Lena-Winslow has appeared in every Class 1A State Title game since 2019.

But they didn’t take home the big hardware in either of the last two years after winning titles in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Apparently that didn’t set well with them.

Lena-Winslow was dominant from the opening minute where they forced a three and out against Brown County, blocked a punt and scored quickly thereafter to set the tone in a 58-13 victory.

The Panthers were overwhelming from the start and the first drive of the game proved to be a bad omen. Brown County gained no yards on three rushes and lined up to punt inside the 15-yard line.

Lena-Winslow (13-1) got a piece of the punt, covered it up at the Brown County 4-yard line and scored on a 1-yard run from Aiden Wild.

After another three-and-out, this time on a drive that netted just four yards and L-W quickly put together another drive that once again ended in a Wild touchdown run, this time from seven yards.

Brown County did manage a first down on its next drive but still kicked it back quickly to Lena-Winslow who needed just a little over a minute to stretch the lead to 24-0. Brown County promptly fumbled the ball away on its next possession allowing Lena-Winslow to tack on another score and run things to 30-0 with nine minutes still remaining in the second quarter.

The Hornets (11-3) finally showed some signs of life getting a 33-yard touchdown run from Trey Fullerton, but it took a little over three minutes for Lena-Winslow to answer that score as Wild netted his third touchdown of the day. The Panthers went 5-for-5 scoring touchdowns on their first five drives of the day, the halftime clock was likely the only deterrent to having them go 6-for-6 in the first half.

Wild tacked on his fourth touchdown of the game (he would later add a fifth) to set the running clock in motion early in the third quarter, while the Panthers would continue to string together touchdown drives scoring on the first three drives after the break.

Lena-Winslow tied its own state record for points scored in a Class 1A title game with the third of those touchdowns and mercifully bled out the rest of the clock on its final possession.

The Panthers ran for 446 yards on the day, with Wild amassing 170 yards and Alex Schlichting adding 146 yards and two scores.