Wolverines earns #2 seed, open at home
By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
Waterford’s opponent in the first round of the WIAA Division 2 high school football playoffs attempted 19 passes this season.
The Wolverines and Milwaukee Reagan will square off tonight at 7 p.m. at Waterford Union High School.
Waterford beat Delavan-Darien 38-0 Oct. 12 at Delavan-Darien High School in Delavan in the final Southern Lakes Conference game of the season for both teams. The Wolverines finished the season as outright SLC champions at 7-0.
The Wolverines (8-1) earned the No. 2 seed in their eight-team postseason bracket.
Brookfield Central earned the No. 1 seed.
Central finished the season ranked third in Division 2 in the WisSports.net state poll. Waterford finished the season tied for 10th in the same poll.
Reagan is seeded seventh in their postseason bracket. The Huskies won the Blackbourn Division of the Milwaukee City Conference with a 6-0 record this season, and went 6-3 overall.
The winner between Reagan and Waterford will play either third-seeded Wilmot (7-2) or sixth-seeded Waukesha West (5-4) Oct. 26 at the field of the highest remaining seed.
If Waterford beats the Huskies the Wolverines will host another playoff game.
Wolverines coach Adam Bakken said the Huskies run double tight end sets with a lot of full-house backfields, which utilizes three running backs.
“Obviously, they’re one-dimensional,” Bakken said. “We’ve got to take that away. If we don’t, then it’s going to be a long night.”
Reagan’s season is one of routs. The Huskies played just one close game – an 8-6 win against Milwaukee Vincent Sept. 8. Reagan either won or lost by a considerable margin.
The Huskies’ three losses – 42-12 to Racine Lutheran Aug. 18, 42-6 to Milwaukee Riverside Sept. 13 and again to Riverside by a score of 42-0 on Oct. 12 – were by a margin of 36 points. Reagan’s margin of victory in its six wins was 35 points.
Waterford played a front-loaded schedule this season. The Wolverines faced the other three teams in the SLC that advanced to the playoffs – Badger, Wilmot and Burlington – in the first month of the conference season, and won each game.
Waterford finished the conference season with games against Elkhorn, Westosha Central, Union Grove and Delavan-Darien. Those four teams combined for six wins this season in SLC play.
Bakken said Waterford did not play well in the first half against Delavan-Darien, and said the game might have served as a wake-up call.
“I think the kids woke up at halftime,” Bakken said. “It was stressed that they can’t have that in a playoff game. If you do that, you’re going home.”
Waterford led the Comets 17-0 at halftime after two long touchdowns from Dominic Miller and a field goal.
Miller took the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown. Michael Durand kicked a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter, and Miller closed the half with a 60-yard scoring run.
“To come out in the second half and score two touchdowns right away was a good sign,” Bakken said. “Defensively, we played very well. We knew they (Delavan-Darien) were overmatched going into the game.”
Tanner Keller scored on a 13-yard run with 9:18 left in the third, and Miller scored on a 19-yard run later in the quarter.
Quarterback Joe Schauer found Miller for a 31-yard touchdown early in the fourth.
Waterford finished with 374 yards of total offense, which included 310 yards rushing.
The Wolverines limited Delavan-Darien to 35 yards of total offense – the Comets finished with three yards rushing.
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