Classic 8 Conference enjoys a banner day
WIAA postseason football kicked off Friday night. Here are five takeaways from the Milwaukee-area teams in the field.
Classic 8 dominates
All year, teams in the Classic 8 Conference beat up on one another in conference play, leaving high-quality teams such as Mukwonago, Kettle Moraine and Waukesha West with .500 records. How do we know they’re all high-quality teams?
Just look at what they did in Level 1. The six Classic 8 teams in the playoffs went undefeated, outscoring opponents by a combined total of 276-82.
The most eye-catching of those victories was a 63-21 win by Arrowhead on the road over Verona. It was the seventh consecutive win for the Warhawks, who were also joined by the Wolverines and Lasers as lesser-seeded teams to win Friday.
Catholic Memorial, Mukwonago and undefeated conference champion Muskego, all of whom were favored, also came away with victories.
The seventh seeds rise up
Among the five No. 7 seeds to down No. 2 seeds across the state were two area teams.
Pewaukee pulled out a thriller over previously undefeated McFarland in Division 3, winning, 22-21. Logan Dobberstein hauled in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Brady Solomon with 19 seconds remaining to pull the Pirates within 21-20, and then Josh Geisel converted the two-point attempt.
Geisel finished with 155 rushing yards for the Pirates, who trailed at halftime, 21-7.
Sussex Hamilton also went on the road as a seventh seed and pulled out a win. The Chargers, who went 5-3 in Greater Metro Conference play, downed Madison Memorial, 35-21. Jackson Kollath, used mostly in a backfield rotation throughout the year while also playing standout defense, brook loose for 268 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries for Hamilton. The Chargers led, 28-7, entering the fourth quarter.
Top seeds in charge
While there were upsets scattered across the state, each of the area’s No. 1 and 2 seeds came away victorious.
In Division 1, Muskego, Franklin, Marquette and Oak Creek won by an average margin of more than 40 points.
Across Division 2 and 3, Homestead, Slinger, Waterford, Brookfield Central, Catholic Memorial, New Berlin Eisenhower and Greendale all advanced, as well. Greendale’s win was the closest call, but a 72-yard touchdown pass from Sean Sanchez to Masaeo Wooden with 5:10 left in the fourth quarter turned a 35-34 deficit into a 42-37 win.
Racine St. Catherine’s and Lake Country Lutheran, top seeds in Divisions 4 and 5, respectively, had no problems in advancing to Level 2.
East Troy breaks through
East Troy had been to the playoffs eight times previously but had never won. That changed Friday night.
Trojans quarterback Jake Dessart, the state’s leading rusher, led a fourthquarter comeback after being bottled up for much of the night in a 28-26 road win over New Berlin West.
The Vikings attempted a 35-yard field goal to win, but the Trojans interior line got a hand on the ball to secure the victory.
Looking ahead
There are plenty of intriguing Level 2 matchups next Friday. Here a few of them.
Arrowhead hits the road again, taking on undefeated Fond du Lac, the topranked team in the state. Earlier this year, the Cardinals ended Kimberly’s 70-game winning streak.
Elsewhere in Division 1, Racine Horlick gets its rematch with Oak Creek, which came from behind in the fourth quarter to down the Rebels in the regular season, 28-21.
In Division 2, Brookfield Central and Brookfield East will meet in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The Spartans have won two of those previous three playoff meetings, but the Lancers are the top seed this year and downed East, 31-7, earlier this season.
After upsetting Slinger in Week 4, Hartford will look to beat the Owls again after downing sixth-seeded West Bend East in Level 1..
In Division 4, Martin Luther is 9-1 with its lone loss coming to undefeated Racine St. Catherine’s, but the Spartans will have to go on the road to face 10-0 Kiel on Friday night.