From the first day of training camp in August, teams think about this week.
Playoff week.
Seven whole days of pure bliss starting with Saturday’s release of the WIAA playoff brackets.
It’s the best time of year to be a high school sports fan, as the best teams in the area will duke it out for state supremacy.
Throw the regular season out of the picture. While past games may give us an idea as to who will beat who, we’re dealing with a different animal come this Friday night under the bright lights.
The screams will be louder. The crowds will be more massive. The margin of error is slim to none.
One mental lapse, one split-second mishap, one wrong decision could give a team nine long, brutal months to think about what might have been.
The playoffs are here, and I couldn’t be more excited for the city of Burlington, as it will host two playoff games on the same night for the first time in nearly 10 years.
Burlington (Division 2) and Catholic Central (D7) will have at least one week to enjoy home-field advantage, complete with cooperative crowds, familiar footing and the always-menacing 12th man.
Both the Topper Bowl and Don Dalton Stadium can get quite loud, and both will be rocking Friday night at 7 p.m.
Burlington, a No. 4 seed, will host No. 5 Wilmot in the marquee game of the week, a rematch of the squads’ Oct. 10 four-OT instant classic.
Central, a No. 3 seed, will host No. 6 Shullsburg, which will experience the joy of a two-hour bus ride.
Shullsburg is known for its cheese, and I’ve recently sampled some on my wife Erin’s award-winning salsa chicken burritos. But all the cheese in the world probably won’t console the Miners on their long bus ride home.
The Toppers should roll, and it will get ugly, mark my words.
As for Burlington-Wilmot, it really could go either way but I give the Demons an advantage playing at home.
At the snap, it will be easier to make audibles and communicate before the snap, and that’s where all-World quarterback Brad Burling thrives.
Wilmot doesn’t have enough versatility on offense to out-gun Burlington.
Volleyball girls state-bound?
Both the Burlington and Catholic Central volleyball squads open WIAA postseason play this week.
The Demons’ Division 1 is much weaker than in years past, with Westosha Central having a down year for them and no real threat from the Kenosha or Janesville schools.
Burlington is 39-3 and ranked No. 2 in the state in Division 1.
No other team the Demons may play before state is ranked.
So to be frank, it’s not a matter of making state, it’s whether they’ll win it all for the third time in four years.
DSHA (No. 1 team in D1) and Brookfield East (No. 4) will pose the biggest challenges on paper, but in a high-stakes venue like the Resch Center, don’t be surprised if a team from the north gives the Demons a run.
A mystery opponent combined with the nerves of a state tournament are recipes for disaster.
However, Burlington is tough both physically and mentally. The Demons are at least 15 players deep and they’ve beaten every top team, including DSHA, Catholic Memorial (No. 1, D2), Mukwonago (No. 3, D1) and Muskego (No. 4, D1).
The hot hitting of Quinn Spieker, versatility of Ali Rueter, defensive prowess of Teagan Taylor, net presence of Phoebe Hozeska and passing precision of Reba Thomsen are way too much to handle for most teams.
It’s a very good time to be a Demon volleyball fan, and I hope to see you in Green Bay.
As for the Lady Toppers, they only received a No. 2 seed in Division 4 and must knock off D4’s No. 2-ranked team, Hilbert.
But Catholic Central is built for this. The Lady Toppers have won state titles, and they are ranked No. 5 in D4 this season.
Despite an overall record of 13-15, Catholic Central boasts quality wins over Division 1 teams like Badger, Brookfield East and Kenosha Bradford, along with Division 3 perennial power Big Foot.
Abby Tweet, Monica Litman and Tori Kempken provide senior leadership for a team that advanced to the sectional semifinals last season.
Olivia Sobbe and Kailey Kiekhafer are hitting the ball with purpose, and Sarah Gould is distributing the ball with ease.
Central lost in the sectional final last year, as did Burlington, but the girls are a year stronger and wiser.
Expect another sectional title appearance at least.
PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
Last week: 7-3
Season: 65-29
GAME OF THE WEEK
Wilmot (6-3, 5-2 SLC) at Burlington (5-4, 5-2), Division 2 Level 1 playoff
The festivities will be off the chain, as the kids say, for this rematch.
A pre-game tailgate party with the finest meats and cheeses in all of the land will fill a packed house before a game that could go to five overtimes this time.
Wilmot took care of business by uprooting Westosha Central last week and is most likely chomping at the bit to face the Demons again.
“Preparing all week (will be the key),” Wilmot coach Erick Kaiser said. “We need to get a little better every day. We’re hoping for another entertaining game Friday night.”
They say revenge is the sweetest joy. Revenge is sitting there on a silver platter for the Panthers Friday night. After losing Homecoming in a four-OT thriller, what better way to get back at the Demons than to beat them on their home turf to end their season.
