There was only one option, and Phil Klaas knew it.

   In a tie game, with a playoff berth on the line, the Sun Prairie senior quarterback was responsible for keeping perhaps the Cardinals' most important drive to date going.

   And all he was going to do was scream at the top of his lungs.

   "We needed a first down, and we were just trying to get them to jump," Klaas said of the crucial fourth-and-8 late in the fourth quarter. "Our snap count, we had been going on one all night, so we thought we could get them on two.

   "And we did."

   After the Cardinals got the free five yards and a first down on the next play thanks to a 4-yard quarterback sneak from Klaas, they made Madison West pay for their anxiousness in the worst way.

   Senior running back Karl Huemmer rushed for 195 yards — including a game-winning, 3-yard run after the crucial West penalty — and Sun Prairie held on for a thrilling 28-21 Big Eight Conference win over the Regents Friday night at Mansfield Stadium to clinch their fifth straight WIAA playoff berth and 15th in the last 17 seasons.

   "All week our snap count was on two just for a situation like this," said Klaas, who threw for 109 yards and a touchdown. "I think that drive and that play was a defining point in our season."

   After Sun Prairie jumped out to a 13-0 lead, the Regents reeled off 21 straight points, all courtesy of standout junior running back Leighton Settle.

   The last seven came after a 99-yard drive the Regents engineered in only 3 minutes, 43 seconds, highlighted by senior quarterback Sam Daly's 55-yard run and capped by Settle's 14-yard dash up the middle, his third touchdown of the night.

   "We kept our heads up and never quit," said Settle, who rushed 28 times for 232 yards. "It just didn't work out for us."

   Sun Prairie answered with a sustained drive of its own after Settle gave the Regents a 21-13 lead early in the third quarter, moving 74 yards in 12 plays, capped by Huemmer's 8-yard TD run.

   The Cardinals tied the game at 21-21 on Klaas' sneak for the two-point conversion.

   "Coach (Brian Kaminski) told me it was going to come down to who was the better back, and I just wanted it to be me," said Huemmer, who nearly matched Settle carry for carry by rushing for 195 yards.

   The Regents had a chance to tie the game, putting together an 11-play drive with time winding down before Sun Prairie defender Harlow Hermanson stripped Settle and recovered the fumble inside Cardinals territory with 1:24 remaining.

   "It was the play of the game," Kaminski said. "Harlow made a tremendous play. He just took it right of Settle's hands.

   Said Settle: "I tried to cut back, but I saw a (defender) coming, and he just came at me too fast and stripped the ball."

   The turnover sent the Cardinals back to a familiar destination: The playoffs.

   "We get a chance to play some more games," Klaas said.