Wisconsin High School Football

Playoffs Make or Break

2008-10-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

So aside from all of the big games for conference championships, there are a number of games to watch tonight that have huge playoff implications for one or both teams, and whether they make the field of 224. My predictions have been posted, although I have obsessively been reviewing them since I posted them.

First, let me tell you that there are 191 teams that are in like Flynn. Even if they lose tonight or tomorrow, they still make the field.

Next, there are 17 more teams that are heavily favored to win this week, and if they do so, they will be in. For those of you scoring at home, that means 208 teams have now made the field. That leaves 16 spots for 39 teams that have a realistic chance of making it.

In order to get in, a team is going to have to have a .500 or better conference record. Assuming that there will be more than 16 of those remaining 39 teams that fit this category, we will next try to round out the field with teams that are .500 or better overall. This may be the cut off, and as such, we will look at games where those implications loom the most.

So what are the games to watch tonight and why? Let’s get started!

Wisconsin Dells (2-2, 6-2) @ Mauston (2-2,4-4)
This one is easy. The winner is in, the loser stays home. BIG GAME for both teams, obviously. Mauston is coming off back to back losses to Wautoma and Nekoosa. Wisconsin Dells was crushed last week by Wautoma and held scoreless on offense. It would be a shame if a 6-3 overall team missed the playoffs, but that’s the WIAA.

Belleville/Albany (2-2,2-6) @ New Glarus/Monticello (2-2,4-4)
New Glarus is at home, and has been the stronger of the two teams all year. Both teams have conference losses to Marshall and Cambridge, however, Belleville/Albany has lost to them the last two weeks only scoring a total of 8 points in both games. Whatever team wins is in.

Madison Edgewood (3-2,4-4)@ Stoughton (2-3,4-4)
This one is a classic. Edgewood missed an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth last week losing to Monona Grove 30-24. If they lose this week, they will have a .500 conference record, but they will have a losing overall record, and will put them squarely on the bubble. Five of their eight games have been decided by 7 points or less this season. Stoughton must win and they are in. This is the fourth straight week that they have been “win and in”, but losses to Milton, Monona Grove, and Monroe finds them now in “do or die”.

Tomah (3-3,4-4) @ Greenfield (3-3,4-4)
Who would have thought that this evenly matched non-conference game could be a win and in, lose and out game for BOTH teams. Both teams will finish at .500 in their conference, but the loser will have that overall losing record that will put them on the bubble. Greenfield is coming off a terrible loss to a 1-5 New Berlin West team that would have clinched a playoff spot for them. Now, the road is tough as Tomah has quality wins over Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau (6-2),
La Crosse Central (5-3) and crushed rival Sparta last week 51-26.

Melrose-Mindoro (3-3,4-4) @ Cochrane-Fountain City (3-3,5-3)
Guess what….winner in, loser out. CFC missed two opportunities in the last two weeks to clinch a playoff berth with losses to Blair-Taylor and Independence/Gilman, the latter a two point loss 19-17 last week. Melrose-Mindoro are riding momentum as they have won their past two games against Independence/Gilman 27-7, and Lincoln 35-19. Advantage Melrose-Mindoro.

Medford (3-3,3-5) @ Seymour (3-3,4-4)
Another non-conference matchup in the final game has playoff implications. Both teams will finish .500 in their conference. Seymour can clinch a spot with a victory against Medford that will give them a winning overall record. Medford is a team that has lost their last three games by an average of 5.6 points, and must win to keep their hopes alive, and get on the bubble.

New Auburn (3-3,3-4) @ Lake Holcombe (3-3,3-5)
Winner in, loser out. New Auburn has won their last two games against Prairie Farm and Cornell to give them this chance. Lake Holcombe is on the other side of that coin, having lost it’s last two games, albeit to the top two teams in the Lakeland South conference Plum City (6-0,8-0) and Pepin (5-1,6-2). Lake Holcombe is at home, and is the better team.
Other close games where one team must win to get in include:

Fox Valley Lutheran (4-4,4-4) @ Winneconne (3-5, 3-5)
FVL is win and in, lose and they are a bubble team.

New Richmond (3-3,3-5) @ Amery (2-4,3-5)
It is win and in, lost and out for New Richmond.

Campbellsport (3-3,3-5) @ Sheboygan Falls (2-4,4-4)
It is win and in, lost and out for Campbellsport.

Kettle Moraine (3-3,4-4) @ Mukwonago (4-2,4-4)
It is win and in, lost and out for Kettle Moraine, but it will be a tough one on the road. They have a chance to pull the mild upset here.

Onalaska (2-3,5-3) @ La Crosse Central (3-2,5-3)
Onalaska has to go on the road and face La Crosse Central, but it is a winnable game for them. They win, they are in.

Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln (3-2,3-5) @ Marshfield (3-2,5-3)
Although over .500 in the conference right now, if Lincoln loses this game, they will end up at .500, but would likely be out based on their 3-6 overall record. Marshfield stays in even if they lose this game.

Maranatha Baptist (3-2,4-4) @ Rockford Christian (3-2,6-2)
Baptist faces an uphill challenge here on the road, and would likely be out if they lost.

It should be a very exciting Wednesday and Thursday across the state of Wisconsin. If your team wins tonight, be happy and joyful, but don’t forget that there are a lot of Seniors playing their last football game tonight. Appreciate them for what they have accomplished as student athletes through their careers, and wish them well in their lives.

GAME RECAP: Pewaukee Edges NB Eisenhower

2008-10-20T06:18:00.001-07:00

Pewaukee drove 78 yards in 8 minutes 24 seconds at the end of the fourth quarter to give Donny Cramer a chance to win the game. Cramer, who missed an extra point in the first quarter, converted on a 25 yard field goal as time expired to lift the Pirates to a 24-21 victory over New Berlin Eisenhower, clinching at least a tie for the Woodland Conference Championship.

Eisenhower stormed back from a 21-7 deficit midway through the third quarter and scored touchdowns on two consecutive drives. A perfectly executed stop and go route with 8:26 left in the fourth quarter resulted in a 19 yard touchdown pass from Lion's backup quarterback Brian York to Ian McKechnie that tied the score 21-21 and set up Pewaukee's game winning drive.

Starting at their own 20 yard line, Pewaukee ate up the rest of the clock before Cramer kicked the winning field goal. On the drive, Kenny Mischker converted on three third downs. The Pirates were also the beneficiaries of a questionable pass interference call that moved them inside Lion's territory.

A.J. Coley ran off right tackle on 4^th and 2 at the 11 yard line with 1 minute remaining in the game to put the Pirates in position to win with a first and goal at the 3 yard line. The Lions defense did not break, and forced the field goal attempt on 4^th and goal with just 2 seconds remaining.

Both teams played well, with neither team committing a turnover the entire game. After the Lions jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on a 2 yard TD run by Mike Lyles, Pewaukee reeled off 21 unanswered points. Andrew Kissner started the scoring with a 26 yard touchdown reception from QB Patrick Bacon with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter. Pewaukee followed that up with second and third quarter drives that were culminated by touchdown runs of 6 and 9 yards by Mischker and Coley respectively.

Eisenhower starting QB Niko Koshak left the game near the end of the third quarter with an apparent shoulder injury and was replaced by Brian York, a 6'3", 170 lb. Junior. In a tough situation, York failed to capitalize on a first and goal situation by missing a wide open Kevin Marr in the end zone to finish the half without points. The decision not to kick the field goal ultimately cost them an opportunity at overtime.

After a three and out series to open the second half, however, York began to heat up. Eisenhower successfully mixed the running of Tyler Faber and Lyles, and the connection of York to McKechnie to get back into the game.

The Pirates can clinch the Woodland Conference Championship with a victory on Wednesday against St. Francis.

After beating Greendale last week to set up this game between conference unbeatens, Eisenhower will likely have to settle for second place if they can win next week against Brown Deer.

The Lions hope to get QB Koshak back in time for the playoffs, where they will need every bit of their powerful offense to compete in Division 3 this year.

Playoff Bracket Projections As of Week 7

2008-10-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

With the WIAA state playoffs fast approaching, it is time to start thinking about the big dance, and our local fall bracketology!!! With only 2 games remaining for most teams in the state, and Round 1 of the Playoffs only 12 days away (playoffs start on Tuesday, October 28), we can realistically start to project who is in, who is out, and who is a bubble team.

But wait, we've gone one step further. On this site in the left pane, you will find links to projected brackets for all seven divisioins in the WIAA. Again, these are only projections. I welcome any comments that you may have. I have adjusted these during the week, and after Week 8, I'll have updates posted by Monday at the latest, so that going into Week 9 next Wednesday, you'll know who has to win to get in, and who will be staying home for November.

The link after the brackets will give you access to the spreadsheet that I compiled and used to create my projections. We know who has qualified, but based on current records and remaining schedules.

Currently, 300 teams remain eligible for the postseason with only 224 spots available. If you look at the spreadsheet, however, you will see that there are:

151 teams that have clinched a playoff spot

34 teams that are a sure thing, meaning they need 1 win, and have a favorable schedule

31 more teams are solid bets, meaning if they win the game(s) they are supposed to, they're in

24 teams are on the bubble. They may need help.

That totals 240 for 224 spots. AND.....there are 60 teams that are still "mathmatically alive", but don't have a real shot to make it unless they pull major upsets two weeks in a row.

Have fun with this. If you have questions, feel free to email me at obie1250@gmail.com

Brookfield Central dominates Menomonee Falls

2008-10-10T21:09:00.000-07:00

Brookfield Central played their best football of the year coming off last week’s hard fought loss at home to Marquette. The Lancer offense rolled up 439 total yards in a convincing 42-7 victory to spoil the Menomonee Falls Indians homecoming.

The Indians got off to a fast start running the opening kickoff back to the 46 yard line of Brookfield Central. 7 plays later, QB Max Poeske punched it in from 2 yards out to take an early 7-0 lead. But the Lancers came right back with a 7 play 76 yard drive capped by a 39 yard touchdown run by Jeff Lewis.

