the form of senior Ethan Marso, who began the ensuing drive by picking up 16 yards for his longest carry of the day. As the game clock turned over to the fourth quarter, the Golden Bears faced a critical 4th and 4 from the Woodbine 21 yard line. As he’d done so many times in his three seasons as starting quarterback, Foertsch weaved a pass through traffic to tight end Weston Rosenmeyer for 18 yards, setting up an eventual Marso touchdown plunge to cut the Woodbine lead to 36-22 with just over eleven minutes of game remaining.
Bishop Garrigan lineman Carter Schwab says there was no scoreboard watching by the Golden Bears, as the team was just focused on battling.
Bishop Garrigan attempted an onside kick to try to get the football back, but the ball took a room service hop to Woodbine’s Cal Pryor at the 33 yard line for the recovery, putting the pressure on the Bishop Garrigan defense. The Golden Bears responded, as Tiger head coach Dustin Crook rolled the dice on a 4th and 3 from midfield, dialing up a pass play that was batted in the air and intercepted by Marso, returning it to the Woodbine 30 yard line.
Marso and the Golden Bears had been itching for a turnover all game long.
The Golden Bears capitalized on the ideal field position, moving 30 yards in six plays, as Foertsch capped off the drive with an eight yard rushing touchdown. After an incomplete pass on a trick play trying for the two point conversion, with receiver Michael Joyce attempting to throw a pass to the quarterback Foertsch, the Tiger lead was down to 36-28 with 7:59 left.
After struggling to stop the Woodbine offense for the first three quarters, Bishop Garrigan got another stop, as the Tigers attempted to run three straight times, but did not pick up the necessary yards and were forced to punt.
Pryor unleased a nearly perfect punt, sending it 56 yards to the Bishop Garrigan four, giving the Golden Bears 5:37 to work with and 76 yards to go. The Golden Bears started with four straight runs, before Foertsch dropped a ball right into the bucket for 22 yards to tight end Madden Miller. Five plays later, Foertsch capped off the drive with a nine yard rushing touchdown, and ran in for the two point conversion himself to knot the game at 36 with 2:32 remaining.
Marso says the Golden Bears came out ready to pound the rock.
With all momentum on Bishop Garrigan’s side, Woodbine executed their next drive with brutal efficiency. On 3rd and 10, Pryor hit Blum for 12 yards, followed by a 13 yard pass to Brenner Sullivan, a 15 yard run by Micah Moores, and a 14 yard pass to Brenden Wagner on the next three plays to get the ball to the one yard line. After a Golden Bear timeout, Moores punched the ball in with 1:09 left to put Woodbine back in front 42-36, as the two point try was no good.
Although Bishop Garrigan hadn’t been many big time two minute drill situations all season, Head Coach Marty Wadle says they had plenty of practice reps for this exact situation.
Bishop Garrigan started their drive at the 15 yard line following a touchback, with one timeout in their back pocket. The Golden Bears dialed up a quick-hitting quarterback draw on the first play, catching the Tiger defense by surprise and gaining 20 yards.
Foertsch was ready to take whatever the defense gave him.
After Woodbine bottled up a Foertsch rush on the next play, the Golden Bear quarterback uncorked a deep shot down the middle of the field, with the ball barely getting past the hand of Brody Pryor, and landing in the hands of sophomore CJ McGregor, who came into the game with just two catches. The pickup of 36 yards put Bishop Garrigan at the five yard line following their final timeout.
According to Foertsch, McGregor was not supposed to be the main option on the play.
Foertsch got Bishop Garrigan to the doorstep, running for four yards to the one yard line on the next play, with Cal Pryor and Blum combining on the tackle to barely keep the senior quarterback out of the endzone. With time ticking off of the clock, Marso got the football and would not be denied, bulldozing his way for one yard, and finally getting a touchdown signal from the officials after a lengthy pause and just nine seconds remaining on the game clock.
Marso says although it was close, he knew that he broke the plane.
The Golden Bears dialed the exact same play as the previous two point attempt, with the exact same result, as Foertsch ran untouched off the left end for what were ultimately the decisive two points.
