Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin may be known as “The Great 8” as the National Hockey League’s all-time leading goal scorer, but for high school football in Wisconsin there’s still eight great teams left across seven divisions in the fight for state championships.
In this preview of state quarterfinal games, we take a look at five of the better matchups involving teams from the greater Milwaukee area, including three games from the Division 1 bracket. Also, there’s a local No. 8 seed that has the chance to do something only two other 8-seeds have done in the current format of the football playoffs.
Let’s take a look at the five games, starting at Franklin with a matchup between two state title game finalists in the last couple postseasons.
All games are Nov. 7 at 7 p.m.
Bay Port at Franklin
The right side of the D1 bracket is powerhouse central. The top half features a matchup we’ll get to here shortly, while the bottom half features the 2023 state runner-up against the 2024 state champion. Bay Port will return to the Milwaukee area after last week’s romp over Milwaukee Reagan to face the undefeated Sabers in what could be an awesome matchup between two well-coached programs. The Pirates are two victories away from having a chance to defend their title, while the Sabers are hoping to conclude coach Louis Brown’s tenure as head coach in Madison.
Franklin rode the best performance of running back Rob Beglinger’s career into the quarterfinals over Verona, but it may have come with a price. South Dakota State recruit Dominick Walters appeared to suffer a leg injury last week in the win and if he doesn’t return to the fold, that’s a massive loss for the Sabers defense. Walters is arguably the best safety in the state and his presence can’t be understated. He’ll be needed to help stop Pirates running back Brady Moon, who has been one of the best backs in the state this season. Moon has tallied 1,876 yards and 27 touchdowns on the ground this year, including 141 yards and three scores on just nine carries last week.
Lake Geneva Badger at Muskego
If you like well-coached, power football between two programs that know what their identity is and who they truly are, you’re going to love this matchup. 2023 Division 2 state champion Badger heads to Muskego to play last year’s D1 runner-up in what should be an incredible contest of similar, yet different styles. Badger runs a disciplined flexbone offense that nobody has had an answer for this year, thanks in large part to quarterback Matthew O’Grady. The Army recruit was the Southern Lakes Conference offensive player of the year and has tallied 1,749 yards and 26 touchdowns on the ground this season.
The Badgers have scored 31-plus points in every game of their 11-0 start and now face probably the best team they’ve seen all season in Muskego. The vaunted Wing-T offense has caused defensive coordinators nightmares for years under coach Ken Krause and the Warriors have their own conductor in Joey Shaw. The junior has thrown 13 touchdown passes with no interceptions this season, but it’s been the spread-the-wealth approach on offense that’s made them so tough. Four players have tallied at least 300 rushing yards, including big-play machine Jackson Niemiec (855 yards, 16 total touchdowns). In terms of matchups, it’ll be hard to find a better one than this contest.
Plymouth at Grafton
In terms of a high-profile matchup outside of D1, this one could turn into a basketball game on turf. Plymouth (11-0) heads to Grafton (11-0) for an excellent quarterfinal matchup with two offenses that can light up scoreboards. The Panthers have scored 38-plus points in seven contests this season, while the Black Hawks have scored at least 30 points in seven games this season, including 66 points in a 33-point win over Greenfield on Sept. 26. Both teams can really run the rock with a pair of 1,300-yard rushers featured in this one. Deven Miller has rushed for 1,437 yards and 25 touchdowns this season for Plymouth, while Jack Nelson has rushed for 1,334 yards and 19 scores for Grafton. It could be as simple as who can run the football the best in this matchup, but Nicholas Schiller could be the difference maker for Grafton. He’s completed 62.6% of his 174 passes this season for 1,655 yards, 27 touchdowns and just two picks. If leading receiver Tyler Deer (933 yards, 12 touchdowns) gets cooking with Schiller, it could be a long night for the Panthers defense.
Sussex Hamilton at Arrowhead
The hope for many was that these two powers would collide one more time after a thrilling 21-20 contest won by Arrowhead on Oct. 10. The rematch is officially here as the Chargers return to Hartland to face off with the top-seeded Warhawks for a spot in the state semifinals against the Waunakee-De Pere winner in the top portion of the bracket. The Chargers forced three turnovers and quarterback Cole Erdmann totaled 316 yards of offense with two rushing scores, but the Warhawks survived the first meeting thanks to three Chargers turnovers and a missed two-point try by Hamilton late in the fourth. Both programs probably had a feeling they’d see each other again and here we are. You could make a case these are two of the best programs in the area this season and we’re getting it for a sectional title game. Spoiled would be an understatement in what should be an awesome rematch. It’s about as evenly matched as you can get with these two excellent programs and another one-point game probably wouldn’t shock anyone.