After Menomonee Falls went three and out, Brookfield Central took the lead for good on an 18 yard touchdown pass from QB Tommy Braaten to standout wide receiver Tim Nass capping a quick 3 play 55 yard drive.

After giving up 46 yards and a touchdown on the initial drive of the game, the BC defense would surrender only 89 more yards the rest of the way. “We just had to relax and settle in. Once our kids settled in on defense we were just fine” said Coach Doug Lange.

To open the second half, Brookfield Central ate up almost 6 minutes driving from their own 24 to the Indians 8 yard line, but turned the ball over on downs after two costly holding penalties pushed them out of field goal range. The defense began a second half domination of Menomonee Falls by forcing a three and out and immediately getting the ball back to the offense. Those would be the only 3 plays that Menomonee Falls would run in the 3rd quarter, as BC marched down the field to take a 28-7 lead on a 3 yard touchdown run by Lewis.

Although the Lancer offense has struggled at times this year, and only scored 6 points last week against Marquette, they controlled the ball throughout the game and kept the Indians offense off the field.

“Tommy Braaten had the best game of his career” said Coach Lange. “Our kids are just getting better and better, the offensive line is getting better and better. Those kids are bringing it.”.

With Marquette losing to West Allis Hale, the Lancers held serve and are now tied with Marquette a game back of Hale, keeping their Greater Metro Conference title hopes alive. They have a huge matchup in the final game of the season when they travel to West Allis Hale in what will most certainly be their chance to clinch at least a tie for the conference championship.

For Menomonee Falls, they are fighting for their playoff lives, needing to win both of their remaining games to qualify for the WIAA playoffs. In a game they should win, they play at West Allis Central next week. If they get past that game, their playoff hopes will rest on their ability to pull a major upset at home against Marquette.

Click the play button to listen to the post game interview with Coach Doug Lange

Discuss this on the WHSF Forum

Playoff Preview: Heading into Week 7

2008-10-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of intriguing matchups heading into week 7. Eisenhower and Greendale has my attention, unfortunately, I won’t be able to go to that game. But, I am going to a game with big playoff implications. Brookfield Central needs one victory to clinch a playoff spot. They travel to Menomonee Falls who needs two victories in their next three games to qualify, and with BC and Marquette on the schedule, this appears to be a long shot.

How does it break down for the Milwaukee Area teams trying to get into the playoffs? Let’s first take a look at those that are IN (YAHOO), and those that are out (MAJOR BUMMER DUDE).

Printing T-Shirts:

Division 1
Arrowhead

Homestead

Racine Horlick

Marquette

Milwaukee Riverside

Milwaukee South

Racine Park

Kenosha Tremper

Division 2
Lake Geneva Badger

Waterford

West Allis Hale

Division 3
Catholic Memorial

Wisconsin Lutheran

Greendale

Pewaukee

New Berlin Eisenhower

Division 6
Racine Lutheran

Wait ‘Til Next Year:

Division 1
West Allis Central

Racine Case

Division 2

South Milwaukee

Waukesha South

Brookfield East

Westosha Central

Nicolet

Oconomowoc

Wauwatosa West

Division 4
St. Thomas More

Division 5
University School

Division 7
Hope School

Now that we know who is IN and who is OUT, let’s look at the rest and their chances for making it.

Needs one win to get IN:

Division 1 - Hartford Union

Division 1 - Milwaukee Bay View

Division 1 - Kenosha Bradford

Division 1 - Milwaukee Bradley

Division 2 - Milwaukee Custer

Division 2 - Whitnall

Division 3 - Whitefish Bay

Division 3 - Port Washington

Division 3 - Union Grove

Division 3 - Elkhorn

Division 4 - Saint Francis

Division 5 - Kettle Moraine Lutheran

Division 6 - Brookfield Academy

If they lose, they’re OUT:

Division 1 – Muskego

Division 1 - Oak Creek

Division 1 - Milwaukee Pulaski

Division 1 – Watertown

Division 1 - Milwaukee Vincent

Division 2 – Franklin

Division 2 - Wauwatosa East

Division 2 - Pius XI

Division 2 - Waukesha North

Division 2 - Germantown

Division 3 - Milwaukee Lutheran

Division 3 – Slinger

Division 3 – Grafton

Division 3 - East Troy

Division 3 - Brown Deer

Division 3 - New Berlin West

Division 3 - Milwaukee North

Division 4 - St John's Military Academy

Division 4 - Luther Prep

Division 5 - Kenosha St. Joseph

Of all these teams, the only one with a realistic change to run the table is Franklin, with games remaining against Racine Case (0-6), Milwaukee South (1-5), and Muskego (2-4).

The remaining schools have work to do. They will need two victories out of their next three to make it to the post season. And even then, it may not be guaranteed.

Need 2 Wins to get IN:

Division 1 - Shorewood/Messmer

Division 1 - Menomonee Falls

Division 1 - Milwaukee Hamilton

Division 1 – Mukwonago

Division 1 - Milwaukee Marshall

Division 1 - Milwaukee Madison

Division 1 - Milwaukee Washington

Division 1 - Milwaukee King

Division 2 - Brookfield Central

Division 2 – Cedarburg

Division 2 - West Bend West

Division 2 – Sussex Hamilton

Division 2 - Waukesha West

Division 2 - Kettle Moraine

Division 2 – Burlington

Division 2 - Beaver Dam

Division 2 – Greenfield

Division 2 - West Bend East

Division 3 – Cudahy

Division 3 - Delavan-Darien

Division 5 - Racine St. Catherine's

Division 5 - Whitefish Bay Dominican

Division 7 - Lake Country Lutheran

Division 7 - Living Word Lutheran

So, the playoff picture must be clear as mud, right? I do believe we will be much much clearer after this week’s games. In next week’s playoff preview, I will give my predictions on who will make it, and who will not.

Enjoy Week 7!

Week 7 Preview

2008-10-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

Legend
Must See- great game between two strong teams
Check it Out – Potential upset or just could be a good game
Homer Specials – Only the parents care
Blow Out City – Not for the faint of heart

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PREDICTIONS

Classic 8 (Discuss)
Arrowhead survived a lackluster first half performance in which they trailed Waukesha South at halftime 19-13 before rallying with 28 unanswered points in the second half to win easily 41-19. Catholic Memorial showed that they were the real deal in trouncing Waukesha West 28-7 by outgaining the Wolverines in total yardage 394-183. These two teams remain unbeaten in the conference, and overall. They meet in Week 8, but neither figures to be challenged until then.

Waukesha West and Kettle Moraine appear headed to the playoffs as they will be both be favored in at least 2 of their remaining 3 conference games. It will be an uphill battle and take an upset for Mukwonago to sneak in.

Kettle Moraine (2-2, 3-3) at Catholic Memorial (4-0, 6-0)

Catholic Memorial has been literally destroying its opponents this year outscoring them 306 – 54 and averaging 414 yards of offense per game while surrendering only 185 yards per game. The Crusaders are led by QB Jack Fleming, who has thrown for 6 TDs, and ran for 14 more on an offense that has had three players (Fleming, Ryan Baez, Andy Jaynes) that have all scored at least 8 rushing touchdowns.

But Crusaders BEWARE. Can you say TRAP GAME? Memorial cannot get caught looking ahead to the conference title showdown game with the Warhawks of Arrowhead, the top ranked team in the state. Watch out for the speed of the Kettle Moraine offense, let by QB Mike Butterfield, who was ranked 27th in the list of the top 100 prospects in the state of Wisconsin by WisconsinPreps.com. Butterfield could pose some problems for the Crusader defense, but it is unlikely that the Lasers defense can stop Memorial if they remain focused on the task at hand.

Mukwonago (2-2, 2-4) at Waukesha South (0-4, 2-4)

Arrowhead (4-0, 6-0) at Waukesha North (1-3, 2-4)

Waukesha West (2-2, 3-3) at Milwaukee Pius (1-3, 2-4)

Greater Metro (Discuss)
Brookfield Central came up on the short end of the round robin part of the schedule between the Lancers, Marquette, and West Allis Hale. Despite outgaining the Hilltoppers last week, Central committed 4 turnovers and lost 10-6 at home. This sets up a potential conference title game this Friday when West Allis Hale travels to Hart Park to take on Marquette. If Marquette wins, they would essentially have a 2 game advantage over the rest of the conference.

Sussex Hamilton is still holding on to a good chance at making the playoffs with both Brookfield East and Wauwatosa East remaining on their schedule. They need to win 2 of their remaining 3 games to get in. Menomonee Falls is in the same boat, but will find it much tougher facing both Marquette and Brookfield Central in 2 of their remaining 3 games. To make the playoffs, the Indians must find a way to win one of those games.

West Allis Hale (4-0, 5-1) at Marquette (4-0, 5-1)
The Hilltoppers have a tough task facing them coming off an emotional victory at Brookfield Central last Friday. With no rest for the weary, they face their second straight conference unbeaten in West Allis Hale. With a victory, Marquette will almost certainly assure itself a Greater Metro Conference title. Falter, however, and they will need help just to share the title.

Hale has been a steady team in 2008, but far from dominating. They have won their last three games by an average of 12 points against teams with a combined record of 5-13. They will need to bring their A game against a Marquette defense that has given up just 26 points in their last 5 games, and only surrendered 13 points in the conference season.

Marquette will also get their lead running back Brock LaFace back from injury and illness this week, but don’t expect him to carry the load. Coach Dick Basham has used a running back by committee approach, led by senior Mike Hoffman in recent weeks. They also got their passing game going against Brookfield Central last week in their 10-6 victory.

Brookfield Central (3-1, 5-1) at Menomonee Falls (2-2, 3-3)

Sussex Hamilton (2-2, 3-3) at Brookfield East (0-4, 1-5)

Wauwatosa East (1-3, 2-4) at West Allis Central (0-4, 1-5)

North Shore (Discuss)
With their upset of previously unbeaten Cedarburg last Friday, the Port Washington Pirates put themselves right back into the discussion of the conference championship race. Homestead is still the overwhelming favorite. However, Port Washington must hope that the team they just beat in Cedarburg can pull them upset in the last week of the season against Homestead. If that happens, and the Pirates can stay out of trouble the next three weeks, we could have a three way tie at the top of the North Shore.

