RECAP: Glendale Remains Unbeaten With WIn Over St. Francis

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

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

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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

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

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

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

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

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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

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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

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

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

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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

VS.

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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