This year’s Prescott Cardinal sports officially ended two weeks ago. However, returning student-athletes have already begun prepping for the fast approaching 2025-26 seasons. During 2024-25 fans were treated to a myriad of exciting moments from girls golf to high school baseball. All conference performances from dozens of athletes captivated Cardinal rooters for 10 months. New conference title hardware was inserted into the high school trophy case, title years added to high school gymnasium posters, and new regional and sectional plaques affixed to the high school walls. But this week we recognize those unsung moments, those crucial performances from student athletes that did not grab the headlines but were just as pivotal as any game winning touchdown, three-point shot, or walk-off base hit. Here are some underrated moments from the 2024-25 season. 

Football. After an 8-1 regular season and spending most of the year ranked in the Top 10, the Cardinals hosted Seymour in the first round of the WIAA playoffs. Prescott raced to an earlier first half lead, but the Thunder came storming back pulling to within two possessions in the fourth quarter. Enter Henry Rohl. After senior Barrett Temmers left the game with a broken ankle, Rohl picked off a Seymour pass midway through the fourth quarter and ended all hopes of a Seymour comeback and helped secure Prescott’s first home football playoff win in almost over a decade. 

Volleyball. The Prescott volleyball team advanced to the sectional final last fall in what has been called by many the Cinderella story of the 2024-25 sports season. After a fourth-place conference finish, Head Coach Geoffrey Snyder’s Club received the #10 seed in the Division 3 tournament. After steamrolling Elk Mound and Marathon in the first two rounds, the Cardinals traveled to Fall Creek to take on the Crickets for the regional championship. During a crucial moment in game two, senior Mackenzie Sterud served in front of the highly raucous and partisan Fall Creek crowd. Not only did Sterud respond with back-to-back successful serves, but her performance silenced the crowd. Her unflappable performance in hostile conditions sparked the Cardinals to a game two win and eventual regional championship.  

Softball. The Cardinals were able to defend their regional championship courtesy of a win over Middle Border Conference Champion Somerset in the second round of the tournament. With the game tied at 0-0 in the bottom of the sixth, junior Izzy Thoen reached first base on an infield single after a marathon at bat. Rory Zeuhlsdorf walked and Leah French followed with a two double to make it 2-0 Prescott. It was Thoen’s crucial at bat that set the stage for French’s heroics and another trip to sectionals.

Boys Basketball. In a crucial Middle Border Conference game on the road at Altoona, junior Jackson Matzek came off the bench to hit two consecutive three pointers. Matzek’s two treys from beyond the arc gave the Cardinals a three-point lead midway through the second half and sparked Prescott to a crucial 57-50 road win over the Railroaders. 

Baseball. After falling to Altoona by a score of 1-0 earlier in the week, Prescott traveled to Altoona on Saturday, May 3 in a crucial showdown with the Railroaders. The Cardinals trailed after three innings by a score of 4-1 but came storming back to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth, a lead they would never relinquish. With one out and a runner on first base, catcher Joaquin Magee walked to put runners at first and second. To the casual spectator, it was just another player reaching first on a base on balls. But it was much more than that. During an incredible 12 pitch at bat, Magee fouled off six pitches, four of them with two strikes. The marathon at bat proved to be crucial not only in the win but would help catapult the Cardinals to seven straight conference wins and a Middle Border Conference title. 

Boys Golf. For the second time in school history, the Prescott Cardinal boys golf team advanced to the WIAA State Tournament. All season the Cardinals were led on the links by talented senior Tyler Reiter. However, in the sectional tournament it was senior Sam Vesperman who helped catapult the Cardinals to the state tournament.  Prescott was locked in a heated battle with the defending Division 2 State Champion Lakeland Thunderbirds. On the 15th hole, Vesperman had his worst hole of the day, a triple bogey. Undeterred, Vesperman responded by ending the day birdie, par, birdie over the last three holes to help the Cardinals win the sectional and advance to Madison. 

Next week: Boys and girls track, girls golf, and girls basketball.