There are only 56 high school football teams left in the state of Wisconsin that will be playing Friday or Saturday night.
Catholic Central, Waterford and Lake Geneva Badger are three of them, and Waterford and Badger represent two of the final eight teams in Division 2.
For as little respect as the Toppers and Wolverines received in their respective seeding meetings (CC inexplicably not getting a 1 seed, Waterford almost receiving a 4), the two teams along with Badger are showing that the tri-county area of western Racine/western Kenosha and eastern Walworth counties can play some football.
The Southern Lakes Conference had five teams make it to the postseason, and three of them made the round of 16.
Also, Catholic Central is showing that the legitimate larger schools it plays from the greater Milwaukee area are good, and the Toppers are in a league by themselves this season.
Even though Cassville showed glimpses of talent and passing ability Friday night, it was impressive how the Toppers could just turn up the intensity and run away with the game.
On Friday night, the Toppers, Wolverines and Badgers will all see what they’re made of. All three face No. 1 seeds, teams ranked in the state’s top 10 in their respective divisions.
Catholic Central faces sixth-ranked Cambria-Friesland, Badger takes on No. 1 Waunakee and Waterford travels to the thorn in its side the past three seasons, Waukesha West.
Though the Toppers have the best chance at an upset, it’s exciting to know that all three area teams have a decent chance to knock off these powerhouse teams.
As little as five years ago in the SLC, that would not have been the case.
Luckily, the Lakes evolved to a point where its best teams can compete and defeat the best teams from the Milwaukee and Madison areas.
When Burlington left in 1997 to experiment in the Southeast Conference, the SLC was weak, and that’s being nice.
But since the Demons returned in 2009, programs like Lake Geneva, Waterford and Wilmot have become elite, and Delavan, Elkhorn, Delavan and the Grove continue to get bigger and stronger.
Waunakee, which has won five state titles in the past 25 years, and Waukesha West, which won state in 2004 and 2010, and was D2 runner-up last year, are elite teams that should knock off Waterford and Badger, especially since they’re getting home games.
That’s something the WIAA must consider changing. The No. 1 seed is afforded the luxury of three home games, then all they have to do is play at a neutral site in the game before state.
This weekend’s games, Level 3, should be at neutral sites for competition fairness.
Catholic Central and Cambria-Friesland could play at UW-Whitewater, since Cambria is an hour north of Madison.
Waterford and Waukesha West could play at Mukwonago, a 20-minute drive from both Waukesha and Wateford.
And Badger and Waunakee could play in maybe Janesville or also Whitewater.
There is no reason the undefeated Toppers should be punished for the perfect, dominant season and conference title by having to travel more than two hours for a state quarterfinal.
On Friday, I’m making my way up to Cambria for the Catholic Central-Cambria-Friesland Level 3 showdown, sports correspondent Chris Bennett will be in Waukesha covering Waterford-West and news editor Heather Ruenz will be in Waunakee for Badger-Waunakee.
FOLLOW all the action LIVE on Twitter @mikeramczyk17, @PrepsReport and @HeatherRuenz.
Hopefully, our three teams can advance. If they do, Waterford and Badger will play on a neutral field for the right to go to state.
That rivalry would be taken to new heights.
Pray for the Green Bay Packers to wake up and play better Sunday against undefeated Carolina, and get out to a playoff game or state volleyball this weekend.
PREDICTIONS
Last week: 4-0
Season: 48-15
(all games Friday 7 p.m.)
GAME OF THE WEEK
(3) Waterford (10-1) at (1) Waukesha West (9-2)
This one is going to be must-see.
In each of the last three postseasons, the Wolverines of West have beaten the Wolverines of Waterford, 14-12 in 2012, 27-7 in 2013 and 20-14 in 2014.
Call it the X-Men Bowl or the Wolverines’ Feeding Fest, no matter the name, these teams respect and know each other very well.
West features runnin back Jair Scott, who has amassed 1,466 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, along quarterback Conor Blount.
