Two weeks are down, and the fun, let’s-see-what-we-have games are behind us.
Play time’s over.
Conference seasons are starting across the state, and that means high school football is starting to get interesting.
Winning four of seven conference games guarantees a playoff spot, so the ramifications are colossal beginning Friday night.
So what did we learn from Week 2?
Well, after a big road win at Cudahy in Week 1, Elkhorn’s encore performance was a 28-7 drubbing of East Troy, which included a lightning delay that cut the game short in the third quarter.
For some reason, the Trojans had a scheduling conflict on Saturday and couldn’t return to finish the game. I’m sure the score had a little something to do with it.
I don’t blame East Troy for staying home. This Elkhorn defense is for real.
It took a top-notch catch and throw that was a almost a sack for the Trojans to even crack the scoreboard, and the Elks held a talented team like Cudahy to seven points.
Elkhorn had held each opponent to less than 150 yards.
Offensively, first-year quarterback Keaton Vanhoeven had lit it up with 204 yards rushing and two touchdowns, both of which came in Week 2.
With Westosha Central coming to town, expect the Elks to keep rolling.
Elkhorn hasn’t been the only area team on the rise.
In Week 2, Delavan-Darien and Union Grove also made their cases as the area’s best team so far with convincing victories.
The Comets beat up on the always-dominant Big Foot Chiefs thanks to 317 (255 pass) total yards from reigning conference player of the year Jesse Collins, who added three touchdown passes.
The Broncos are the biggest surprise in the area. After a 1-8 season under first-year head coach Jordan Hein in 2013, Union Grove beat up on both Evansville and Kenosha St. Joe’s.
The SLC co-champions, Lake Geneva Badger, Waterford and Wilmot, have some work to do.
Behind first-year quarterback Isaac Ziervogel, the Badgers have struggled to score points and lost by double digits to both West Allis Hale and Mukwonago.
While both teams are Division 1 powers, it is going to take time for Ziervogel and a new stable of backs to learn Matt Hensler’s intricate veer offense, which predicates itself on timing. Look for Badger to improve as the season goes on.
Defensively, Waterford is still the league’s top team. They’ve allowed only 13 points in two games, against quality opponents Pewaukee and Racine Case. However, the Wolverines have only put up 20 points, earning a 14-13 win and suffering a 7-6 loss to Case.
The Eagles’ only touchdown came on an interception return of a Dylan Malecki pass.
Despite the graduation of 1,000-yard rusher Jacob Bauer, Waterford has used a committee of backs to put up OK numbers. The Wolverines totaled 137 on the ground last week, and six players got carries.
Wilmot, with new running quarterback Bryce Kothe and first-year coach Erick Kaiser, are working to become a veer, or triple-option, stable like Badger.
In two weeks, the Panthers have handled New Berlin Eisenhower, but were blown out by Oak Creek, which is currently ranked No. 6 in Division 1.
The passing game has been nonexistent, but Wilmot put up 480 rushing, yes only rushing, yards in Week 1’s 24-14 win over Ike.
In other area action, Big Foot is a tad down this year but should make the playoffs. The Chiefs lost to Delavan last week for the first time in four years.
On the west end of Lake Geneva, Williams Bay has found success with dual-threat quarterback John Higgins and running back Michael Guss.
Though the Bulldogs were pounded by Division 7’s third-ranked team, Almond-Bancroft, last week, I fully expect the Bay to make its first playoff appearance since 2002.
PREDICTIONS
Last week: 7-3
Season: 14-6
(all games 7 p.m. Friday)
Lake Geneva Badger (0-2) at Waterford (1-1)
The grand-daddy of the conference, this game used to be at the end of the year and would often decide the conference champion.
Waterford is three-time defending SLC champ, and Badger was a co-champ last year and would’ve won in 2012 were it not for a last-minute Waterford touchdown.
These teams don’t like each other, just ask the coaches. According to sources, it’s a game Hensler prepares for all year.
