By Adam Roberts – 11/17/2020

We’ve whittled the field down to just three area teams remaining in the abridged WIAA playoffs. Two were expected to be here, one was not. Aquinas-Darlington was closely contested early, but a 22-0 Blugold run put the game out of reach for the Redbirds, largely in part to a great game from Chris Wilson (2 TD receptions, 1 interception). Onalaska meanwhile jumped out in front of Portage 28-0 early, had a brief stumbling period late in the first and early in the second quarter, but rebounded nicely thanks in part to backup linemen and running backs stepping up for a 63-22 win. And in Blair, the Wildcats started the first quarter returning a fumble back for a score, and nearly shut out the Pirates but settled for a 37-8 victory. In addition to the three WIAA playoff games, two area Minnesota schools kick things off in 9-man. Let’s dive in.

MSHSL 9-MAN Section 1 Quarterfinal

  VS 

HOUSTON @ SPRING GROVE

On it’s surface, this appears to be an easy game to chalk up to the Lions. They have the better overall record, have played better in wins, and based on last week’s results Spring Grove is the team most capable of mounting an offense. There’s also the fact that Spring Grove is undefeated against the Hurricanes dating back to 2011. In their first meeting this season, the Lions were victorious 33-16, although they did surrender 259 rushing yards, 149 of which were to Caiden Olson (30 car, 149 yds, 2 TDs). There aren’t a ton of stats on Olson for the rest of the year, outside of his 21 yards in a 56-8 loss to Grand Meadow, but the Hurricanes would do well to study what worked against Spring Grove with his runs and multiply that by two or three to try and get an elusive win.

Prediction: Spring Grove 31 Houston 14

WIAA Division 2 Playoff Pod Final

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ONALASKA @ BARABOO

In Division 2, we have a very intriguing game this week between a school that typically finishes with between 1 and 3 losses and one that hasn’t been 7-1 in ages, if ever. Coach Steve Turkington has finally brought the Thunderbirds full circle this season in his seventh year since coming over from Verona. Thanks in part to lessons learned from the Class of 2018, who finished 4-5 and gave Baraboo their first and only playoff appearance of the decade, the Thunderbirds of 2020 have built a dynamic high-scoring offense led in large part by RB/QB Luna Larson and RB Owen Nachtigal. Onalaska’s Tom Yashinsky told me he likens Larson to Sparta-grad and current North Dakota State linebacker Cole Wisniewski, minus a little speed and plus a little size. Yashinsky says in preparation, he and the Ona staff have been dissecting how they handled Sparta and Wisniewski last year to gauge how they’ll handle Larson Thursday. Ona should have their full roster available this week after missing some key contributors last week, including starting back Albert Romero and their starting right guard and tackle. Also, watch for Hudson Weber to make noise on defense for the Hilltoppers to compliment his work on offense; he had a big pick six against Portage and dropped his Hudl highlights this week. But ultimately, both Turkington and Yashinsky acknowledged to me that this game will largely be determined by which team has the better tacklers. If Ona can shore this up, their experience level should help them here.

Prediction: Onalaska 34 Baraboo 28

DIVISION 5 Playoff Pod Final

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AQUINAS @ LANCASTER

Last week, I noted how Aquinas would need to contain Braden Davis early to have a chance against Darlington. And while his final numbers would indicate that this wasn’t what happened, most of those 226 yards came late in the game when things were largely out of reach. The Redbirds DID make it interesting after a 90 yard drive capped by a 16 yard touchdown pass to Carter Lancaster, but a failed two-point conversion kept it a two possession game and there wasn’t enough time to do much more. This week, the Blugolds were face another familiar SWAL foe from last year, albeit one in which the results didn’t go as favorably as the 2019 Darlington game; the Blugold run defense was gashed by five touchdowns from Dawson Bowen and Corey Hahn and 319 total ground yards. Both Bowen and Hahn have since graduated, and now the offense largely runs through QB/RB Hayden Knapp and receiver Hayden Wagner. The key therefore will be mitigating the ability for the two Haydens to connect, while also continuing to feed Quinn Miskowski the rock whenever he can separate on routes. Given how the Darlington game went, I really like the confidence wave Aquinas is riding right now, and think it will carry into this week.