Whitefish Bay looks in line for a playoff berth, having to win just one more game in the conference, and Nicolet still on the schedule.

Whitefish Bay (3-1, 4-2) at Homestead (4-0, 6-0)
Homestead made the jump to number 1 in the WHSF website rankings for the area this week after remaining unbeaten in dominating fashion over Milwaukee Lutheran 63-20. The Highlanders had a 21-0 lead in the first quarter before letting Lutheran get back in the game with 20 unanswered points. That may just have been the wakeup call that Homestead needed in their ho-hum season, as they ran off their own streak of 42 unanswered points finishing with 518 yards of total offense.

Whitefish Bay will try to ride the arm of highly touted QB Jimmy Sherburne to be competitive in the game. Sherburne can beat you with his arm and his legs, running out of the spread offense. Against Homestead, however, he will have a very difficult time without any other threat on an offense that “goes as Jimmy goes”.

Nicolet (0-4, 1-5) at Grafton (1-3, 1-5)

Port Washington (3-1, 4-2) at Germantown (1-3, 1-5)

Milwaukee Lutheran(1-3, 2-4) at Cedarburg (3-1, 5-1)

Wisconsin Little Ten (Discuss)
By all accounts, the conference title already belongs to Wisconsin Lutheran, and it should. They are unbeaten both in the conference and overall and have beaten Hartford, considered the only serious competition for the Vikings inside the conference. They continued to roll over Watertown last Friday by a merciful score of 34-7.

The real battle in this conference is for the playoff berths. In a top heavy conference, West Bend East, West Bend West, and Beaver Dam all have realistic playoff aspirations.

Beaver Dam (2-2, 3-3) at Hartford (3-1, 5-1)
Beaver Dam running back Devin Kellenberger has rushed for over 1000 yards this season and 16 touchdowns, but that is about all the Beavers have had to hang their hat on this year. One wonders where they would be without him. They travel to an always rowdy atmosphere at Hartford Union this Friday to take on a team out to prove who the real Oriole football squad is.

After being manhandled by Wisconsin Lutheran 34-0 two weeks ago in the conference showdown of the year, Hartford bounced back to handily defeat West Bend East 42-6. Will the real Hartford Orioles please stand up?

West Bend West (3-1, 4-2) at Wisconsin Lutheran (4-0, 6-0)

Slinger (1-3, 2-4) at Oconomowoc (0-4, 0-6)

Watertown (1-3, 1-5)at West Bend East (2-2, 2-4)

Southeast (Discuss)
In what may have been the game of the year in Southeastern Wisconsin, the battle of Racine unbeatens went deep into the fourth quarter before Horlick pulled out a 35-28 victory over Deon McClain and Park. By staying unbeaten, the Rebels put themselves in perfect position to win the conference title. The championship is theirs if they can win 2 of their last three games.

Park, Kenosha Bradford, and Kenosha Tremper are locks for the playoffs. Franklin must win their remaining three games, but all three are winnable having already played the top 4 teams in the conference. Burlington has an outside chance to qualify for the playoffs, but must win 2 of their remaining 3 games. Easier said than done, however, as they must come away with an upset against either Racine Park or Racine Horlick.

Racine Horlick (6-0) at Kenosha Bradford (4-2)
Many of the HS Football pundits in the area still think that Kenosha Bradford may be the best team in the Southeast Conference. And that may be all well and good, but their record shows them no better than fourth, and they may fall further than that taking on the conference leader and undefeated Horlick Rebels led by standout QB Steve Morris.

Horlick has not been as dominating as other top ranked Southeastern Wisconsin teams this year, but they have soundly beaten the teams they are supposed to, and have managed victories against very good Kenosha Tremper and Racine Park teams. Steve Morris is as dangerous a weapon as there is, and he proved it last Friday in leading his team to a come from behind win against previously unbeaten Racine Park.

Bradford, meanwhile, has lost their two games by 4 and 3 points against Kenosha Tremper and Racine Park respectively. The Red Devils are solid on both sides of the ball. Tremper, Bradford, Park, and Horlick could probably play a round robin season between themselves and all finish at .500. Expect another thriller at the top of the Southeastern Conference.

Racine Park (5-1) at Burlington (3-3)

Franklin (2-4) at Racine Case (0-6)

South Milwaukee (1-5) at Oak Creek (2-4)

Muskego (2-4) at Kenosha Tremper (5-1)

Woodland (Discuss)
For the fourth straight week, Greendale, Pewaukee, and New Berlin Eisenhower remain in a three way tie at the top of the Woodland conference. That will change this week, however, when Eisenhower travels to Greendale where they haven’t won since 2004. The winner of that game will share the lead with Pewaukee, who, barring a natural disaster will cruise over winless Wauwatosa West.

St. Francis, Whitnall, and Greenfield are all in good shape to qualify for the playoffs. Cudahy has an outside chance, but must beat either Greenfield, or St. Francis in the next two weeks.

New Berlin Eisenhower(5-0, 5-1) at Greendale (5-0, 6-0)
Without Pewaukee on their schedule, the Greendale conference season likely comes down to this game on Friday against the Lions. Eisenhower, however, isn’t as fortunate, as they need to get by Greendale this Friday to set up a matchup with Pewaukee on next week to decide the Woodland conference title.

Led by QB Chris Ridgway, the Panthers have a potent offense that has not scored less than 34 points in a game all year. Coach Bob Stoltz calls the plays from the sideline by using hand signals to all the skill position players on offense as they line up in a five wide spread formation without a huddle. Greendale has ridden this approach to an unbeaten record, has clinched a playoff berth, and can all but assure at least a share of the conference title with a win on Friday.

Eisenhower will have plenty to say about that, however. Having only one non-conference loss to perennial state powerhouse DC Everest by a mere 3 points in the season opener, the Lions have beaten their last five opponents by an average of 33 points per game. 10 players have scored offensive touchdowns for the Lions, and 4 of those players have scored 6 or more times. That does not include QB Niko Koshak, who has thrown 15 touchdown passes to 5 different receivers.

Look for lots of fireworks from these two offenses in a game that may not end until Sunday morning.

Whitnall (3-2, 3-3) at Brown Deer (1-4, 2-4)

Cudahy (2-3, 2-4) at Greenfield (3-3, 3-3)

St. Francis (3-2, 4-2) at New Berlin West (1-4, 1-4)

Pewaukee (5-0, 6-0) at Wauwatosa West (0-6, 0-6)

Week 7 Predictions

2008-10-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

Think you know more than me? Click here to send me an email with your predictions. Pick all the games. If you beat me, I’ll list your name in next weeks predictions and enter you in a drawing for a $10 Starbucks Gift Card at the end of the season.

Classic 8 (Discuss)

Catholic Memorial 63 Kettle Moraine 13
Waukesha South 27 Mukwonago 19
Arrowhead 84 Waukesha North 0
NOTE: The same score that my alma matter Northstars lost to Sussex Hamilton by in the year I graduated.
Waukesha West 34 Milwaukee Pius 6

Greater Metro (Discuss)

Milwaukee Marquette 31 West Allis Hale 12
Brookfield Central 41 Menomonee Falls 12
Sussex Hamilton 38 Brookfield East 13
Wauwatosa East 27 West Allis Central 9

North Shore (Discuss)

Homestead 44Whitefish Bay 8
Grafton 14 Nicolet 13
Port Washington 35 Germantown 10
Cedarburg 42 Milwaukee Lutheran 20

Wisconsin Little Ten (Discuss)

Hartford 35 Beaver Dam 13
Wisconsin Lutheran 34 West Bend West 0
Slinger 14 Oconomowoc 6
West Bend East 38 Watertown 20

Southeast (Discuss)

Racine Horlick 28 Kenosha Bradford 27
Racine Park 42 Burlington 17
Franklin 50 Racine Case 6
Oak Creek 19 South Milwaukee 16
Kenosha Tremper 44 Muskego 13

Woodland (Discuss)

New Berlin Eisenhower 31 Greendale 27
Whitnall 37 Brown Deer 16
Greenfield 23 Cudahy 21
St. Francis 38 New Berlin West 6
Pewaukee 63 Wauwatosa West 0

Week 6 Preview

2008-10-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

Classic 8 (Discuss)

Arrowhead and Catholic Memorial both took another step closer last week to the huge conference matchup against one another in week 8. This week, the Crusaders face what is probably there final test before that matchup with Arrowhead when they travel to Waukesha West. West can get back into the Classic 8 title hunt with a victory.

Catholic Memorial (5-0, 3-0) at Waukesha West (3-2, 2-1)

The Crusaders look to reverse their fortunes from a year ago when they started 5-0, and then lost 3 of their last 4 in the conference. They begin that effort on Friday when they take on a Wolverine squad that is solid in all phases of the game. They have dominated conference opponents Waukesha North and Kettle Moraine, and their only losses have been to Arrowhead 14-0, and Wisconsin Lutheran 20-6, both of whom are ranked in the top 5 in the state of Wisconsin.

Waukesha South (2-3, 0-3) at Arrowhead (5-0, 3-0)

Waukesha North (2-3, 1-2) at Kettle Moraine (2-3, 1-2)

Milwaukee Pius (2-3, 1-2) at Mukwonago (1-4, 1-2)

Greater Metro (Discuss)

Brookfield Central, Milwaukee Marquette, and West Allis Hale all remained unbeaten in the conference last week. This week begins the round robin between these three teams over the next 4 weeks. First up, Dick Basham’s junior laden Marquette squad travels to the field turf playing surface at Brookfield Central in a matchup of pre-season conference favorites. The winner of this game has an opportunity to claim sole possession of first place if Menomonee Falls can hang the first conference loss on the Huskies when they travel to West Allis Hale.

Milwaukee Marquette (4-1, 3-0) at Brookfield Central (5-0, 3-0)
Read full preview of the WHSF Game of the Week

Menomonee Falls (3-2, 2-1) at West Allis Hale (4-1, 3-0)

The Indians are a relatively young team that could pose problems for a surprising West Allis Hale squad that finds themselves tied atop the Greater Metro Conference standings. Don’t expect too much from the Indians, however, as they struggle against teams that play run first football. Unfortunately for the Falls, Hale is a smash mouth team that averages only 6 pass attempts per game.

