Sun Prairie East rallies past DeForest 28–13

DeForest competed closely with Sun Prairie East before the Cardinals pulled away for a 28–13 football win.

After opening the season with three straight road games, DeForest returned home to a familiar sound: the ring of “Hells Bells” blasting boastfully through the speakers as they took the field on Thursday, Sept. 10, against the Sun Prairie East Cardinals.

DeForest seized a lead five minutes into the third quarter, but the Cardinals scored the game’s final 17 points, erasing a 13-11 deficit to upend the pesky Norskies, 28-13, on Thursday, Sept. 10, at DeForest High School.

In spite of the loss, DeForest coach Todd Grundahl was proud of his team’s effort Thursday night.

“We got guys that are going to fight for each other,” Grundahl said. “They put in the work. They’re there every single day. We just got to continue to get better with the adversity and deal with it.”

How the game unfolded

In the first quarter, DeForest’s defense set the tone.

Senior cornerback Gabe Wahl snagged an interception inside Sun Prairie East’s 33-yard line, rallying a jam-packed DMB Community Bank Stadium behind him.

DeForest quickly turned its defense into offense when senior quarterback Tru Killerlain rushed for a three-yard touchdown, giving DeForest a 7-0 lead with 4:14 remaining in the first quarter.

Junior Michael Allen (#25) celebrates with senior Tru Killerlain (#16) after Killerlain scored a three-yard rushing touchdown to give DeForest a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on Thursday, Sept. 10 at DMB Community Bank Stadium.

DeForest held onto its 7-0 advantage before Sun Prairie East got on the board early in the second quarter.

Cardinals’ senior wide receiver Brayden Johnson corralled a 25-yard touchdown reception on a pass from sophomore quarterback Carter Kavanaugh, who split time at quarterback with senior Braylon Peterson throughout the game.

Kavanaugh tossed for 110 yards on two touchdowns, while Peterson recorded 139 yards on 13-for-14 completions. DeForest’s defense, however, held Sun Prairie East’s rushing attack in check. They limited the Cardinals to just 50 rushing yards, while DeForest rushed for 114 yards.

After the touchdown, the Cardinals’ extra-point attempt was fumbled, but Sun Prairie East recovered it in the end zone, ruled a two-point conversion that put DeForest behind 8-7 with 7:20 remaining.

Sun Prairie East later cashed in on a 35-yard field goal from senior Caleb Crase with 3:35 remaining to take an 11-7 lead over DeForest at the half.

But DeForest turned their four-point deficit around in a hurry.

With possession to open the third quarter, senior running back Dalton Lee raced unscathed into the end zone for a 68-yard touchdown, but a holding call on DeForest bought the play back.