Whitefish Bay at Martin Luther
So, here’s some numbers for you on how rare Whitefish Bay’s run as an 8-seed in Division 3 has been this postseason. Since 2012, the first year the WIAA started seeding all eight teams in a bracket section, only 10 8-seeds have won a playoff game. Only three of those 10 programs would go on to win a second playoff game. No. 8 Whitefish Bay could become the third team in the current playoff format to qualify for the state semifinals with a win over No. 3 Martin Luther, which pulled a bit of an upset last week on the road against high-flying Whitnall in the state’s highest-scoring contest of the week. It’s even more insane when you figure in the fact that Bay was one of the last teams in the D3 field and here it is two wins away from becoming the first 8-seed of the current era to make the state title game.
Don’t count out the Spartans, though. This team can put up some points as they showed last week and all season for that matter. They’ve scored 30-plus points in five contests this season, including a season-high 51 points last week. Martin Luther has won five of its last six and has a solid three-headed monster on offense that can pack a punch. The backfield duo of Drake DeMarb and Jakel McCollum-Mattox have each rushed for over 600 yards and five touchdowns. Leading receiver Jeremiah Valdez-Sholar has 21 more catches than his next closest teammate, 457 yards and six touchdowns. Does the magical ride continue for the “Cardiac Dukes” or does Martin Luther move one step closer to Madison and next week’s state semifinals for the first time since 2017?
WIAA high school football schedule for Friday, Nov. 7
Division 1
No. 7 De Pere (7-4) at No. 1 Waunakee (11-0), No. 2 Hamilton (9-2) at No. 1 Arrowhead (10-1), No. 2 Badger (11-0) at No. 1 Muskego (10-1), No. 3 Bay Port (9-2) at No. 1 Franklin (11-0)
Division 2
No. 3 Oshkosh North (10-1) at No. 1 River Falls (10-1), No. 2 Rice Lake (10-1) at No. 1 Notre Dame (11-0), No. 3 Union Grove (10-1) at No. 1 West De Pere (11-0), No. 2 Monona Grove (10-1) at No. 1 Homestead (11-0)
Division 3
No. 2 Plymouth (11-0) at No. 1 Grafton (11-0), No. 2 Mount Horeb/Barneveld (9-2) at No. 1 Catholic Memorial (10-1), No. 6 Pewaukee (6-5) at No. 4 Reedsburg (8-3), No. 8 Whitefish Bay (5-6) at No. 3 Martin Luther (8-3)
Division 4
No. 2 Baldwin-Woodville (11-0) vs. No. 1 Aquinas (11-0) at UW-La Crosse, No. 2 Freedom (10-1) at No. 1 Winneconne (11-0), No. 2 Mosinee (9-2) at No. 1 Columbus (10-1), No. 2 Little Chute (10-1) at No. 1 Racine St. Catherine’s (10-1)
Division 5
No. 2 Northwestern (11-0) at No. 1 Grantsburg (11-0), No. 2 Stratford (9-2) at No. 1 Tomahawk (10-1), No. 2 Amherst (10-1) at No. 1 Mayville (11-0), No. 3 New Glarus (10-1) at No. 1 Lake Country Lutheran (10-1)
Division 6
No. 2 Mondovi (10-1) at No. 1 Regis (11-0), No. 3 Bonduel (9-2) at No. 1 Edgar (11-0), No. 7 Belleville (7-4) at No. 1 Darlington (11-0), No. 2 Cedar Grove-Belgium (8-3) at No. 1 Manitowoc Lutheran (11-0)
Division 7
No. 2 Boyceville (10-0) at No. 1 Cochrane-Fountain City (11-0), No. 2 Hilbert (9-2) at No. 1 Lourdes Academy (11-0), No. 5 Cashton (8-3) at No. 3 Potosi/Cassville (10-1), No. 3 Coleman (9-2) at No. 1 Kenosha St. Joseph (11-0)
8-player
No. 2 McDonell Central Catholic (10-1) vs. No. 1 Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas (11-0) at Schofield D.C. Everest, No. 1 Oakfield (11-0) vs. No. 1 Gilman (11-0) at Waupaca
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: WIAA high school football playoff preview for the third round