West Allis Central (1-4, 0-3) at Sussex Hamilton (2-3, 1-2)

Brookfield East (1-4, 0-3) at Wauwatosa East (1-4, 0-3)

Northshore (Discuss)

Homestead and Cedarburg were both victorious last week. To continue keep their title hopes alive, the Bulldogs of Cedarburg will face what is likely their last real test before Homestead as they welcome Port Washington to town on Friday night. Homestead does not have a real challenge facing them until the 22nd of October against Cedarburg. Port Washington (3-2, 2-1) at Cedarburg (5-0, 3-0)Unbeaten Cedarburg has allowed only 19 points in their last four games, and is riding their defense to a tremendous season with a very young roster. Their offense is led by QB Chip Rank, who doesn’t throw the ball often, but does so with accuracy as he is completing 68% of his passes with 8 touchdowns and no interceptions. Sophomore Logan Lauters leads a trio of running backs that has amassed 1,387 yards in only 5 games this year.

Port Washington’s defense has kept them in games this year, and their only losses have come to area powerhouses Homestead and Brookfield Central, the latter by a score of only 13-10. The Pirates will give Cedarburg all they can handle this week.

Homestead (5-0, 3-0) at Milwaukee Lutheran (2-3, 1-2)

Grafton (1-4, 1-2) at Whitefish Bay (3-2, 2-1)

Germantown (0-5, 0-3) at Nicolet (1-4, 0-3)

Wisconsin Little Ten (Discuss)

With last weeks 34-0 drubbing of Hartford by Wisconsin Lutheran, the conference title is all but wrapped up. Don’t look for the Vikings to be tested the rest of the conference season. Everyone is now playing for second place, which will be what may be on the line Friday night as Hartford tries to regroup at home against a West Bend East team that gave Wisconsin Lutheran all it wanted two weeks ago.

West Bend East (2-3, 1-2) at Hartford (4-1, 2-1)

West Bend East seems to get up for big games, taking them as personal challenges and playing their best football. In the season opener, they played Kewaskum, a top 5 team in the state, very close into the fourth quarter until finally succumbing 21-0. Their offense has since gotten on track and they outgained the third ranked team in Southeastern Wisconsin – Wisconsin Lutheran – in total yardage two weeks ago, but their rally came up just short as they lost 33-28.

This week, they face a Hartford team coming off a huge loss to Wisconsin Lutheran in a game where many thought the conference title would be decided. Can the Orioles and their star defensive lineman Tyler Dippel get the ship righted?

Wisconsin Lutheran (5-0, 3-0) at Watertown (1-4, 1-2)

Slinger (2-3, 1-2) at Beaver Dam (2-3, 1-2)

Oconomowoc (0-5, 0-3) at West Bend West (3-2, 2-1)

Southeast (Discuss)

And then there were three. Teams, that is, that are still in realistic contention for the conference title. Kenosha Bradford dropped their second conference game last week, and are now looking up at Racine Horlick and Racine Park, both unbeaten, and a Kenosha Tremper squad that beat Bradford in the season opener.

This week, one of the Racine unbeatens must fall, as Horlick and Park square off at Hammes Field on Friday night. Tremper will look to maintain their position within striking distance against Burlington this week.

Racine Horlick (5-0) at Racine Park (5-0)

Although unbeaten on the year, Horlick has been tested in close games, having to come from behind twice in the fourth quarter to beat Franklin 28-21, and Kenosha Tremper 28-24. If they can win this game, they will have a huge advantage in the chase for the conference title, having already beat the Tremper, and with Bradford having two losses.

Racine Park will not be an easy opponent to come back on should they fall behind. They are the only team in the conference not to run the spread offense. They use a power running game built on the legs of standout running back Deon McClain, who has racked up over 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns in only 5 games so far this year.

Kenosha Bradford (3-2) at Franklin (2-3)

Oak Creek (1-4) at Muskego (2-3)

Racine Case (0-5) at South Milwaukee (0-5)

Kenosha Tremper (4-1) at Burlington (3-2)

Woodland (Discuss)

Greendale, Pewaukee, and New Berlin Eisenhower remain in a three way tie at the top of the Woodland conference. Don’t expect that to change this week, as all three teams are favored in their games. This sets up a fantastic finish to the Woodland conference season heading in to next week if these three teams can maintain their focus against their overmatched foes.

St. Thomas More (1-4, 1-4) at Pewaukee (5-0, 4-0)

Greendale (5-0, 4-0) at Cudahy (2-3, 2-2)

New Berlin Eisenhower (4-1, 4-0) at Whitnall (3-2, 3-1)

Brown Deer (2-3, 1-3) at St. Francis (3-2, 2-2)

Greenfield (2-3, 2-3) at Wauwatosa West (0-5, 0-5)

PREVIEW: Marquette Hilltoppers VS. Brookfield Central

2008-10-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

VS.

The two preseason Greater Metro Conference favorites meet this Friday on the field turf at Brookfield Central. Marquette takes their undefeated conference record into the Lancers stadium to face off against their undefeated record in what promises to play a huge role in deciding the Greater Metro Conference title.

Marquette has veteran coach Dick Basham in his 37th year leading a relatively young team with only four returning starters from the 2007 season. They have won their last four and while their starting defense has not allowed a score in 12 quarters. Although the Hilltoppers fell from the area top ten rankings after their season opening loss to Wisconsin Lutheran, they are threatening to climb back into the state rankings if they can come away with a victory against the Lancers who are ranked 6th in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Brookfield Central relied heavily on their defense early in the season. In recent weeks, their offense, led by first year starters QB Tommy Braaten and RB Xavier Whitaker has started to adjust well to their first year in the veer offense that Coach Doug Lange has installed.
“One of the reasons we went to the veer offense was because we felt Tommy (Braaten) could run the ball and throw when he had to” said Coach Lange. “We want Tommy to be the third threat in the backfield.”

Braaten has come on in recent weeks both on the ground and in the air as he connected with WR Tim Ness on two touchdown passes last week against West Allis Central in their 44-12 victory. RB Xavier Whitaker is also finding his legs as the season moves on. He has run for 402 yards and 6 touchdowns after a slow start.

At 6’3 200 pounds, Whitaker has the size and strength to be a power runner in Brookfield Central’s veer offense. However, his speed and athletic ability allows him to be a more elusive speed back that will break long gainers. “Xavier is a tailback. Don’t let his size deceive you in terms of what his frame of mind is” said Coach Lange.

Coach Basham will try to attack the staunch Lancer defense with smash mouth football running a lot of two tight end sets and pounding the ball with a trio of running backs. Marquette has thrown the ball less than 30 times all year.

Basham is known for using multiple formations to confuse the defense and utilize a lot of traps and downblocks mixed with quick hit dive plays. Brookfield Central will defend with a senior laden defense let by middle linebacker Matt Upson.

Expect to see a low scoring matchup of strong defenses. Brookfield Central is built more for speed than Marquette, and the field turf will only make the game faster. Marquette’s defense will have to counter that and defend against an offense that continues to improve each week.

Click the play button to listen to an interview with Brookfield Central Head Coach Doug Lange

Click the play button to listen to an interview with Marquette Head Coach Dick Basham

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RECAP: Glendale Remains Unbeaten With WIn Over St. Francis

2008-09-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

The Greendale Panthers demonstrated shy so many teams are going to the spread offense in high school football in their 35-7 victory over St. Francis on Friday night. They also showed the downside of the spread offense on the goal line, and the negative effect it can have on a defense.

The Panthers opened the game showing off their quick strike offense driving 86 yards in 5 plays that started with a 50 yard pass from Chris Ridgway to Ben Ericksen, and culminated with a 26 yard touchdown pass to Ericksen and put Greendale on top 7-0.

After stopping the Mariners on their first possession, the Panthers then scored on another 26 yard TD pass from Ridgway to Ericksen, and after a 2 point conversion, led 15-0 at the end of the first quarter.

They led 21-0 at halftime, but the score could have been even more lopsided. THe Panthers had three opportunities inside the 5 yard line that were unsuccessful, with the final 4th and 1 play an incomplete fade pattern to the corner of the end zone that was intended for Ericksen.

"Teams say that you can't run the spread down on the goal line" said Greendale Head Coach Bob Stolz, "We do anyway, and if we're gonna get suffed like that, obviously we have a lot to work on because that's not our offense. We don't get stuffed inside the one, we hammer it in there and they did a great job sticking it to us." The Panthers were also stopped inside the 5 yard line early in the third quarter.

To the credit of St. Francis, their coaches and their team did not throw in the towel. On the contrary, they opened the second half with a 78 yard touchdown run by Will Frisch, a senior running back for the Mariners that racked up 238 total rushing yards on the night.

After stopping Greendale for the second time in the game at the goal line following the Frisch touchdown run, the Mariners embarked on a 23 play drive that started on their own 1 yard line, but ended at the Greendale 12 yard line when Frisch was stopped short on a 4th and 5 draw play.

On that drive, the Mariners held the ball for the remainder of the 3rd quarte. THey ran the ball 20 times, 15 of those carries going to Frisch who accounted for all 8 first downs on the drive. St. Francis had all the momentum with them at that point in the game, but ran a questionable pass play on 3rd and 5 from the Greendale 15 yard line which landed incomplete. 4th and 5 proved too much to overcome on the ground and St. Francis turned the ball over on downs.

Greendale put the Mariners away after that driving another 88 yards in 8 plays for a 28-7 lead. Ridgway to Erickson finished the drive with a 15 yard pass, and later the Panthers added a finishing touchdown by Ridgway.

In the end, Greendale's offense provided too much firepower for the Mariners to handle. Ridgway was 13 of 25 for 298 yards passing, and his favorite target Ericksen had "the game of his life" according to Coach Stoltz, finishing with a school record 234 yards on 10 catches with 3 touchdowns.

Greendale takes their perfect record to Cudahy next week while St. Francis is at home against Brown Deer.

