{image1} The best prep football teams from around the state will convene in Madison Thursday and Friday to battle it out for the WIAA division championships. Let's look at some of the matchups.
Schofield D.C. Everest will bring a 13-0 record into its Division 1 matchup against Hartland Arrowhead (11-2). Everest can move the ball both in the air and on the ground. Mike Sierakowski passed for four touchdowns in a 35-7 win over Mequon Homestead that got Everest into the championship game. The Evergreens also forced five turnovers.
Arrowhead nipped previously undefeated Oak Creek. 26-25, to get into the title game. Dan Tschantz scored four touchdowns and is the main threat for the Warhawks, who have been in the title game several times.
Both Everest and Arrowhead have great football traditions, so their matchup should be a good one.
In Division 2, undefeated Menomonie will meet Germantown (11-2). Cory Giertz leads the Menomonie offense. Aaron Lopez, an exciting back, leads Wisconsin Lutheran (11-2) into the Division 3 title game against undefeated Green Bay Notre Dame. Lopez ran for 300 yards in the quarterfinal game.
Undefeated Ripon will meet Broadhead-Juda (11-2) in the Division 4 game. Bill Ohm is a workhorse back for Ripon. In Division 5, Brillion (12-1) goes up against undefeated Poynette (13-0).
The Division 6 game features Stratford (13-0) against Fond du Lac Springs (10-3). In Division 7, Eau Claire Regis (13-0) will play Belmont (12-1).
Springs and Regis were perennial powerhouses when they played in the old WISAA. They have remained strong since the merger of the parochial and public schools into one state association.
In fact, the playoffs have been strengthened considerably by that merger, which at one time created a great deal of controversy. Several of the top parochial schools have demonstrated they can compete with the public schools.
Look for the times of each game in the Hot Tix section of this column. You also will find results of the championship games in the Beyond Milwaukee Sports section of this column next Thursday.
Brew Crew Review
At the time of this writing, attorneys were still working out the details of former CEO Ulice Payne's departure from the Brewers. The after-effects of the clash between Payne and the team board of directors could dog the Brewers all winter and into next season.
Keys now are who is selected as Payne's permanent successor, what the board does to beef up the financial strength of the franchise and how GM Doug Melvin is able to work with the limited resources to keep the Brewers making progress on the field.
Melvin and manager Ned Yost might be more important than Payne, the Seligs and others who were involved in the rift. The Brewers are a baseball enterprise, and Melvin and Yost have shown they are good baseball men. If they make good decisions, the team could be competitive, no matter what its budget. If that happens, the same fans who vowed they would stay away last week will be back in the stands.
The Name Game
Kudos to UW receiver Lee Evans for his record performance last week in the Badgers' big win over Michigan State. Evans, who has overcome a major injury, should make somebody a good draft pick in the NFL ... The Wave's Todd Dusosky was named the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Offensive Player of the Week ... Brewers outfielder Scott Podsednik was named to the Topps 45th annual Major League Rookie All Star Team...The Admirals have hired Milwaukee native Kyle Schultz as their radio play-by-play broadcaster. He replaces Brian Manthey.
Beyond Milwaukee Sports
Andrew Mocadlo ran for 228 yards, including a key 77-yard touchdown run, to lead UW-La Crosse to a 36-23 win over Whitewater that sewed up the WIAC championship. Mocadlo set a school single season rushing record with 1,630 yards. The Eagles will play Concordia of Mequon in a NCAA Division III playoff game at noon Saturday at La Crosse ... St. Norbert (10-0) hosts Simpson Saturday in a Division III playoff game ... UW-Stout's Luke Bundgaard set the WIAC career rushing record by gaining 328 yards in a 42-14 win over Platteville. Bundgaard finished his career with 4.427 yards, eclipsing the old record of Eau Claire's Darrell Souhrada, who had 4,372 yards.
Hot Tix
Here are the WIAA playoff game times at Camp Randall:
Div. 1 - Schofield D.C. Everest vs. Hartland Arrowhead 4 p.m. Friday
Div. 2 - Menomonie vs. Germantown 1 p.m. Friday
Div. 3 - Green Bay Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin Lutheran 10 a.m. Friday
Div. 4 - Ripon vs. Broadhead-Juda 7 p.m. Thursday
Div. 5 - Brillion vs. Poynette 4 p.m. Thursday
Div. 6 - Stratford vs. Fond du Lac Springs 1 p.m. Thursday.
Div. 7 - Belmont vs. Eau Claire Regis 10 a.m. Thursday.
The Bucks are on the road until next Tuesday when they host the 76ers at the Bradley Center. Marquette plays back-to-back college basketball games at home on Friday and Saturday. UWM hosts Montana at 7 p.m. Saturday.
At 7 p.m. Thursday, the Admirals play hockey against Houston at the BC. The Wave doesn't play again until Nov. 28.
The UW football team hosts Iowa at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Camp Randall. The Packers host the 49ers at noon at Lambeau Field. You can read about that game in On The Pack Monday on OMC.
Gregg Hoffmann writes The State Sports Buzz every Thursday for OMC.
