A battle of the top two defenses in the Midwest Sprint Football League turned the league championship game into a slug-fest Saturday in front of 750 fans at Jay Barrett Field. 
The Calumet College offense broke through first on a pass by Nina Barbosa with 11:29 to go in the third quarter, breaking a scoreless tie, before going on to a 31-0 victory against the Pomeroys. 
SMWC finished its season with a 7-2 record, coming up short in a bid to repeat as MSFL champions. 
Calumet College had three interceptions, giving it a league-best 20 this season, and held SMWC's solid ground game to five rushing yards. Barbosa, had 155 yards and three touchdowns, rushing for 78 yards to lead the Crimson Wave to the title. 
The Pomeroys struggled to convert third downs (2 for 13) to extend drives with quarterback Jeremiah Tosky facing pressure from CCSJ's defensive line. The Crimson Wave sacked Tosky six times. 
"We didn't block their blitzes well and made some bad decisions in the passing game," coach Blaine Powell said.
The SMWC defense played tough football, trying to bide time for the offense to find its rhythm. The Pomeroys forced four first-half punts and one turnover on downs before halftime.
"We just picked a bad time to play bad," Powell said. "(Calumet) is a talented bunch. You have to play fast and I didn't feel like we played fast on offense. The defense bailed us out the whole first half and you could only keep doing that so many times." 
SMWC will look to the off-season to continue to develop players and come back to compete for a title in 2024. SMWC is 13-3 in its first two seasons as a program.
"It's a tough one," sophomore captain Lane Sluder said. "We've just to move on and start working again tomorrow. Get back in the off-season program and start lifting. It stings. We've just got to work to get back here next year."