Week 5 Preview

2008-09-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

Classic 8 (Discuss)
Arrowhead has proven once again to be the class of the conference and has started 4-0. Their strongest challenge will probably come from Catholic Memorial in Week 8. The Arrowhead defense has not allowed a score for 13 straight quarters, and have allowed only 12 points all season.

Kettle Moraine (2-2, 1-1) at Arrowhead (4-0, 2-0)
Kettle Moraine has an explosive offense that will challenge the Arrowhead defense. The Lancers are led by Senior QB Mike Butterfield that has accounted for 967 total yards and 11 touchdowns in 4 games. They have scored 38 or more points in 3 of their 4 games in 2008.

Waukesha West (2-2, 1-1) at Waukesha North (2-2, 1-1)

Mukwonago (1-3, 1-1) at Catholic Memorial (4-0, 2-0)

Milwaukee Pius (1-3, 0-2) at Waukesha South (2-2, 0-2)

Greater Metro (Discuss)
Brookfield Central and Milwaukee Marquette, both pre-season favorites in the conference, have started 2-0 in conference play along with upstart West Allis Hale. Brookfield Central’s defense carried them early, and now their offense is starting to pick up on Coach Doug Lange’s new scheme. They have dominated in conference play so far, and face off against Marquette on October 3rd, and finish the regular season in a game that could decide the conference title against West Allis Hale on October 22nd.

Sussex Hamilton (2-2, 1-1) at Milwaukee Marquette (3-1, 2-0)
This game could be the upset special of the week. Sussex Hamilton has started off strong despite their 2-2 record. Their most impressive performance might have been their 14-13 loss to heavyweight Stevens Point. This game will provide the first real test for the Hilltoppers since their opening day loss against Wisconsin Lutheran by a score of 31-9. Their three victories have come against teams that are a combined 3-9 overall.

West Allis Hale (3-1, 2-0) at Brookfield East (1-3, 0-2)

Wauwatosa East (1-3, 0-2) at Menomonee Falls (2-2, 1-1)

Brookfield Central (4-0, 2-0) at West Allis Central (1-3, 0-2)

Northshore (Discuss)
Homestead once again is the top team in the conference with a defense - led by University of Wisconsin recruit Shelby Harris – that has allowed only 7 points all year. If they can get past a pesky Port Washington team this week, their only other challenge in the regular season will come from a strong Cedarburg team in the season finally on October 22nd. The Bulldogs are coached extremely well, and have a large stable of running backs that can all contribute on any given night. But their defense is the strength of the team as they have allowed just seven points in the last three games.

Port Washington (3-1, 2-0) at Homestead (4-0, 2-0)
The Pirates of Port Washington are led by RB Zac Moeller who has rushed for 474 yards and 6 touchdowns, and also has a receiving and passing touchdown to his credit. The Pirates could ride their defense to stay close with Homestead, but the Highlanders are an overwhelming favorite in what is the best matchup this week in the conference.

Nicolet (1-3, 0-2) at Cedarburg (4-0, 2-0)

Whitefish Bay (2-2, 1-1) at Germantown (0-4, 0-2)

Milwaukee Lutheran (2-2, 1-1) at Grafton (0-4, 0-2)

Wisconsin Little Ten (Discuss)
The game this Friday between the top two teams in the conference Hartford and Wisconsin Lutheran could very well decide the conference title. No other teams in the conference are on par with these two heavyweights.

Hartford (4-0, 2-0) at Wisconsin Lutheran (4-0, 2-0)
See the full Game of the Week preview.

West Bend West (2-2, 1-1) at Slinger (2-2, 1-1)

Beaver Dam (2-2, 1-1) at West Bend East (1-3, 1-1)

Watertown (0-4, 0-2) at Occonomowoc (0-4, 0-2)

Southeast (Discuss)
This is arguably the best conference in the state of Wisconsin. There are 4 teams (Racine Horlick, Racine Case, Kenosha Bradford, Kenosha Tremper) that could realistically win this conference. Between these four teams, there are big games each week until October 17th, beginning this Friday where Kenosha Bradford will have to win at home against Racine Park to stay in the running. On October 3rd, the battle for Racine takes place with Horlick at Park. Horlick follows up that huge test the next week with Kenosha Bradford, and Racine Park and Kenosha Tremper meet to possibly decide the conference on October 17th.

Racine Park (4-0) at Kenosha Bradford (3-1)
Racine Park has outscored their opponents 166 – 27 in their four victories, led by senior running back Deon McClain who has rushed for 875 yards in just four games while scoring 13 touchdowns. He has also caught 4 passes for 94 yards and added two more scores for a total of 15 touchdowns in 4 games. Bradford’s defense is allowing an average of only 90 yards per game, but have not faced a back like McClain. This is a must win game for Bradford to be in contention for the conference title.

Kenosha Tremper (3-1) at Franklin (2-2)

Burlington (2-2) at Muskego (2-2)

Oak Creek (0-4) at Racine Case (0-4)

South Milwaukee (0-4) at Racine Horlick (4-0)

Woodland (Discuss)
Greendale and Pewaukee have gotten off to 4-0 starts, but 3-1 New Berlin Eisenhower just may be the best team in the conference with their only loss coming by 3 points to DC Everest. All three teams are 3-0 in conference play. However, Eisenhower has the toughest road, facing both Greendale and Pewaukee in back to back weeks on October 10th and 17th respectively. In an off balanced conference schedule, Greendale and Pewaukee are not scheduled to face each other during the regular season in 2008.

Brown Deer (2-2, 1-2) at Pewaukee (4-0, 3-0)
The defenses for both teams will face tough tests on Friday. Despite their 2-2 record, Brown Deer is averaging almost 35 points per game on the strength of a balance offensive attack that produces an average of 355 yards per game. Pewaukee gains most of their yards on the ground averaging 241 yards rushing in their first four games. The difference on Friday could be the turnover battle, which favors Pewaukee. Brown Deer senior quarterback Max Grafwallner completes 50% of his passes and has 7 touchdowns, but has also thrown 7 interceptions. The Pewaukee defense has intercepted the opposing quarterback 7 times, and holds the advantage in turnover ratio coming into the contest.

Greendale (4-0, 3-0) at St. Francis (3-1, 2-1)
If not for committing five turnovers in their loss to Whitnall, the Mariners of St. Francis may be 4-0 and right in the midst of the discussion for best team in the Woodland conference. Greendale has steamrolled it’s competition so far 173 – 38 and have pitched two straight shutouts against Greenfield and Wauwatosa West. The Mariners could get right back into the conference race with a win Friday against Greendale at home.

Cudahy (2-2, 2-1) at New Berlin Eisenhower (3-1, 3-0)

Greenfield (1-3, 1-3) at St. Thomas More (Sat) (1-3, 1-3)

Wauwatosa West (0-4, 0-4) at New Berlin West (0-4, 0-4)

PREVIEW: Hartford Orioles vs. Wisconsin Lutheran Vikings

2008-09-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

VS.

In the game of the week in Southeast Wisconsin and maybe the entire state, the Hartford Orioles travel to Wisconsin Lutheran to take on the Vikings in a game that will probably decide the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference title. In 2007, the Orioles came away with a two point victory at home, but Wisconsin Lutheran went on to win the Division 3 state title. Now in 2008, both teams come into the matchup with a 4-0 record.

Hartford has not really been challenged to date outscoring their opponents 131 – 13. The teams that they’ve beaten, however, have a combined 4-12 record on the season. Wisconsin Lutheran’s opponents have been a little more challenging, as the Vikings beat the Greater Metro Conference pre-season favorite Milwaukee Marquette 31-6 in the season opener, as well as pulling out a victory last week against West Bend East to hand the Suns their first loss in the conference season.

Hartford lost a number of veteran players on offense in 2007, and have focused their efforts on the defensive side of the ball for 2008. Led by Senior Linebacker Tyler Dippel, the defense has allowed just 13 points in four games while forcing 9 turnovers. They moved most of their veteran players over to the defense, which will have a tough test when they face the Vikings offense on Friday.

The Vikings are led by senior quarterback Dave Klein who can beat you with his arm and his legs. Senior running back Frank Spath is the Viking’s biggest threat in the backfield having amassed 437 yards and 3 touchdowns in four games this season.

Similar to Hartford, the defense is the key to the success for Wisconsin Lutheran. They began the year shutting out Milwaukee Marquette, and holding Waukesha West and Beaver Dam to 7 and 6 points respectively. Last week, however, they ran into a spread offense from West Bend East that used a balanced attack to gain 348 yards and score 28 points.

Asked if he saw anything the Orioles can exploit in the Wisconsin Lutheran defense, Hartford coach Dan Brunner said “Wisconsin Lutheran’s defense has been a man on man, very aggressive, everybody is assigned responsibility, and once you start spreading those people out all over the field, that puts a lot of pressure on every individual out there. You know, you find a couple of chinks in their armor, and I think West Bend East did that and took advantage of it with an outstanding second half.”

The Orioles will try to attack that offense with quarterback Jordan Stephans, one of the few veteran players moved from the defense to the offense this year. Stephans has rushed for 363 yards and 6 touchdowns, and is joined in the backfield by running back Mark Cadena, who has gained 173 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. “He’s gonna go do things with his legs, get out of some situations and make positive things out of things that didn’t look like they were there, and his throwing is coming along”, said Brunner about his quarterback.

There is no doubting, however, that this all important Wisconsin Little Ten contest features the two of the premier defenses in southeastern Wisconsin. When these two teams meet, it will be a battle of wills and hard fought smash mouth football that will decide the outcome on Friday night.

Click the play button to listen to the post game interview with Coach Dan Brunner

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RECAP: Defense Carries Cedarburg Past Whitefish Bay

2008-09-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Cedarburg proved that their defensive struggles in the season opener against the speedy pass oriented Kettle Moraine offense was the fluke, and not the two consecutive shutouts against Menomonee Falls and Germantown.

The Bulldogs defense held Whitefish Bay all-conference quarterback Jimmy Sherburne in check and forced him to commit 5 turnovers (3 interceptions, 2 fumbles)in a 42-7 victory Friday night.

