MADISON, Wis. — Baldwin-Woodville’s hopes of a championship rally came up a first down short. The Blackhawks, who trailed undefeated Racine St. Catherine’s 20-0 early in the third quarter, were driving in the final minute after making it a one-possession game. On fourth-and-7 from the Angels’ 18-yard line, Blackhawks quarterback Gavin Sell was forced to throw under intense pressure and his desperation heave was intercepted at the 4-yard line with 28 seconds left, preserving St. Catherine’s 26-22 victory in the Wisconsin Division 4 state championship game Thursday night. “I completely believed that we would find a way to get it done,” Baldwin-Woodville coach Dan Keefer said. “I really did, and we just came up a little short.” Baldwin-Woodville (12-2) pulled within 26-22 with 10:01 left on a 1-yard touchdown run by Taden Holldorf, although the two-point conversion attempt failed. After forcing a punt, the Blackhawks took over at their own 18 with 5:43 remaining. Baldwin-Woodville drove into the red zone, but St. Catherine’s defense rose to the occasion. Baldwin-Woodville, which won state titles in 1987 and 1992, was appearing in the title game for the first since 1994. St. Catherine’s won its only previous title game appearance in 2018. Despite the early deficit, Sell was confident the Blackhawks would come back. “That’s what I thought the whole game,” he said. “I know one play can change it all in football. We’ve been here before and I thought we could do it again, but we came up just short.” Baldwin-Woodville had a 369-290 advantage in total yards, including 316-79 on the ground. Sell finished with 145 yards on 28 carries and Holldorf added 137 yards on 29 attempts. The Blackhawks, who averaged 47 points per game in their first four playoff victories, committed four turnovers, gave up three long touchdown passes, and another score on kickoff return. “It’s really disappointing to turn the ball over that many times,” Keefer said. “That’s the story of the game. We beat ourselves. Give them credit, they made some plays, too, but we didn’t take care of the ball and that hasn’t been us all year.” Baldwin-Woodville had scored at least 35 points in each game this season. The only previous loss was 58-39 to Mount Horeb/Barneveld in the season opener. But St. Catherine’s (14-0) had allowed just 65 points all season, and more than seven just once, a 19-14 victory over Lake Mills in the sectional semifinals. Quarterback Eddie Vinson Jr. had two long scoring passes in the first half to put the Angels up 14-0. Vinson hit Lamont Hamilton in stride behind the Blackhawks’ secondary for a 59-yard score early in the second quarter, and the Angels added the two-point conversion. Vinson then capped an eight-play, 61-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Hamilton with just five seconds left in first half. The Blackhawks fumbled on their opening possession of the second half and Vinson hit Hamilton deep up the right side for a 49-yard touchdown reception to push the lead to 20-0 less than a minute into the third quarter. On the ensuing possession, Dane Veenendall’s apparent 27-yard touchdown run was wiped out by a holding penalty. Three plays later, Sell went off the right side for a 26-yard touchdown run and the Blackhawks added the two-point conversion to pull within 20-8. The momentum was short-lived, however, as Hamilton returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards to make it 26-8. Sell’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Brody Everts and another two-point conversion cut the lead to 26-16 with 1:46 left in the third quarter. Baldwin-Woodville turned the ball over twice in the first half. Sell was intercepted on the Blackhawks first play and he also lost a fumble. Each team missed a red zone opportunity in the first quarter. St. Catherine’s drove from its own 49 to the Baldwin-Woodville 12, but Vinson was stopped short on a keeper. The Blackhawks answered with a 90-yard drive to the Angels 3-yard line, but Sell lost five yards on third down, and Holldorf then was stopped at the 2. Related Articles High School Sports | Wisconsin high school football: Grantsburg bows in Division 6 state final High School Sports | Wisconsin state football: ‘Come on, iceberg, keep pushing’ — Rice Lake pushes through injuries, illness and reclassification to get back to title game High School Sports | Prep Bowl: Two years after consecutive 1-8 football seasons, Totino-Grace is one win away from another state title High School Sports | High school football: Friday’s state championship game predictions High School Sports | East Metro Football Player of the Year: Forest Lake’s Howie Johnson