Blount, a 6-foot-2, 192-pound senior and three-year starter, has thrown for 1,091 yards and 11 touchdowns, good for a 115.4 rating.
Both teams run for around 230 yards per game, but West passes for roughly 20 more yards per contest.
Much like Waterford’s talented pass-catcher Johnny McCormick, West’s Nick Daniels is a major threat on the outside (20 catches, 517 yards, 7 TD).
Look for Dyln Ross to be an X-factor for the Waterford offense, and Ben Michalowski, Jared Krattiger and several other running backs will offer different looks on offense.
The bigger, stronger West Wolverines bullied Wilmot, 28-0, last week, and Waterford had its struggles with Wilmot.
I’ve heard rumblings that West can be beaten and is more vulnerable than in previous years, but you don’t get to nine straight postseasons and win two state titles if you can’t win home playoff games.
Strength of opponent and home-field advantage should send Waterford home.
I know the law of averages says Waterford has to beat West at some point, but the task seems too daunting again this year.
JR Radcliffe, sports director of NOW Newspapers, had this to say about West. He covers Waukesha West, and he witnessed the team’s thrashing of Wilmot in person:
“If I were a betting man, I’d put all my money on Waukesha West. I think they’re a special team that will beat Waunakee and reach the D2 state title game. They have size (both in numbers and definitely in physical size) and quality skill kids to boot.
Their line, per usual, can be dominant. Sam Heckel is a Division 1 recruit (Syracuse), and coach Steve Rux, who has two state titles and a host of league titles under his belt, is the offensive line coach as well, so he always has a skilled unit up front. Running back Jair Scott, who gashed Wilmot for 200 yards (especially strong in the second half, after Wilmot started to wear down against West’s front), has been strong all year. I had him for 45 yards and a fumble in the first half.
West’s defense has now delivered back-to-back shutouts and has allowed only six points in the past three weeks. Friday was a very strong game for them, with Wilmot gaining only 36 yards in the first half after going bananas against Greendale the week before. West has a playmaker at every level on D.
Only losses came to Arrowhead — when Arrowhead was playing really well — and Catholic Memorial (34-20), which also has a great offensive line and could very well get to a state title game this year in D3. The Wolverines beat Classic 8 co-champ Muskego and a strong Carmel Catholic team from Illinois earlier in the year.
Conor Blount has been the starting quarterback for three years. He reached Level 4 as a sophomore, the state game as a junior and has added a running element to his game later in his career. He threw three touchdowns in the Level 4 win last year over Waunakee, two to Nick Daniels and one to Tyler Remmers (who are both still here).
Nick Daniels and tight end Zach Zimmer are strong receiving threats, but this isn’t a team that’s going to flash much in the passing game.
Peter MacCudden, a sophomore, is the most dangerous man on the field. He was a starter last year as a freshman and made plays all the way through the D2 title game. He runs the ball and also flies to the football on defense. He’s going to be a major college contributor, probably as a fullback if I had to guess, and he’s one of the more gifted players Rux has had, comparable to Joe Schobert, who currently plays linebacker for the Wisconsin Badgers.
Remmers is also a two-way player at times who had a highlight-reel interception against Wilmot. He’s also the team’s kicking specialist. This is not a team afraid to have players on both sides of the ball — Rux puts his best athletes on the field. Though obviously because of the team size, he doesn’t have to rely on that.”
The task is daunting, to say the least. But Southern Lakes Newspapers reporter Chris Bennett, who covers Waterford, said Waterford will pull off the upset tonight.
No matter the outcome, Waterford will have to play flawless football or get lucky with turnovers to have a chance to knock off mighty West in its backyard.
PREDICTION: Waukesha West 24, Waterford 20
(2) Catholic Central (11-0) at (1) Cambria-Friesland (11-0)
The Toppers are hungrier than ever, and as coach Tom Aldrich pointed out after Friday’s victory, we’re going to see who the real No. 1 seed is Friday night.
