This weekend is the final Friday night before the state football tournament at Camp Randall Stadium, home of the Wisconsin Badgers, and two area teams have a chance to play on the state’s second-most popular field.
Lake Geneva Badger shocked the world, and Catholic Central took care of business, like usual, last weekend, in two extremely different games.
This Friday night, Badger and Catholic Central both figure to get serious challenges from mighty Waukesha West and undefeated Bangor, respectively.
Division 2’s showdown will feature West’s dynamic quarterback Connor Blount, who threw for five touchdowns last week, and running back Jair Scott, who will be a stiff challenge for Badger’s stingy defense.
West hasn’t seen an offense with the running ability of Badger, but the Badgers may have to pull out a few tricks, like they did against Waunakee, to prevail.
Catholic Central features All-Region players Cole Kresken and Trevor Meinholz, who lead a dominant rushing attack. Quarterback Ben Heiligenthal adds another dimension to the run game, but will need to make some throws downfield to keep Bangor off-balance.
Bangor has a 1,000-yard rusher and two 600-yard rushers, and the La Crosse-area school averages 44 points per game.
Both games should be classics, and both further solidify that this area is rich in football talent and is only getting stronger.
PREDICTIONS
Last week: 2-2
Season: 50-17
GAME OF THE WEEK
Lake Geneva Badger (10-2) vs. Waukesha West (10-2), Friday, 7 p.m., Kenosha Indian Trail High School
I was one of few people to pick the heavy underdog Badgers to win at No. 1 Waunakee, and it turns out my hunch was right.
This time, Badger turned the tables with a big passing effort, one many teams in the state didn’t know it had.
Tyler Vandevelde is a stud at running back, Mason Dumez and Isaac Ziervogel are lights out in the backfield as well, and Badger’s defense has held three playoff opponents to minimal offensive success.
Unfortunately, Badger hasn’t faced a team the caliber of Waukesha West.
West’s only losses were to Arrowhead and Catholic Memorial, two teams still playing in the state playoffs in their respective divisions.
It didn’t need any further validity, but the argument that the Classic 8, Waukesha West’s conference, is the best in the state has only been strengthened by the fact that it’s 11-2 in the playoffs.
Arrowhead, Catholic Memorial and West have the potential to give the conference three state champions, and Muskego just lost last weekend.
Quarterback Connor Blount was near perfect against Waterford with five touchdown passes.
Most importantly, any team that can beat Waterford 60-0 is scary good. Waterford is a really good football team, and an elite defense like that doesn’t give up 30 points, let alone 60.
West is bigger and stronger than Badger, and it features a top-notch passer and dynamic running back, Jair Scott, who has run for nearly 1,600 yards with 19 touchdowns.
Blount, a three-year starter, has passed for 1,271 yards with 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Also, Nick Daniels is an impressive receiver with 561 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
Lake Geneva Badger is an elite area program and has played in Division 1 the past five seasons until this year.
The Badgers have made it to Level 4 once before, in 2012, in Division 1, so this isn’t foreign territory.
Matt Hensler’s kids are fundamentally sound and grind it out with the best teams.
But West is special and has a burning desire to return to state, one year after losing in the Division 2 state championship.
A seesaw battle will turn in West’s favor in the fourth quarter.
PREDICTION: Waukesha West 31, Lake Geneva Badger 21
Catholic Central (12-0) vs. Bangor (12-0), Friday, 7 p.m., DeForest High School
A No. 1 seed from the top of the bracket, little Bangor High School sits roughly 10 minutes east of La Crosse on Interstate 94.
Just like Catholic Central, Bangor racks up points (44 per game to CC’s 40.7).
And just like the Toppers, Bangor piles up yards on ground, with 356 per game to CC’s 280.
Bangor dispatched its opponent, 32-8, with strong defense and a stout run game, just like Catholic Central did to Cambria-Friesland.
Bangor features an athletic quarterback, Kellen Kravik, who hasn’t thrown for many yards but has run for 11 touchdowns. Kravik was a pole vault state champion and has five interceptions.
Ben Heiligenthal is an athlete at QB for the Toppers, but the major difference is he has thrown for 1,159 yards with 13 touchdowns.
While Cole Kresken (1,665 rushing yards, 30 TDs) has the ability to run wild, Bangor’s defense should key on him. This means Heiligenthal could keep the ball or pass to deep threats Jacob Webley, Cole Pankau or Brandon Vandehei.
Bangor doesn’t need to rely on one running back, although senior Andrew Piske has amassed an astonishing 1,994 rushing yards with 37 touchdowns.
Bangor’s rushing machine is so fine-tuned that three other backs, Jack Reader, Luke Reader and Kravik, have rushed for more than 375 yards, with the Readers each surpassing 600.
Luke Reader, a 6-foot, 170-pound sophomore, ran for 115 yards and three touchdowns in Bangor’s last victory, so the ground game attacks from all angles.
With two elite rushing attacks and two stingy, athletic defenses, something must give Friday night.
My guess is it will be the Catholic Central passing game.
Expect Heiligenthal to air it out to Pankau downfield and check down to Kresken and Webley in the short game.
With such evenly-matched powerhouses, a big pass play or possibly a trick play will be the difference.
Two weeks ago, Cassville offered the Toppers their first test of the season.
While this will be more like a final exam, Catholic Central shows no signs that it will fail.
This will be a lot harder than the previous 12 games, and the double-digit blowouts are done. But the Toppers have everything they need to survive and advance.
PREDICTION: Catholic Central 28, Bangor 21
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