Prediction: Aquinas 27 Lancaster 22

Division 6 Playoff Pod Final

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ASSUMPTION – WI RAPIDS @ BLAIR-TAYLOR

Blair-Taylor arrived at the D6 Playoff Pod Final with a 37-8 win over C-FC we mentioned above. Meanwhile, Assumption hasn’t played a game since November 6th after scheduled games against Pittsville and Weyauwega-Fremont were cancelled. What do we know about the Royals? Namely that they like to pound the rock with their sophomore big back Nick Leberg. the 6′ 200 pounder had averaged over 160 yards per game this year, and in the team’s last win over Wild Rose, his 9.9 yard per carry average kept the secondary busy en route to a 42-13 Royals win. Against Blair-Taylor, Assumption will likely need to be more than a one-trick pony; the Wildcat defense was extremely stout against C-FC, forcing four interceptions and an additional fumble while racking up three sacks of Austin Becker. This was enough to ensure a blowout win despite a largely pedestrian night on offense for anyone not named Matthew Brandenburg (4 TDs and 128 yards rushing). If the offense clicks this week, look out!

Prediction: Blair-Taylor 34 Assumption 14

By Adam Roberts – 11/16/2020

Today marks the start of what will no doubt be a busy week in the NBA. The offseason officially commenced at noon eastern, and already one big name some had linked to the Milwaukee Bucks is off the table.

Now former OKC Thunder guard Chris Paul is on his way to Phoenix to form a duo with Devin Booker, even though reportedly the Bucks made a big push behind the scenes to acquire his services. It would appear the next target for Milwaukee in their quest to surround Giannis with talent would be Jrue Holiday, although trade rumors are pretty mum at the moment on any moves the organization could be hoping to make.

In addition, this week Wendesday is also the NBA Draft, being held in November this year after being delayed by over five months due to pandemic concerns. The Minnesota Timberwolves will have the first selection, unless they choose to deal it, and the first pick will likely be between LaMelo Ball and Memphis center James Wiseman. Milwaukee selects 24th, and NBC Sports projects that they could go with 6’4″ guard Jahmi’us Ramsey to give them more bench shooting.

ESPN La Crosse 105.5 will have draft coverage beginning at 6pm.

By Adam Roberts – 11/13/2020

A key piece to the offensive line is back this week to protect Aaron Rodgers’ blind side.

Left tackle David Bakhtiari was removed from the injury report today, and all indications are that he has been given the two-thumbs up for Sunday’s game against Jacksonville. Bakhtiari has missed the last three games with a chest injury.

Here is a look at the rest of the injury report:

Out

• TE John Lovett (Knee)

Doubtful

• CB Jaire Alexander (Concussion/Hand)

Questionable

• CB Kevin King (Quad)
• S Will Redmond (Shoulder)
• S Vernon Scott (Shoulder)
• WR Darrius Shepherd (Shoulder)
• WR Equanimeous St. Brown (Knee)
• TE Robert Tonyan (Ankle)
• T Rick Wagner (Knee)

By Adam Roberts – 11/13/2020

The dominoes continue to fall in Minnesota. Already this week, both Caledonia and Rochester schools announced they would be ending their football seasons, and now Winona is joining the queue.

The school announced yesterday it would be transitioning to distance learning officially on November 17th, with today and next Monday serving as prep days for the official transition. The decision came one day after the Winhawk football team lost their regular season finale to Kasson-Mantorville.

Meanwhile, two more area schools announced they would be suspending the start of winter sports. We already knew the La Crosse School District was pausing the start of their winter sports seasons, and now Onalaska is doing the same. News 19’s Scott Emerich reported yesterday evening that the Hilltopper winter sports season has been moved back two weeks with a start date for practice set for November 30th; Holmen hockey coach Tim Franzini retweeted Scott’s tweet, and added that Holmen was doing the same thing.

We’ll keep an eye out for any other districts that make similar announcements in the coming days and weeks.

By Adam Roberts – 11/12/2020

We have arrived at what will serve as the postseason this year for Wisconsin high school football. It has been a chaotic, sometimes stressful, event-filled race to the finish this season, and the fact we are even contemplating playoff football of any kind is a testament to all the people both in front of and behind the scenes working to make this year possible.