Cedarburg quarterback Chip Rank opened the game 4-5 for 75 yards and a 9 yard touchdown pass to Logan Lauters for a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Lauters, a 5'8" 180 pound sophomore, proceeded to run the ball 11 times for 93 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half to propel the Bulldogs to a 21-0 lead with 9 minutes to go in the first half.

Whitefish Bay would not give up, and after getting the ball on their own 15 yard line, marched 85 yards in 6 minutes capped off by a 10 yard touchdown pass from Sherburne to Larone Spears. The Blue Dukes then executed a perfect onside kick, and took over at the Cedarburg 45 yard line with 3:09 left in the half.

The entire complexion of the game changed, however, when Whitefish Bay could not convert a 4th and 4 from the Bulldog 12 yard line. On the very next play with just 1:53 left in the half, Eric Poggenburg rambled 90 yards for the touchdown that put Cedarburg ahead 28-7 heading into halftime.

"The line was doing good. They opened up holes...our whole offense was running well" said Lauters, who finished the game with 129 yards on 14 carries, 4 rushing touchdowns and 1 receiving touchdown.

"When you know your defense is playing well you can be a little bit more flexible with the offense and do some different things", said Head Coach Brian Leair.

Cedarburg improves it's record to 2-0 in the North Shore conference and 4-0 overall, while Whitefish Bay dropped to 1-1 in the conference and 2-2 overall.

Click the play button to listen to the post game interview with Coach Brian Leair

Click the play button to listen to the post game interview with Logan Lauters

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RECAP: Milwaukee Riverside Trounces Pulaski

2008-09-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

Coming off a big win against pre-season conference favorite Bay View, the Riverside Tigers cruised to a 49-2 win over the Pulaski Rams.

In the first half, Ryan Givens ran for 173 yards and 3 touchdowns while the Tigers defense held the Rams scoreless with minus 13 yards of offense. Riverside led 42-0 at halftime, and played their second string for the second half of the game.

Riverside improved to 2-0 in the Milwaukee City – Richardson conference and 3-1 overall. The offense was steady with solid blocking up front and a strong performance that has become the norm from Ryan Givens. But the defense was the story for the dominance by Riverside. After allowing the opening kickoff to be returned 43 yards on a reverse, the Tigers defense and special teams forced 3 turnovers, one that was returned 33 yards for a touchdown midway through the 2nd quarter to give Riverside a 35-0 lead.

Pulaski dropped to 1-1 in the conference and 2-2 overall. Their offense was overwhelmed from the first snap of the game. They could not establish anything on the ground due to the penetration of Anthony Bounds and Oscar Johnson, two outstanding linebackers for Milwaukee Riverside.

Riverside looks to continue it’s dominance in the conference against Milwaukee Hamilton Friday at 7pm at Pulaski Stadium. Pulaski travels to take on Milwaukee Washington.

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PREVIEW: Cedarburg Bulldogs vs. Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes

2008-09-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

VS.

Jimmy Sherburne is a 6’3 185 pound senior quarterback for Whitefish Bay that has the potential to play both football and basketball at the collegiate level. He may be the best High School quarterback in Wisconsin. UW has showed interest in him as a football player. And yet, he is leaning towards Ivy League basketball with his 4.0 GPA. Either way, his future is very bright. Does that future include a win over a tough Cedarburg team this week?

The Bulldogs come into the game with three wins without a loss this season riding a defense that has shut out the last two opponents. They face a 2-1 Whitefish Bay team led by Sherburne’s arm and two senior receivers in Dylan Gates and Pat Sullivan. Gates is 6’6 195 and provides a big target for Sherburne.

Along with a staunch defense, Cedarburg is led on offense by junior quarterback Chip Rank who has thrown for 380 yards and 5 touchdowns in three games while completing 67 percent of his passes and no interceptions. His favorite target is senior WR Joey Fazio who has 13 catches for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season. Leading the rushing game on the balanced Bulldog attack is sophomore Logan Lauters, a small and quick scatback runner that goes 5’10” 160 pounds.

Although Cedarburg has pitched 8 straight shutout quarters, they have not faced a passing offense since they gave up 286 yards passing in an opening day 45-38 victory over Kettle Moraine. In that game, the Bulldogs struggled to stop an offense that also rushed for 179 yards, but had enough offense to outscore Kettle Moraine for the win.

Against Menomonee Falls and Germantown, the Bulldog defense was able to force 7 turnovers and hold their opponents scoreless. However, both of those teams were run first offenses, passing the ball only 14 and 12 times respectively. Whitefish Bay will put the ball in the air more often, and will show a more balanced attack similar to the type of scheme that gave Cedarburg fits against Kettle Moraine.

Since losing to Waukesha West 28-18 on opening day, the Blue Dukes have won two straight against Slinger and Milwaukee Lutheran. After the young defense shutout Slinger, they surrendered 420 yards of total offense, but forced 3 turnovers and gave up only two scores against Lutheran.

While both defenses have been strong as of late, look for the offenses to expose each other and provide plenty of fireworks with the passing game. In last year’s game, Cedarburg lost at home to Whitefish Bay in a close 14-12 contest. Cedarburg must not get caught looking past this Blue Dukes team. Sherburne can lead his team to victory on any given day, and just might pull the upset on Friday.

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RECAP: Brookfield Central Dominates Sussex Hamilton

2008-09-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Coach Doug Lange titled his Brookfield Central (3-0) defense 'Rock Em Sock Em', and for good reason. Shutting out the Sussex Hamilton Chargers (1-2) until only a 4th quarter kickoff return got them on the scoreboard, the Lancers defense has now allowed only 16 points in 3 games.

After winning their first two games of the season by total of 4 points combined, they started quickly and never looked back in a 31-6 rout. After Hamilton's first drive resulted in a three and out, Xavier Whitaker scored from 54 yards out on the first offensive play from scrimmage to kick start a Lancer offense that had yet to find it's legs until tonight.

Tommy Braaten connected on a 38 yard play action pass to tight end Mitch Aprahamian and Whitaker added another one yard touchdown run to make the score 21-0 at halftime.

"It was great to get up on them early and let our kids relax a little bit more because we just hadn't been up on anybody that early and it built the confidence for the kids" said Coach Lange.

As Waterford did on opening night against Brookfield Central, Hamilton turned the ball over 6 times, 3 times stopping drives inside Brookfield Central territory.

"We were not ready to play tonight" said Sussex Hamilton Coach John Damato. "We were sloppy with the ball and that has a lot of a reflection on what I've done all week".

With an offense that had gained 667 yards on the ground and had completed 70 percent of it's passes, Hamilton appeared ready to take on the Lancer defense. Brookfield Central's attack style team defense limited the Chargers to just 113 yards on the ground, and held quarterback Justin Rupnow to 7 of 14 passing for just 61 yards and two interceptions, both by senior defensive back Dan Bowar.

Brookfield Central has created 12 turnovers in their two games on their home field this season. "We do rock em and sock em on defense and that's where we hang our hats" says Coach Lange.

The Lancer offense broke out a bit scoring 31 points on 178 yards rushing and 74 yards passing. They have cross town rival Brookfield East and West Allis Central over the next two weeks to continue to gain momentum on offense before facing Greater Metro conference favorite Marquette at home on October 3rd.

The Chargers tasks don't get any easier as Coach Damato tries to better prepare his team to take on cross town rival Menomonee Falls next week.

Click the play button to listen to the post game interview with Coach Doug Lange

Click the play button to listen to the post game interview with Coach John Damato

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PREVIEW: Sussex Hamilton Chargers vs. Brookfield Central Lancers

2008-09-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

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Two favorites in the Greater Metro Conference matchup at 7pm Friday night at Brookfield Central High School. The Chargers from Sussex Hamilton (1-1) travels to take on the Lancers from Brookfield Central (2-0) to open the 2008 conference schedule.

Brookfield Central has won it's first two games of the year on the strength of a defense that returns nine starters on defense. They have given up only 16 points in the first two games, but have only scored 20 points on offense.

The Chargers lost a close game to a very strong Stevens Point squad 14-13 in a game that could have gone either way. Asked about how his team would react to the loss, Coach John Damato said "We wanted to go in to the Stevens Point game with confidence and come out with confidence and I think we did that."

The Lancers will need to stay strong on defense against a Hamilton running attack that has amassed 667 yards in two games, and a passing attack that has a completion percentage of 70 percent. Their defense is very solid, plays with a lot of emotion, and is sound fundmentally. "They do the little things, and play as a unit" said coach Damato when talking about the BC defense.

They will need a strong team effort as it is tough to key on any one of Hamilton's three headed running attack. Justin Rupnow is the leading rusher at the QB position, while Ryan Horne and Ken Zarske attack from the Running Back position. "We take what the defense gives us" said Damato, asked about whether they use the run to set up the pass.

The Lancers are a completely different story on the offensive side of the ball, with first year starters at all the skill positions. They are a very athletic group that is taking some time to find their groove in Doug Lange's new system.

"We don't recruit. We need to adjust our schemes to our kids each year" said Lange, when asked how he could replace the losses of Drew Herma last season. It's the third game that Brookfield Central will be playing under the new offensive scheme, which can be the time that the players really start to pick up the nuances of the system.

While the numbers seem disparate coming in, history shows that it will be a close game, with 4 of the past 5 contests between the two teams being decided by 10 points or less. Expect a close game that could be decided by one or two big plays, similar to the Lancers opener against Waterford.

Click the play button to listen to the interview with Coach John Damato

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PREVIEW: Milwaukee Riverside Tigers vs. Bay View Redcats

2008-09-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

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The game that could decide the Milwaukee City - Richardson conference championship happens to be the opening conference game for both of the preseason favorites. Milwaukee Riverside (1-1) will take on Bay View (1-1) at 7:30pm this Friday at Pulaski Stadium.

Bay View comes into the contest a slight favorite and coming off a 33-13 win over Milwaukee Pius. Riverside will try to come back after a disappointing blowout loss to Catholic Memorial 55-6 in a game that was essentially over before halftime.

