By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
Football weekend has certainly stirred up some emotions among area coaches, fans and players.
One coach mocked by prediction that his team would lose and then taunted my poor decision when his team won and I was wrong.
Players have blasted me on Twitter for not picking their team, and I have had to explain to some of them that’s it’s just a prediction. Someone has to win and someone has to lose.
I even played it super smooth once and said, “I didn’t want to jinx you guys by picking you to win” when I really thought they were going to lose anyway.
I’ve had a successful season of prognostication, but the simple stuff is over.
It’s the best time of the high school sports year in my opinion – football playoffs.
The weather is colder, anything can happen and players know that one wrong move or missed assignment can mean a tear-filled shower and turning in his equipment the following Monday.
So all bets are off, and several area teams will take stellar defenses into the postseason, something that’s essential to a long run.
Look at the 2011 Waterford Wolverines. A stifling defense that had about five future college players, and they made it all the way to the Division 2 title game.
Or what about the 2012 Badgers of Lake Geneva? Not only did they possess an explosive offense, but their hard-nosed, hit-you-in-the-mouth defense held teams like Kenosha Bradford and Franklin at bay.
Now, in 2013, killer defensive units at Wilmot and Waterford and standing out, but it’s offense that has Catholic Central riding high.
Perennial powerhouses like Big Foot and Badger use a steady mix of talent on both sides of the ball.
Playoff action starts Friday, and I can’t wait. I will be on the sidelines at Waterford Union High School. Make sure to holler at me and tweet me @mikeramczyk17 with your thoughts on the game. The best tweet will appear in the Burlington Standard Press, and you can be famous!
Let’s get on with it. Luckily, area football fans should have a couple weeks of playoff football ahead of them.
FOOTBALL WEEKEND
Last week: 4-1
Season: 41-17
(all games kick off at 7 p.m.)
(5) Catholic Central (5-4) at (4) Randolph (6-3), Division 4 playoff
The Toppers are coming off their most complete performance of the season, a 34-0 domination on the road at Greendale Martin Luther.
Randolph has won six straight games, but it plays in the Trailways, one of the weaker conferences in the state.
Any conference with metro Milwaukee teams is always going to have the upper hand. Catholic Central has a loss to state-ranked Lake Country Lutheran, and Randolph has fallen to state-ranked Fall River.
However, Catholic Central has too much talent to lose this game. Ben Heiligenthal is a stud quarterback as only a sophomore, and Tyler Burzawa, Cole Kresken, Jake Surges and company are major playmakers.
Heiligenthal has thrown for more than 1,000 yards, and Kresken has amassed 716 total yards and 10 touchdowns.
But Randolph counters with 5-foot-7, 160-pound speed demon running back Duke VanderGalien, who has racked up more than 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Expect a shootout, but the Toppers have too much firepower and can beat you in a variety of ways.
PREDICTION: Catholic Central 31, Randolph 28
(7) Greenfield (3-6) at (2) Waterford (7-2), Division 2 playoff
The Panthers got into the postseason by the hair of their chinny, chin chins.
At only 3-3 in conference, Greenfield was one of the final selections. But once you’re in, anything can happen. Greenfield limps into the playoffs on a three-game losing streak. In those contests, they were beaten handily by an average of 15 points per game.
Greenfield has the talent to score some points. Three backs have more than 400 rushing yards, and quarterback Jeremy Swider has thrown for 900 yards and seven touchdowns.
But the Wolverines are on a serious roll, with six straight victories, most of which were close ball games. So they know how to win close games, a common occurrence come playoff time.
Most importantly, they know how to shut down offenses. Take away last week’s 35-28 win over Delavan-Darien, a game where Waterford jumped out to a 28-7 lead, and the Wolverines have allowed a touchdown or less in four games. They allowed more than two touchdowns in only one game.
A big, tough, defensive line complements an athletic linebacking corps, and Waterford can rush the passer with the best of them and stuff the run.
Waterford, which shared the Southern Lakes Conference title, held co-champion Wilmot to zero, that’s right, zero points in a double-overtime victory.
The Panthers, who ran roughshod over the rest of the conference, were held to 82 total yards, including 32 on the ground on 27 carries.
When Waterford turns it up defensively, it can beat anyone. And the emergence of leading rusher Jake Bauer, who has 875 yards on the season and has ran for more than 110 yards in four straight games, makes the Wolverines a lethal weapon.
PREDICTION: Waterford 28, Greenfield 7
(5) Whitefish Bay (6-3) at (4) Wilmot (7-2), Division 2 playoff
While Waterford may be the area’s hottest team, Wilmot may be the squad with the most potential.
The Panthers are still learning the veer offense, but they keep improving each week.
Wilmot’s defense, which shut down the high-powered Badger offense and held Waterford to seven points, forces turnovers and stuffs the run.
Nose guard Zach Dodge is the best defensive lineman in the area, and he is one of the best in the state. He has 18 sacks and 23 tackles for loss. Those are video game numbers, people.
Couple that with an improving quarterback in Michael Lindeman, a progressing run game and talented backs in Albert Rogalski and Bennett Kothe, and the Panthers have the ingredients for a strong run.
The home-field advantage will help here, but a second-round matchup at Waukesha West will be daunting. However, Wilmot’s defense is that good, and it will keep them competitive in any game.
PREDICTION: Wilmot 23, Whitefish Bay 14
(6) Racine Horlick (4-5) at (3) Lake Geneva Badger (7-2), Division 1 playoff
If you’re a fan of high school football, you need to be at this game. It won’t disappoint.
Horlick is on some kind of hot streak. After Burlington upset them back in August, the Rebels wound up starting 0-4.
They have won four of their last five games, including an improbable victory over heavily favored Kenosha Indian Trail last week.
Ricky Neal, Jr., a 6-foot-2, 205-pound quarterback who has drawn interest from Wisconsin and Michigan State among others, has amassed more than 800 total yards and 13 total touchdowns in only six games. Neal is the real deal and has the potential to beat Badger by himself. He missed most of the second half in the loss to Burlington.
Badger is fresh off a Division 1 state semifinal appearance last season, its best showing in school history.
Badger’s offensive line, which mirrors that of Wisconsin in terms of size, pancakes defenders with ease.
Senior Andrew Allen is one of the best running backs in the state, with 1,025 yards and nine touchdowns. Quarterback Collin Broderick is also a running threat and has the ability to connect on deep passes behind the secondary.
Badger’s offense went off for 39 points last week, and the Southern Lakes Conference is just as good or better than Horlick’s conference, the Southeast.
Expect the Badgers to start another deep run Friday night.
PREDICTION: Lake Geneva Badger 35, Racine Horlick 24
(6) Elkhorn (5-4) at (3) Pewaukee (8-1), Division 3 playoff
It’s been a nice ride for the Elks, who are making their first playoff appearance since 2008.
But drawing the physical Owls in the first round is their worst nightmare.
The school that produced former NFL MVP J.J. Watt is always good, and this year is no exception. Pewaukee took the most physical team in the SLC, Waterford, and shut them out, 18-0, in Week 1.
Elkhorn is pumped after a 24-6 victory over Burlington last week clinched a playoff berth, but this won’t be pretty.
Ryan Stepanovich (1,152 rushing yards, 14 TDs) and Collin Sternad (908 rushing yards, 13 TDs) lead a Pewaukee team that will almost certainly contend for a Division 3 state championship.
Elkhorn counters with Braden Mann, who leads the team in rushing with 474 yards. Yup, there’s that big of a difference.
PREDICTION: Pewaukee 48, Elkhorn 7
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