First, a quick overview of the games that have already been played this week:

Kasson-Mantorville 47 Winona 6

Bethlehem Academy 27 Winona Cotter 26

Lanesboro 14 Houston 0

Spring Grove 28 Mabel-Canton 24

Hayfield @ Rushford-Peterson – Cancelled

Now, let’s go over the games to be played this Friday.

Prediction record so far: 3-0

DIVISION 2

    VS   

PORTAGE @ ONALASKA

The Hilltoppers haven’t played in two weeks, but that last contest featured a dominant performance from quarterback Ayden Larson against a depleted Aquinas team. Larson went 13-17 for 237 yards, four scores, and an INT, and the man who has become his primary wideout target Hudson Weber had a big night of his own; 6 catches, 133 yards, 2 TDs, and a passing touchdown to Landon Peterson. Needless to say, anyone worried about the lack an Ona offense need only refer to this game and their 50-6 win over Adams-Friendship earlier this year. They also demonstrated how methodical they can be if need be; in the fourth quarter, the Hilltoppers were on defense for just one play, intercepting a Jackson Flottmeyer pass, and grinding clock the rest of the way.

For Level One, the Hilltoppers will host Portage, and on paper this one would appear to be a lock for Ona. The Warriors were shut out by the pod’s 2-seed Baraboo 38-0. On offense, the Warriors gave up the ball four times, and running the ball was particularly tough with three fumbles.

Prediction: Onalaska 35 Portage 8

   VS   

TOMAH @ BARABOO

Against Aquinas, Tomah lived on the big play. QB Justin Gerke completed just 9 of his 20 pass attempts, but at over 239 yards and with four touchdowns, he clearly was instructed to attack the Blugold secondary. The result was two scores to the super tall Kade Gnewikow at a 28.3 YPC average, while Drew Bookman also had a score and averaged 49 yards a catch on two big receptions.

Gerke’s development this year has been fantastic to watch, and this week he’ll need another big outing with 6-1 Baraboo up next. The Thunderbirds have a star of their own in QB/RB/LB, who defensively is garnering interest at the D1 level. On offense, Larson has accumulated 1,430 all-purpose yards and 16 touchdowns in seven games played. Despite all the struggle of playing football in 2020, the season has been the best for Baraboo since their 6-4 2006 campaign; Steve Turkington has led the T-Birds to their first winning record this decade on the back of Larson and a crushing defense that had only one slip up against Sussex Hamilton. A potential Baraboo-Onalaska Level Two game would be a true litmus test for this program.

Prediction: Baraboo 28 Tomah 22

Division 4

   VS   

WESTBY @ PRAIRIE DU CHIEN

If any game had the potential to be the lowest scoring of the night, this might be it. The Norsemen have struggled to stay consistent on offense this season, but against the Blackhawks even just a couple of scores can make for an interesting game. Prairie has been predicated on defense for some time now under Corey Koenig, and that has continued this year to the tune of 3-3. Last week, despite a 111 yard rushing performance from Richland Center running back Bryce Hillers, the Blackhawk defense was stifling in the redzone and receiver Jon Nicholson was the beneficiary of a couple of nice tosses from quarterback Maddox Cejka for all the Prairie scoring. Meanwhile, Westby in an unorthodox regular season game against Athens was gashed on the defensive line for 210 rushing yards against them, and despite one of their better offensive outings of the season, fell to the Bluejays 40-28. Look to see if Cade Fleming has another big game after running for 109 yards and a score last week to pick up the slack of a slightly off night for Garrett Vatland.

Prediction: Prairie du Chien 20 Westby 14

    VS   

VIROQUA @ NEKOOSA

The Papermakers are a good case study in what it “by any means necessary” actually means. Heading into the day of their regular season finale last week against West Salem, Nekoosa appeared to be set to cancel due to a number of students having to quarantine. But head coach Mark Tuttle wanted to give his boys one final game at home, even if it meant essentially a JV team being fielded against the Panthers. Despite that 35-6 loss, the Papermakers will get another opportunity to end their home schedule on a high note against Viroqua. Even writing off last week, Nekoosa’s offense hasn’t been particularly inspiring this season, with Tuttle noting the program is clearly in a rebuild. Meanwhile, after a big showing against Altoona, Viroqua’s scoring has tapered off considerably as well; six total points in two losses to Richland Center and Wisconsin Dells. Still, Nick Schneider always has big game potential, and against an uncertain Papermaker front, maybe Schneider has another sneaky good game.