The Tigers started the season strong with a convincing win over Wauwatosa East 41-6 in a game that saw standout RB Ryan Givens run for 210 yards and three touchdowns. However, the team suffered a letdown the following week due to a bit of overconfidence according to Coach Patrick Wagner. "The kids just kind of assumed" said Wagner, "that if we keep doing what we did in the past to be successful, that's gonna be enough, and it doesn't work that way."

After using a platoon at the quarterback position for the first two games, Riverside will shelve that strategy and go with Junior John D'amato, a left hander that has performed much better in the first two games. He is beginning to develop a connection with wideout Geoffrey Bacon who has two touchdown catches this season.

But the keys to the game for Riverside will be RB Ryan Givens ability to get free in the open field to create big opportunities, and the defensive ability to stop Bay Views top offensive threat RB Darril Wynn.

"We have some special things in this week to knock those keys out" said Wagner when asked about opposing defenses keying on Givens. "We're gonna win or lose with (Givens) and we want to make sure he gets the ball and he does what he needs to do."

For Bay View, the approach is similar in that they will go as far as their star running back Wynn will take them. Against Pius, he racked up 292 yards on 20 carries and four touchdowns. "Stop Wynn" was Wagner's response when asked the keys to the game. Not only is Wynn the primary threat on offense, but he needs to be accounted for in the return game as well.

The Redcats can also look to Senior wideout Teon Banks, who also shined against Pius last week with 122 yards receiving. And, with 26 seniors and 16 returning starters, the Redcats have experience on their side.

Even with solid receivers on each team, the keys to the game remain on the ground. If Riverside can contain Wynn by solidly filling the gaps with the linebacker combination of Oscar Johnson and Anthony Bounds, they can force the Bay View offense to throw the ball more, which will play into the Tiger's favor. That, however, is much easier said than done.

Will we see the Riverside team that took rolled in their opener, or the team that lost their composure and confidence last week? The answer will determine the odds on favorite to win the conference title.

Click the play button to listen to the interview with Coach Patrick Wagner

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RECAP: Harford Rolls Over Depleted Warhawks Team

2008-09-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

The Hartford Orioles showed why they are picked by every team in the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference to win the League Championship on Friday night, as they dominated Germantown in every facet of the game to win 40-7 on their home field. First year starting quarterback Jordan Stephans ran for three touchdowns, and opened the scoring with a 16 yard TD pass to Mark Cadena on their second possession of the game.

Tyler Dippel, Hartford’s highly touted senior linebacker, started the game on the defensive line. Coach Dan Brunner wanted to put pressure on the Germantown offensive line right away, and it worked out, albeit in a way that neither team wanted to see.

On the second series of the game, Dippel broke through the line immediately and drilled Germantown starting quarterback Eric Kindler, breaking his collar bone and ending almost certainly ending his junior season.

Dippel is truly a man among boys. Already with a scholarship offer from Stanford, Dippel is keeping his options open for now. He will be a force to be reckoned with as Hartford opens it’s conference season at Slinger next Friday night.

Germantown continues a rough start to their season, particularly on offense where the Warhawks finally put points on the board when Matt Schabel ran for a 5 yard score with just over a minute left in the game.

The Warhawk defense played tough early, keeping the game tight at trailing only by 13 at halftime, but could not get anything going offensively for the second straight week, as they were shut out last week 17-0 at home against Driscoll Catholic.

Sophmore quarterback Dylan Krivoshein took over for the injured Krindler, and showed some signs of a bright future with both his passing and running ability. On this night, however, the Warhawks had too many injuries and other starters missing to compete with the Orioles.

Germantown continues it’s tough opening to their schedule as they face Cedarburg in the opener of the North Shore conference schedule next Friday.

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RECAP: Crusaders Roll over Milwaukee Riverside

2008-09-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

The Catholic Memorial Crusaders have started their season quickly by dominating their first two opponents in much the same manner as they did a year ago. Following up a 72-6 drubbing of Milwaukee King, they physically dominated the overmatched Milwaukee Riverside Tigers and cruised to a 55-6 victory after leading 42-0 at halftime.

Andy Jaynes opened the scoring for the Crusaders with a 49 yard TD run on the CMH first play from scrimmage. The Crusaders never looked back as Jaynes ran for two more scores of 7 and 2 yards, and also had 80 yards receiving in the first half alone.

Jack Fleming, a third year starter at QB, ran for an 8 yard TD and also connected at the end of the half on a 16 yard TD pass to his favorite target WR Mike Janowski.

The Crusaders, already leading 35 – 0, got the ball back on their own 27 yard line with just 1:03 to play in the half, and drove the ball 73 yards on 5 plays capped by the Fleming to Janowski TD reception to finish a perfect two minute drill offense.

The Tigers showed last week that they have a quick offensive line and good talent at the running back position. Behind early against the Crusaders, they went away from the running game and threw the ball too inconsistently to get anything going.

Running backs Ryan Givens and Logan Wells continued to show bursts of talent with some big gainers both up the middle and around the end, but the Memorial defense was steady and used their size to dominate the line play and stuff the Riverside running attack for the entire game.

This was not the type of game the Tigers were looking for heading into next week as they open up their conference season in a game that could decide the overall Milwaukee City – Richardson champion against Bay View. Head coach Patrick Wagner and his staff must work to rebuild the confidence of the Tiger team, and prepare them to come into the Bay View game more aggressive than they did against the Crusaders.

Catholic Memorial again comes into their Classic Eight conference without a strong test. Their offense looks to be clicking on all cylinders, but they need to become more consistent on defense to compete with the top half of the Classic Eight.

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PREVIEW: Germantown Warhawks @ Hartford Orioles

2008-09-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

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The Hartford Orioles (1-0) come into the 2008 season with very high expectations being picked as the favorite to win the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference title by every other coach in the league. They return all-conference players on both the offense and defensive lines.

In Week 2 of the 2008 season, they take on a Germantown (0-1) team on the other side of the coin, rebuilding after a strong 2007 campaign that saw the Warhawks lose in WIAA Division 2 State Playoff Semi-Final game coming up one win short of a trip to Camp Randall Stadium. They graduated every starting skill position player on offense, the entire starting defensive secondary, and all three starting linebackers. To say they are inexperienced is an understatement.

However, the young team played valiantly in the 2008 season opener, taking Driscoll Catholic (Addison, IL) into the fourth quarter trailing by a slim 7-0 deficit. They finally succumbed to the Illinois perennial powerhouse – Driscoll Catholic has won seven consecutive Class 4A Illinois State Titles – by a final score of 17-0.

Hartford opened its 2008 season against an opponent of considerably less stature, but was nonetheless impressive. The Orioles routed Milwaukee Washington 48 – 0 riding a balanced offensive attack that gained 156 yards rushing and 203 yards passing, and a defense that gave up a scant 96 yards in total offense and forced three turnovers.

Their first year backfield was impressive in its debut, and must continue the momentum against an always tough Germantown team, coached by Phil Datka, who is entering his 40th season as their head coach.

Germantown’s defense must come up big in this game, keeping the score close as they did against Driscoll Catholic last week. If the Warhawks bend but don’t break defense – they gave up 371 total yards but only 17 points – can keep the game close into the fourth quarter, they will have a chance to pull the upset. But Hartford comes into this game as the favorite and will try to build confidence heading into the conference season.

Click the play button to listen to the interview with Hartford's Coach Brunner

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PREVIEW: Catholic Memorial Cursaders @ Milwaukee Riverside Tigers

2008-09-03T06:14:00.000-07:00

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Catholic Memorial (1-0) travels to Pulaski stadium this Friday to take on the Tigers of Milwaukee Riverside (1-0) in a matchup that features two explosive offenses both coming off victories in their season openers.

Riverside opened their season by beating Wauwatosa East 39 – 6. RB Ryan Givens ran for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns, while LB Oscar Johnson shut down the Red Raiders passing game by applying plenty of pressure on their first year QB.

The Tiger’s defense will have to again put pressure on the QB while working against an inexperienced offensive line, which looks to be the only question mark on a potent offense for the Crusaders of Catholic Memorial that scored 52 points in a 74 - 6 opening day victory against Milwaukee King. Third year starter Jack Fleming connected on TD passes of 26, 29, and 25 yards to Mike Janowski and ran for two touchdowns.

The Crusader defense also shined against King as they scored three touchdowns on interception returns of 36, 41, and 46 yards, as well as scoring a safety.

Against Riverside, the Crusader secondary will need to tackle more than defend passes. They face a strong and agile offensive line that overpowered Tosa East to gain over 300 yards on the ground. The Riverside offense will again try to run the ball with a trio of running backs in multiple sets. They will try to pound the ball inside with Logan Wells while using misdirection and sweeps to spring the quick footed Givens.

Riverside comes into this game after avenging a 41-6 loss on opening day in 2007 against Tosa East, and will again try to reverse its fortunes from 2007 against Catholic Memorial to whom they lost 49-0 last year.

Catholic Memorial enters this year with high hopes after a collapse at the end of the regular season in 2007. The Crusaders began the ’07 campaign with 4 straight shutouts and 5 straight victories in which they outscored their opponents 167 – 5. Three losses in their next four games against the top half of the Classic 8 Conference found them on the road against a tough Greendale team in the first round of the WIAA Division 3 playoffs, where they finished their season with a tough 35 – 28 loss.

Catholic Memorial has too many offensive weapons, and a balanced air and ground attack for a Tigers team that is out to establish itself as a contender in the Milwaukee City Richardson Conference. The Tigers must try to use a ball control offense and put pressure on the quarterback to keep the game close. A high scoring affair will favor the more experienced and balanced Crusaders.

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RECAP: Lancers Survive Waterford Wolverines in Season Opener

2008-08-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

In a close game dominated by the defenses on both teams, it was inevitable that the game would be decided by one or two big plays. And that is exactly what happened.

Midway through the second quarter, QB Tommy Braaten connected on a 73 yard TD pass to Matt Lukomski to put Brookfield Central up 7 - 0. That lone touchdown held up until late in the fourth quarter when Braaten fumbled on an option run at his own 32 yard line. Waterford ran the ball 5 times and Jake Dostalek punched it in for a score with 2:48 remaining in the game.

