-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Tate Foertsch of Bishop Garrigan run for a touchdown against St. Edmond earlier this season.

CEDAR FALLS — Less than one week ago, seven Bishop Garrigan football seniors walked off Conway Field in Algona for the last time as winners.

Now, that group hopes to lead the Golden Bears to a second eight-player state championship in two seasons and leave the UNI-Dome the same way.

That road starts here Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the state semifinals vs. Audubon. The winner between Bishop Garrigan (11-0 overall) and the Wheelers (11-0) meets either Gladbrook-Reinbeck (11-0) or Woodbine (11-0) next Thursday for the title.

After finishing off a convincing 51-21 victory over Don Bosco to punch a third consecutive trip to the semifinals last Thursday, Golden Bear seniors Kyle Bormann, Tate Foertsch, Carter McGregor, Ethan Marso, Luke Behounek, Carter Schwab and Kayden Graves met with head coach Marty Wadle on the field.

The group proceeded to walk towards a line of fans hand-in-hand before sprinting to the locker room one-by-one.

“We always have that final talk with the seniors after their last game at Conway Field,” Wadle said. “I just told them how happy I am with them and how they did a great job of leading as seniors. That I loved them and have enjoyed getting to coach them these last four years.

“That group hasn’t lost at Conway and that is something very special.”

Bishop Garrigan has posted a 34-2 record the last three years, losing to eventual state champion Remsen St. Mary’s in a heartbreaker in the state semifinals last year and to St. Edmond in the 2023 regular season.

Foertsch, a three-year starter who led the Golden Bears to the state title as a sophomore, has thrown for 1,121 yards and 22 touchdowns while completing 66 percent of his passes. He has also rushed for 942 yards and 16 scores.

Marso is the feature back, carrying the ball 146 times for 1,212 yards and 25 touchdowns while sophomore CJ McGregor has 557 yards and 11 scores. Junior Michael Joyce is the leading receiver, catching 25 passes for 430 and seven scores while classmate Weston Rosenmeyer has 315 yards receiving and six TDs.

“We are used to having the early game now as we’ve done it three years in a row,” Wadle said. “We’ll get the bus loaded up, get some breakfast burritos and head there.”

On defense, Schwab leads with 6.5 sacks and has 39 tackles, Marso has seven tackles for loss among his 44 stops and Foertsch has picked off nine passes, returning two for scores.

Bishop Garrigan has 21 interceptions as a team and six fumble recoveries.

“Audubon is a good team that is well coached,” Wadle said. “They have been scoring a bunch of points and showed (in a 26-19 quarterfinal win over Iowa Valley) that they can play pretty good defense too.

“It will be a challenge for us but we’re looking forward to it.”

Sophomore Aiden Kjergaard has stepped in at quarterback, running for 1,418 yards with 32 touchdowns while throwing for another 772 and 12 TDs. Kjergaard has not been picked off on 46 pass attempts.

Mason Kasperbauer and Paxton Beane, also sophomores, have 799 and 505 yards rushing with 25 combined scores. Seniors Austin Christensen and Brody Weber are the leading receivers.