Prediction: Viroqua 22 Nekoosa 18

DIVISION 5

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AQUINAS @ DARLINGTON (6pm on ESPN La Crosse 105.5, espnlacrosse.com, & TuneIn)

Last year when these two met as conference opponents, the Blugolds (who I just noticed are cropping up in this preview quite a bit) clamped down on defense for a 14-0 win. This year, if Aquinas is to repeat the feat, they will have to call upon many reserves to have big games. The Blugolds have 13 players who will be out for the game, including another game missed for running back Will Cambio. That will put more pressure again on sophomore quarterback Jackson Flottmeyer for another air raid, which will mean establishing an early connection to wide receiver Quinn Miskowski. The Redbirds often run man coverage on defense, so if Miskowski can out-athlete the corner off the snap and catch balls thrown his way, the Blugolds might keep this close. But Coach Travis Winkers will counter Flottmeyer with his own QB  Braden Davis, who despite throwing for just 74 yards against Aquinas in the loss last year had over 160 all purpose yards against Platteville last week and executed a beautiful game-winning drive against an excellent Potosi/Cassville a week before that.

Prediction: Darlington 27 Aquinas 20 

   VS

MONDOVI @ LUTHER

ESPN La Crosse 105.5 was originally supposed to call the Luther-Osseo/Fairchild Level One game this week, but the Thunder were forced to cancel. Coincidentally, Fall Creek had to cancel against Mondovi, and so rather than taking a week off, the two schools agreed to simply move up their Level Two match up to this week and then end their seasons after that. The game we get will come down to Luther’s ability to contain Tanner Marsh. From a pure yardage perspective, Marsh has put up numbers that would make Bangor backs blush; in the season-opener against the aforementioned Osseo/Fairchild, Marsh ran for a season-high 321 yards, and has amassed 1,378 yards this season, leading all divisions. His average of 196 yards per game is staggering, and not to be overlooked also is his seven yards per attempt. That and a stout O-line helping him achieve those numbers could spell trouble for the hosts.

Prediction: Mondovi 34 Luther 18

   VS   

MELROSE-MINDORO @ LANCASTER

My old high school coach, the legend Bob Hyland at St. Mary’s Springs, told us a story ahead of our 2009 sectional final against Lancaster. Once he started going on about how he would chase his brother around the yard with snapped arrows I started tuning out, but the core of the message was that arrows hit you hard. This is very true in Lancaster, where they thrive on hitting first, and never holding back off the snap. The past 10 years have largely been successful ones for John Hoch, though this year they’ve fallen in three games against very tough competition (vs River Valley, vs Darlington, @ #4 Mineral Point). Needless to say, they are battle hardened as they welcome Mel-Min, themselves fresh off finishing the year 4-2 with a shut out loss to Blair-Taylor.

Prediction: Lancaster 35 Mel-Min 14

DIVISION 6

    VS

COCHRANE-FOUNTAIN CITY @ BLAIR-TAYLOR

This Dairyland Level One match up is a rematch of the October 23rd meeting at C-FC, which wasn’t exactly the blow out Wildcat win many thought it might be. Give credit to the Pirates, despite the odds stacked against them, they hung right with B-T early, and even had the lead at the end of the first quarter. From there, Cain Fremstad took over and managed his offense enough to notch a touchdown in each quarter of the game. Two big interceptions of C-FC QB Austin Becker were also helpful. At home, the Wildcats should repeat.

Prediction: Blair-Taylor 28 C-FC 14

 VS   

DE SOTO @ POTOSSI-CASSVILLE

Quite possibly the most intriguing playoff match up featuring an area team, these two are programs that work their rear ends off week in and out to be better than their opponents. Obviously, this should be the goal for every program, but knowing the adversity Ev Wick and the Pirates have been through the last few years coupled with the nose to the grindstone attitude of coach Mark Siegert makes this one a real feel-good game between two schools that both deserve to be in the pod final. The difference will be how much pressure De Soto can orchestrate against Levi Groom; the P/C quarterback threw six interceptions combined in the team’s two losses to Highland and Darlington this year.

Prediction: De Soto 27 Potosi-Cassville 21