Without a strong kicking game, and being on the road, Coach Venne decided to take his shot at a win. The offense ran the same wishbone off tackle play to Dostalek for the 2 pt conversion attempt, but failed when standout middle linebacker Matt Upson stopped the play at the half yard line to secure the victory for Brookfield Central.

"We're not a real good field goal kicking team, and we decided on the road, we would try for the win instead of going to overtime. We'd do the same thing again" said Coach Venne when asked about the decision to go for two near the end of the game.

"Waterford has no weakness" Brookfield Central Coach Doug Lange said after the game. "They're bigger than we are, stronger than we are, they're just a very, very good team. Our defense bailed us out".

That defense was led by Senior Matt Upson, all-conference nose tackle in 2007 that has been moved to middle linebacker with the emergence of Junior Bryce Gilbert at the nose tackle position in 2008. The lancers allowed the Waterford offense to gain yardage on the ground between the twenties, but stiffened in the red zone and forced 6 turnovers on the night.

Brookfield Central was fortunate to come away with the victory, as Waterford beat themselves in a road game that was there for the taking. The BC offense, with a number of first year players at the skill positions, will need to improve to contend in the solid Greater Metro confernce this year.

Waterford showed great promise for the 2008 season, and Coach Venne's team will only get better as they continue to learn the multitude of offensive sets and philosophies of it's Hall of Fame head coach.

Listen to Post Game Interview with both coaches:

Click the play button to listen to the interview with Coach Lange

Click the play button to listen to the interview with Coach Venne

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RECAP: Riverside Dominates Tosa East in Season Opener

2008-08-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Riverside Tigers reversed the outcome of the 2007 opener between the same teams beating the Red Raiders of Wauwatosa East 39 - 6 in the season opener for both teams at Hart Park on Friday night.

Ryan Givens ran for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns (33,66,14) and Riverside's offensive and defensive lines controlled the game from the second quarter on. Givens, whom Tigers Head Coach Patrick Wagner calls "possibly the best back I've ever coached", took over the game in the second in third quarters gaining almost 150 of his yards and all three touchdowns.

Both teams started the season with opening game jitters, with each team turning the ball over in the first three plays of the game. Riverside then opened with a 27 yard TD pass from Ryan Van Dunken to Geoffrey Bacon to open the scoring. The Red Raiders quickly countered with a 70 yard 5 play drive on their next possession including 2 receptions for 65 yards by Barett Powell, the second being a 15 yard TD in the corner of the end zone. Tosa failed on a 2 point conversion try, and trailed 7 - 6 after one quarter.

From there it was all Riverside, who dominated both the offensive and defensive lines to physically outmatch Tosa East.

The Tigers offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and allowed FB Logan Wells to continually pound the middle of the field. Wells punished the interior of the Tosa East line and scored 2 touchdowns on runs of 3 and 5 yards. The Red Raiders were worn down by the middle of the third quarter, with as many as 5 players playing both sides of the ball all night.

The connection of QB Ethan Harris to Powell looked to be working early, but the Tigers defensive line, led by standout LB Oscar Johnson, put constant pressure on Harris and the Red Raiders passing attack. Powell was to big and strong for the speedy, but undersized defensive backs for Riverside, but Harris did not have enough time to consistently take advantage of the matchup.

Overcoming some early sloppy play as well as over 100 penalty yards, Milwaukee Riverside cruised to an easy victory on the strength of Ryan Givens legs and the strength and speed in the trenches.

Riverside takes on a stronger Waukesha Catholic Memorial team next week, while Tosa East travels to take on Milwaukee King.

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INTERVIEW: Brookfield Central Head Coach Doug Lange

2008-08-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

Brookfield Central Head Coach Doug Lange has had a busy month of August scouting and preparing his Lancer team for the 2008 campaign. Friday, BC gets to finally take the field against Waterford in a rematch of the 2007 opener that they dominated 31 - 0. But as you'll hear, Coach Lange believes that Waterford comes in with an improved squad, and a new look from Hall of Fame Coach Carey Venne.

Click the play button to listen to the interview with Coach Lange

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INTERVIEW: Waterford Head Coach Carey Venne

2008-08-28T10:51:00.001-07:00

First year Waterford Head Football Coach Carey Venne is no stranger to the sidelines. He is a 2004 Wisconsin Coaches Hall of Fame inductee for his accomplishments with the Cudahy Dynasty through the 1990s. He now takes over a Waterford team that won two playoff games in the WIAA Division II playoffs last year.

Click the play button to listen to the interview with Coach Venne The interview took place on August 28, 2008 as he was preparing to take the sidelines for the first time with his new Waterford team against Brookfield Central on Friday night, August 29th at 7pm.

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PREVIEW: Milwaukee Riverside Tigers @ Wauwatosa East Red Raiders

2008-08-27T14:17:00.001-07:00

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Thursday marks the season opener for Milwaukee Riverside and Wauwatosa East at Hart Park at 7 PM. In a rematch of last year's season opener for both teams, the Tigers from Riverside are out to show that the Milwaukee City Conference Teams can compete with the other SE Wisconsin area teams.

Last year's match up was decidely one sided as the Red Raiders ran away early in the third quarter to post a 41 - 6 victory over a Riverside team that was fresh off an outstanding 2006 campaign in which they lost in the Division I semifinals to perennial powerhouse Arrowhead 24-20.

In 2008, the Tigers are trying to regain their 2006 form, and prove to be a strong contender in the Milwauke City - Richardson conference with Bay View and Bradley Tech. In the season opener, however, they must prove they can perform outside the conference, where they were 1-3 and were outscored 137 - 30 in their 2007 non-conference campaign.

At Tosa East, the Red Raiders look to continue a streak that has seen them in the WIAA playoffs 4 of the past 5 years. Although they play in the powerhouse Greater Metro Conference, which boasts the number 4 and 8 ranked teams in the state in Marquette and Brookfield Central respectively, they are hoping to continue last year's dominance over the city conference teams where they went 2 -0 and outscored Riverside and Milwaukee King by a combined score of 81 - 12.

While not one of the top teams in the Greater Metro Conference, the Red Raiders have some strong skill position players. They are led by QB Ethan Harris, a 6' 2" 185 lb. Junior, and his main target Junior WR Barett Powell, who last year set a school record with 40 receptions for the season as a Sophmore.

Riverside will try to get a strong pass rush on Harris with their all state DE Oscar Johnson, but also must contain the small but quick senior running back tandem of Tyler Love and Mike Cupertino of Tosa East.

On the offensive side of the ball, Riverside will give Senior running back Ryan Givens, who has a scholarship offer pending from Illinois St., plenty of opportunities to run on the Red Raiders undersized defense.

Tosa East will show the depth of the Greater Metro Conference by handling Riverside in the opening game of the 2008 season. Thier offensive firepower will be too much for the Riverside defense to contain, and force Riverside to put the ball in the air.

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PREVIEW: Waterford Wolverines @ Brookfield Central Lancers

2008-08-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

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In a match up of teams that both exited the 2007 WIAA Division II Playoffs with losses to Germantown, the Lancers of Brookfield Central will rely heavily on it's defense while trying to match the 31 - 0 route of Waterford on opening day last year. Drew Herma rushed for 103 yards on 14 attempts and scored all 4 TDs for the Lancers in a game that was all but over at halftime.

Now, in 2008, Herma, QB Mike Bogard, OL Jacob Glickstein, and TE Brad Nortman are all playing at the collegiate level. Which means that the Lancers must turn to a defense led by 3 returning All-Conference players from 2007 in DL Matt Upson, LB TJ Gruman (pictured), and DB Mike Rossmiller.

With first year starters at QB, RB, and TE, the Lancers will look to test their offensive game plan against a solid opponent on opening night.

The Wolverines welcome Wisconsin Football Coaches Association 2004 Hall of Fame Inductee Coach Carey Venne to the sidelines this year. As head coach of the dominant Cudahy teams of the 1990's, Venne team's posted a 72 - 17 record over 11 seasons.

Venne inherits a team with an outstanding backfield tandem that in '07 combined for 1045 yards and 14 TDs while averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Running Backs Jake Dostalek and Bernie Tansett are looking to rebound from last year's contest in which the Wolverines managed only 60 yards and 3 first downs in the loss.

To have a chance, Waterford must reverse a trend from '07 in which they were a solid 7-0 at home, but just 2-3 on the road while being outscored 101 - 43.

Expect to see both teams focus on the running game as each team starts first year Quarterbacks Jack Korslin for BC, and Jake Sindberg for Waterford.

Even with the offensive uncertainties, Brookfield Central's defense has them well positioned to contend in the Greater Metro Conference again this year, joining Marquette and West Allis Hale as the pre-season favorites in a top heavy league.

Waterford is the defending champion of the Lakeshore Conference, which has now been disbanded. They are now the strong favorite in the Southern Lakes Conference. The challengers to Waterford could be a solid Badger HS team from Lake Geneva, and the defending Southern Lakes Conference champs from Elkhorn.

Look for Brookfield Central to start off this season in the same manner as '07 with a strong defensive effort that will again stymie the Wolverines running attack and control the game with field position throughout the night.

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Introduction

2008-08-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

My dream has always been to make a living doing something with sports. Of course, like everyone else, up until I was 15 years old, I thought it would be as the starting QB of the Green Bay Packers. Those dreams die hard.

When you are 37 years old, your dream shifts to either playing golf on the Senior Tour, or more realistically, retooling yourself to be able to leave youre boring, overworked and underpaid eight to fiver for something a little more fun and, perhaps, Glamorous???

I have found myself in the envious position of my current job that allows me some flexibility to chase down some of my dreams. This fall, I am beginning my sports journalism career as a sideline stringer for HS Football games in Southeastern Wisconsin. I will have an opportunity to attend a premier game each week and report live on AM1250 WSSP in Milwaukee.

It's a great gig! I don't even have to pay them to do this!!! Can you believe it?

With this unique opportunity, I would like to share my observations on the SE Wisconsin HS Football scene with all of my readers. And for those of you that are interested in more than just my ramblings, please check out the wealth of information from other sources in the links on the left side of the page.

It is going to be a great 2008 football season in Southeast Wisconsin.