​SUAMICO – Go for a field goal to force overtime or be bold and go for the win?Bay Port football coach Steven Jorgensen went for a victory against Hartland Arrowhead in the WIAA Division 1 state title game in November, only to watch a pass attempt fall incomplete in the end zone at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.It was the final play of an 18-15 heartbreaker, preventing the Pirates from a thrilling repeat after becoming the first local football team to win a D1 state championship in 2024.Most coaches have long memories. Some can recite moments, drives or almost an entire play-by-play of a game years later.Jorgensen doesn’t need to be reminded about the final crazy minute against Arrowhead.How Bay Port went up 15-12 with just 46 seconds remaining or, how in the blink of an eye, a shaky special teams unit allowed a 76-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff.Or how the Pirates marched right back down the field with 33 seconds remaining, reaching the Arrowhead 11 in the final second before opting to go for the win after a timeout.No, he won’t forget about that anytime soon.“Probably forever,” Jorgensen said. “I think that is with any loss I’ve had in my 15-year career. There are always the bad ones that stick in your mind a bit more. I wish that wasn’t the case. I wish we celebrated the wins a little bit more and we could forget the losses more.“But I think as a competitor you always question, ‘Did I put my team in the best position to be successful?’ You always hash back through the years on many situations, and that one, yeah, magnified in the state championship game and being the last play.”Of course, Bay Port might have lost even if it had opted to attempt a game-tying field goal.It still had to make the kick and win in overtime.All these months later, would Jorgensen make the same decision?“With the information I had in that moment, I was still going for it, absolutely,” Jorgensen said. “People say, ‘Oh, he’s just bullheaded.’ That’s OK if people think that, but honestly, I still believe we would have went for it. I just think we would have picked a play that would have worked.”As for the players, that game has stuck with some of them the way it has for their coach.“It for sure hurts for a while, it still does when people bring it up and you think about it,” said senior defensive back Rex Helms, who tied the program’s single-season record with eight interceptions last season. “But I think it was kind of good. It gives our senior class kind of a way to grind, you know? Just seeing how close we came, but we came up short. I just think it was good for us.”Bay Port has opportunity for another trip to MadisonThe Pirates have been one of the best teams in the state in the two years since Jorgensen was promoted to head coach.He has led them to a combined 23-5 record while outscoring opponents by an average of 23 points a contest.Bay Port has been to the state title game in both of his seasons after