Not so fast.
Burlington may be 1-4 at home this season, and Wil-mot is a perfect 4-0 on the road, but the Panthers have difficulty stopping the pass.
The Demons will throw early and often, and that playoff home-field ad-vantage could help make things difficult on Wilmot.
In the end, the Panthers will have to run the ball effectively to beat Burlington. And they will.
But the only reason Bur-lington lost to Elkhorn and isn’t the sole SLC champ is its own mistakes.
Burlington committed two turnovers: an interception that led to points and a fum-ble to lose the game.
The Demons will play a clean game in the school’s first home playoff game since 2006.
PREDICTION: Burlington 35, Wilmot 21
Waterford (6-3, 5-2) at South Milwaukee (8-1, 5-1), Division 2 Level 1 playoff
OK, so the Wolverines have won four straight SLC titles now and are coming off a Level playoff appearance.
No big deal, right? The past is the past?
Wrong.
Waterford’s impressive playoff experience, especially that of coach Adam Bakken, is what gives them the advantage in this game.
The Wolverines advanced to the Division 2 championship game in 2011 and Level 3 in 2013, knocking off South Milwaukee last year in the process.
Sure, the Rockets are better than last year, but Bakken’s defensive genius is simply unmatched. It’s not even close, either.
South Milwaukee’s big stud is running back Ian Pribyl, who has rushed for 1,311 yards and 20 touchdowns.
The Rockets can burst in the air as well. Quarterback Justin Oliden has a staggering completion percentage (64.4) and has tossed 21 scores with only seven interceptions. He has thrown for 1,611 yards, nearly 200 per contest.
Also, receiver Mitchell Dess has 51 catches for 964 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The Wolverines have played like world beaters since a wake-up call loss at home to Burlington. Waterford has won its last four games by an average score of 25-10. They are making solid teams (Elkhorn, Delavan-Darien) look like JV squads.
The running-back-by-committee approach is starting to work well, and quarterback Dylan Malecki has also stepped up his game. He’s now over 1,000 yards passing for the season.
Expect the Waterford defense to keep it close and playmakers like Johnny McCormick and Malecki to come through in the clutch.
Bakken is the kryptonite for a big-play offense with multiple weapons.
PREDICTION: Waterford 21, South Milwaukee 14
(5) Lake Geneva Badger (4-5) at (4) Kenosha Indian Trail (6-3), Division 1 Level 1 playoff
Yes, the Badgers are young, with only 10 seniors and a lack of offensive weapons.
But don’t underestimate the physicality of a Lake Geneva offensive line. The Southern Lakes is a brutal league top to bottom, and I’m not sure if Indian Trail sees the same caliber of smash-mouth football on a weekly basis.
Indian Trail is solid. Lane Ochs has passed for 1,232 yards, and two backs, Ochs and Cameron Bishop, have run for more than 600 yards.
The Hawks like to throw the ball, but they can also run it.
Badger is coming off a double-digit win against Union Grove and will be playing with nothing to lose as the underdog.
Lake Geneva runs for 229 yards per contest, about 40 more than Trail. However, the Hawks pass for many more yards.
Badger junior quarterback Isaac Ziervogel has big-play ability, and if the Badgers can limit big plays, they should be able to move the rock in the run game.
I’m riding the upset train.
PREDICTION: Lake Geneva Badger 29, Indian Trail 26
Reedsburg (6-3) at Elkhorn (7-2), Division 3 Level 1 playoff
These teams are spitting images of each other.
Each has a Dylan Peterson (leading rusher for Reedsburg, QB for Elkhorn) and both run all the time.
Reedsburg runs for 279 yards per game, and the Elks carry for 237.
Reedsburg’s conference is stronger, as conference leaders DeForest (No. 10, D2) and Mount Horeb (No. 6, D3) are both ranked.
None of Elkhorn’s opponents are ranked, but they play bigger schools the entire season.
Reedsburg will not match the sheer size of the Elks.
Expect Keenan Leahy, Keaton Verhoeven and the best and biggest offensive line in the area to out-muscle Reedsburg.
The home-field advantage won’t hurt, and don’t be surprised if there’s an upset here. Reedsburg beat DeForest and lost by only three to Mt. Horeb.
PREDICTION: Elkhorn 23, Reedsburg 20
Other area picks
Catholic Central 34, Shullsburg 17
Mukwonago 34, Hartford 24
Muskego 35, Manitowoc Lincoln 21
Franklin 38, Kenosha Bradford 14
Big Foot 30, Jefferson 29
Waukesha West 27, Greenfield 19
Greendale 45, Bradley Tech 0
Williams Bay 33, Potosi 26
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