Quentin Keene’s prolific passing leads Waunakee to 7th state championship
WAUNAKEE, Wis. — The Waunakee football program might seem like the furthest thing from an underdog at first glance. With six state championship wins already in the program’s history, a seventh might have seemed less crucial to the Warriors. However, their eventual 2021 Wisconsin state championship couldn’t have meant more to senior quarterback Quentin Keene and the rest of the program.
“It means everything to me,” Keene said. “Being a senior and playing football with my best friends … getting to accomplish the goal we’ve worked so hard for, it’s difficult to put into words.”
Back in 2019, the Waunakee program looked like it was poised to capture that seventh title. Going into the state title game with a 12-1 record but having been ravaged by injuries, Waunakee still stayed competitive in a tough matchup with Brookfield East. At this time, Keene was a sophomore and was backing up injured junior Caden Nelson. He threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns, adding a score on the ground in a gritty performance. Despite Keene’s resilient effort, Waunakee fell one point short, missing a potential tying extra point at the end of the game.
Once a run-heavy team focused on a smash mouth, ball-control style, Waunakee switched over to a spread style in 2017. Led by legendary head coach Pat Rice, Waunakee has responded well to this pivot, not only reaching the aforementioned state title game in 2019 but also going undefeated in a shortened spring season in 2020-21.
This spread style is heavily reliant on the quarterback position, not only because of the arm talent required, but also because of the decision making ability necessary to take care of the football. Keene displayed this ability throughout Waunakee’s undefeated regular season in 2021, passing for nearly 2,500 yards over 13 games with 27 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. Coupled with the Warriors’ consistently excellent defense, balanced ground game and special teams ability, the team looked poised for success as they headed back to the Division II state title game.
However, the change in style and the increased output through the air weren’t the only improvements shown by Keene and the Waunakee program in the time between the 2019 state title game and this year’s game.
“I’d say (my) biggest improvement was as a leader,” Keene said. “As a sophomore, I was the youngest starter on the team in those final games so I didn’t have to be a vocal leader. Coming into this year, having to be a vocal leader as well as (lead) by example, it took some learning but that was the improvement I was most proud of.”
In the 2021 season, Keene was able to lead the Warriors football program to an undefeated regular season through his leadership as well as through his prolific passing output.
Waunakee navigated a difficult path through the WIAA Division II playoffs with an overtime victory against River Falls, a one-point victory over Menomonie and a seven-point win over Waukesha West. All of a sudden, Waunakee was back in the state title game. This time around, there was no end of game drama.
Keene added another strong state title game performance, throwing for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Most importantly, Waunakee finished off their undefeated season with a 33-21 victory over Mequon Homestead.
The meaning of this win was not lost on Keene, even in view of the great success that the program had seen in his high school career.
“Winning is fun, but we not only loved winning – we loved playing the game with each other,” Keene said. “We were a family and (we) loved playing football together.”
With a winning tradition and a history of great quarterback play at a high level of Wisconsin football, Keene looks poised to take his abilities to the next level. No matter what, the state championship that he and the Waunakee football program achieved in 2021 will never be forgotten.
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