Foertsch told assistant coach and offensive play caller John Kesselring to give him the ball and let him finish the job.
Although the Golden Bears had to struggle to overcome a big deficit late, the game started in the complete opposite fashion, as after moving the ball into Woodbine territory on the game’s opening drive, CJ McGregor broke free for a 33 yard touchdown run to give the Golden Bears an early 6-0 lead.
Woodbine put a quick 180 degree turn on the game following the McGregor touchdown, as Moores capped off an eight play drive on the first Tiger possession with a four yard score, tying the game at six. Woodbine struck again following a three and out for the Golden Bear offense, with a 46 yard pass to Dillon Reed eventually setting up a two yard scoring pass to Ayden Coenen, as Brody Pryor floated the ball just over the outstretched arms of Foertsch in the end zone to put Woodbine up 14-6.
The first huge defensive play of the game would come early in the second quarter, as the Tigers snuffed out a 4th down and one run play by Marso, dropping him for no gain at the Woodbine 38 yard line. The Tigers then dialed up a pass play to offensive lineman Jax Pryor, who was lined up as an eligible receiver, with the 23 yard gain setting up a Moores two yard touchdown rush and a 20-6 Woodbine lead.
The teams traded punts on the next two possessions, before Bishop Garrigan took all of the final 5:31 of the half off of the clock, moving 77 yard in 17 plays, with a Foertsch quarterback sneak touchdown providing a big score before halftime. The sneak came at the tail end of a wild sequence, as Foertsch tried to sneak from the one yard line with 14 seconds and no timeouts left, and was stuffed. The Bishop Garrigan signal caller gathered the team at the line of scrimmage quickly, getting the snap off before halftime and sneaking again, as he was originally stopped by the Tiger defense, but eventually crossed the goal line with a second and third effort, drawing boos from the Woodbine fans who believed the quarterback was short of the goal line, making the score 20-14.
The Tigers got back in the drivers seat to start the second half, with Pryor hitting Blum for a 38 yard touchdown, his first of two touchdown catches on the day, then stopped Bishop Garrigan on a 4th and 7 in the red zone, which was followed by Blum’s second touchdown and a 36-14 Tiger lead.
Schwab was at a loss for word to describe the comeback that ensued after.
Wadle credited the Bishop Garrigan defense for keeping Woodbine out of 3rd and 4th and shorts in the final quarter.
Schwab felt Bishop Garrigan turned up the pass rush when it mattered most.
In the final game of his high school career, Foertsch finished 9/13 for 131 yards through the air, and carried the ball a career-high 36 times, compiling 157 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Foertsch says he always wanted to leave the program in a better place than he found it.
Marso capped off his senior campaign with his ninth 100 yard game, finished with 103 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Marso says he’s leaving with no regrets.
CJ McGregor carried the rock 10 times for 63 yards and a touchdown, as his 36 yard catch on the final drive was his lone reception. Rosenmeyer caught three passes for 35 yards, while Joyce had two catches for 26.
Pryor finished the final game of his career as a four-year starter 13/21 for 214 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, with three rushes for 21 yards. Moores ran the ball 21 times for 106 yards and 3 scores, while Blum caught eight passes for 116 yards and two scores.
Bishop Garrigan wraps up the season with a perfect 13-0 record, a journey Wadle says goes all the way back to last season’s semifinal round loss to Remsen St. Mary’s.
Woodbine ends their campaign 11-1, falling just short of the program’s first state title, and ending the year with their first trip to the quarterfinals or beyond since 1997.
Wadle called the Golden Bear rally the ultimate test of adversity.
Seniors Tate Foertsch, Carter Schwab, Ethan Marso, Kyle Bormann, Carter McGregor, Kayden Graves, and Luke Behounek now hang up the Bishop Garrigan football jersey for one final time, as Wadle says he could see in their eyes that they would find a way to win in their final game.
The 2025 Bishop Garrigan football team joins the 1985 and 2023 as state champions, with an unforgettable fourth quarter sealing this team’s place in the history books.