Here’s a hint: it rhymes with Bill Poppers.
That’s right, the Hilltoppers of Catholic Central (Cambria is also the Hilltoppers) have beaten 11 straight opponents by double digits, and they probably have the best quarterback-running back duo among smaller schools in the state.
Ben Heiligenthal again proved he can run as well as he can pass Friday night, and Cole Kresken increased his season totals to 1,520 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns.
Catholic Central is averaging nearly 400 yards per game and 40 points, and Cambria’s leading rusher has 800 yards.
The other Hilltoppers have a quarterback who has passed for 600 yards and six touchdowns, with three picks.
Cambria beat Potosi, 24-22, last weekend. Potosi beat the Toppers in the playoffs last year and is ranked No. 8 in Division 7.
Kenosha St. Joseph, a team ranked No. 8 in Division 5, got trounced by Catholic Central.
Again, the bigger, badder dog will eat, and the battle of the Hilltoppers will go to Catholic Central.
The Burlington have something to prove, and Cambria is in for a rude awakening.
PREDICTION: Catholic Central 45, Cambria-Friesland 21
Lake Geneva Badger (9-2) at Waunakee (11-0)
The Badgers of Lake Geneva are rolling, with two blowout victories to open the WIAA playoffs over Madison-area squads Oregon and Watertown.
Tonight, the competition level goes from 10 to 1,000.
Lake Geneva must take to the road to face Waunakee, the No. 1-ranked team in the state in Division 2.
Badger senior Tyler Vandevelde ran for another 200 yards in last week’s win, and the Badgers racked up nearly 400 rushing yards.
But Waunakee will be a different animal.
Here’s a game preview from Art Kabelowsky of madison.com:
“Coach Pat Rice’s Warriors have steamrolled every obstacle in their path so far, getting better as they go. An example: Waunakee battled for a 17-12 victory over DeForest in Week 7, but blasted the Norskies 31-7 last week despite losing its leading running back and a starting linebacker to season-ending suspensions. Aside from the first DeForest game, no team has come within 17 points of the Warriors, whose average final score has been 37-8.
Senior Hunter Schoepp and sophomore Javian Dayne have stepped up to fill the gap in the backfield, and senior Casey Marksberry has been a solid performer. Senior guard Mason Ripp and junior tackle Blake Smithback are all-Badger North Conference linemen, with Smithback named conference lineman of the year. Also on offense, junior Tyler Mais was a first-team pick at receiver, and senior tight end Sam Kalscheur was a first-team pick.
Defensively, senior end Sam Decorah was named conference defensive lineman of the year, and senior lineman Alex Hansen, senior linebacker Troy Ziegler, junior defensive back Mais and senior defensive back Varebrook were first-team picks.
Lake Geneva Badger has won five straight, including convincing playoff victories over Watertown (35-9) and Oregon (42-14) to send the Badgers to the quarterfinal round for only the third time in school history.
Coach Matt Hensler’s Badgers are led by senior running back Tyler VanDeVelde (1,420 yards, 15 TDs; including 202 yards and four TDs against Oregon) and junior quarterback Mason DuMez (293 yards passing, 621 yards rushing). The Badgers’ defense forced three turnovers against Oregon, stiffening after allowing a 75-yard touchdown pass on the Panthers’ first play from scrimmage.”
Yes, Waunakee sounds like it will roll at home, but not so fast.
Vandevelde was named the Southern Lakes Conference offensive player of the year, and his year wouldn’t be possible without first team all-SLC linemen Nick Halpin and Josh Meier.
Defensive lineman Logan Mitchell and linebacker Mick Borchert also landed on the first team.
Though Waunakee has dominated opponents all season, it simply hasn’t seen a fine-tuned machine of a running game like Badger’s.
The biggest team in Division 2 finally isn’t playing in D1 this year, and the Badgers are out to prove themselves as a state power.
PREDICTION: Lake Geneva Badger 28, Waunakee 21
Other area predictions
Muskego 20, Franklin 17
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