PREP FOOTBALL WEEK 3
Here are the top high school football games to watch in southeastern Wisconsin in Week 3. Games are 7 p.m. Friday unless noted.
Milwaukee King (0-2) vs. Milwaukee Marshall (1-1) at Custer Stadium, 6 p.m. Thursday
Ever since Marshall snapped King's 40-game City Conference winning streak in 2017, this has been as good of a rivalry as any in the conference. The teams split the last four meetings with the average margin 31⁄2 points. Who has the edge this time? It depends on your perspective. Marshall rebounded from a tough Week 1 loss to Racine Horlick to beat Bay View last week. King could be primed for a big night after an overtime loss to Kenosha Tremper.
No. 19 Kettle Moraine (2-0) at No. 3 Mukwonago (2-0)
Kettle Moraine has been dominant, scoring two shutouts while averaging 54 points. The Lasers will have a much tougher time this week, but having an elite quarterback will help its chances. Junior Chase Spellman is completing 76% (16 for 21) of his passes and played well against Mukwonago last season, hitting 16 of 27 attempts for 218 yards and one touchdown in a 31-14 loss. Mukwonago has played the tougher schedule with wins over Sussex Hamilton (1-1) and Whitefish Bay (1-1). Watch out for senior Jake Adams and junior Wynn Stang, who are both averaging at least 7 yards per carry.
No. 11 Marquette (0-2) at No. 18 Sussex Hamilton (1-1)
Marquette didn't cut itself any slack with its schedule: Arrowhead in Week 1, Loyola (Illinois), a top team in the Chicago area, in Week 2 and now the Chargers, who are off to a promising start after going winless in league play last season. One player the Hilltoppers will watch closely is junior quarterback Nate Kollath, who in addition to passing for 539 yards leads Hamilton with 154 yards rushing. Marquette entered the season as a slim favorite in the Greater Metro, but there isn't much separating the top six teams.
No. 17 Cedarburg (2-0) at Nicolet (2-0)
This North Shore opener features the league's two leading rushers, Cedarburg senior Connor Roloff (49 carries for 481 yards ) and Nicolet senior Braeden Ott (37 for 308). A win would give Cedarburg its best start since 2010, the year it was the Division 2 state runnerup. Nicolet has a chance for its first 3-0 start in at least 20 years.
Oak Creek (2-0) at Racine Horlick (2-0)
Will Horlick be the first team to solve the Knights' defense? Oak Creek enters Week 3 with back-to-back shutouts and is holding opponents to 137 yards. Senior Gabe Alyousef, the reigning Southeast Conference defensive lineman of the year, has been active for the unit as have linebackers Drew Braam, a sophomore, and Max Berumen, a senior. Horlick has been getting good linebacker play and an all-around effort in general from junior Blake Fletcher, who leads the team tackles, rushing and is the starting quarterback.
Westosha Central (2-0) at Union Grove (2-0)
This could be the first test of the season for Union Grove, which finished atop the Southern Lakes last season only to have the conference not declare a champion due to schedule inequities caused by the pandemic. This year's version of the Broncos might be better. One of their bigger stories so far has been senior running back Cody Cotton, a senior who barely carried the ball last season but is averaging 14.1 yards per carry and ranks sixth in the state with 452 yards. That's nice, but a bit behind the pace set by Central senior Jakob Simmons, who leads the state with 578 rushing yards and is averaging 13.8.
Grafton (1-1) at Greendale (2-0)
This game marks the start of one of the more interesting moves of conference realignment. Grafton moved from the North Shore, where as one of the league's smallest schools it often struggled, to the Woodland, where the team appears to be a better fit. With 19 returning starters, its first run through the league could be special. Greendale went undefeated against the Woodland during the spring season and has won nine straight games.