Unfortunately for Badger, the Wolverines have an experienced senior quarterback, playmakers at wide receiver and serviceable backs.
With a low number of seniors, Lake Geneva is raw at most positions and is in jeopardy of losing its SLC stranglehold.
Waterford’s stout defense will smother Badger, and the Wolverines should only need a couple touchdowns to win it.
Look for Trace Hunsucker (218 total yards), Malecki and Johnny McCormick to break out for Waterford’s offense.
PREDICTION: Waterford 21, Lake Geneva 10
Burlington (0-2) at Union Grove (2-0)
Yes, it’s the Broncos’ home conference opener.
And yes, Union Grove is 2-0 and has already won games than all of last year.
But right now, Burlington’s offense is dominant, it’s defense has had some bad breaks and the Demons are desperate for a win.
Sure, the Broncos have beaten up on Division 3 teams like Evansville and St. Joe’s, but Burlington is a bona fide opponent full of athletes.
Brad Burling leads the area with 621 passing yards and six touchdowns, and he’s added nearly 200 on the ground.
Burlington’s two losses came to physical, athletic Division 1 opponents. The Broncos don’t have the speed of Racine Horlick or Case, and the Grove plays two first-year quarterbacks.
However, Travis Cadd has exploded for 300 yards rushing, good for 10 yards per carry. Also, Jameson Radke is a beast at wide receiver.
While Burlington has been a step slow defensively in two games, the Broncos should match up evenly in terms of athleticism.
The bounces finally start to go Burlington’s way.
PREDICTION: Burlington 28, Union Grove 24
Delavan-Darien (2-0) at Wilmot (1-1)
Just like everyone thought, Collins is shining bright in his senior season.
He has passed for more than 200 yards and rushed for 100 in each game, and the big, experienced Comets offensive line has opened holes for both Collins and Fabias Shipman (278 yards, four touchdowns).
Wilmot will be able to match Delavan’s power, and the Panthers should be able to run the ball.
However, Collins is probably the best player in the league, and the Comets should simply out-score the host Panthers.
PREDICTION: Delavan-Darien 33, Wilmot 24
Westosha Central (0-2) at Elkhorn (2-0)
The Falcons’ rebuilding process continued last week with a 33-9 loss against South Milwaukee.
After an 0-9 campaign in 2013, Westosha is still searching for an identity.
Verhoeven (204 yards rushing, two TDs) leads the Elks, and Jordan Barr (2 TDs) and Keenan Leahy (TD) have shown promise running the ball.
It has yet to be seen if the Elks are ready to contend with teams like Waterford, Badger or Wilmot, but they are certainly heading in the right direction.
The Elks defense has allowed a little less than 300 yards this season. Expect the swarming to continue.
PREDICTION: Elkhorn 24, Westosha Central 10
Shoreland Lutheran (1-1) at Catholic Central (1-1)
Erase last week’s Catholic Central score from your memory.
The Toppers’ 48-22 beating at the hands of Lake Country Lutheran was an aberration. Yes, the Lightning are better than Central, but Central’s best player, Cole Kresken, was knocked out early with a head injury and didn’t return.
Kresken, the team’s leading rusher and tackler, has been passing mandatory concussion tests this week and is expected back Friday.
Catholic Central quarterback Ben Heiligenthal has already passed for more than 300 yards, and Toppers pitched a 21-0 shutout at Whitewater to begin the season.
Central is ranked No. 4 in Division 7 in the Wissports.net Coaches poll.
Lutheran quarterback Jake Anderson has thrown for a respectable 276 yards, and the team has two backs with more than 100 yards.
But expect the Toppers to bounce back at the Topper Bowl.
PREDICTION: Catholic Central 30, Shoreland Lutheran 17
Other area predictions
Big Foot 42, Whitewater 14
Williams Bay 27, Cambria-Friesland 20
Waukesha West 31, Mukwonago 28
East Troy 35, Clinton 21
-
-
-
-
-