FOCUS ON FOOTBALL
AREA RANKINGS
School (record) Last week
1. Muskego (1-0) 1
2. Catholic Memorial (1-0) 2
3. Marquette (0-1) 3
4. Brookfield Central (1-0) 4
5. Homestead (1-0) 5
6. Arrowhead (1-0) 6
7. Oak Creek (1-0) 7
8. Brookfield East (1-0) 8
9. Franklin (0-1) 9
10. New Berlin Eisenhower (1-0) 10
Players of the week
Offense
Nate Valcarcel, Whitnall: We usually lean toward players who've helped their team win for this honor, but Valcarcel's case was special. The 6-foot-1, 175pound senior rushed 31 times for a school-record 386 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-25 loss at Burlington Friday. The performance included touchdowns runs of 75, 52, 5 24 and 66 yards. He also played safety and finished with 10 tackles.
Defense
Hunter Wohler, Muskego: The all-state safety delivered another strong performance to help the Warriors defeat Marquette, 14-10, Thursday. He finished with 11 tackles, seven solos, and picked off a deeply thrown halfback option pass to end a scoring threat in the first half. He also broke up a pass in the fourth quarter to end Marquette's final drive of the night.
Special teams
Stjepan Peharda, New Berlin Eisenhower: The Lions might have found a natural in Peharda. The junior kicker had not played in a game before taking the field against Plymouth on Friday. Still, he drilled a 43-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 35-yard attempt with 55 seconds lift the Lions to a 27-24 victory on the road. Peharda, who is also a midfielder on the soccer team, went 3 for 3 on extra points.
Teams of the week
Lake Country Lutheran: The Lightning went on the road in Week 1 and snapped the 29-game winning streak of Fond du Lac Springs, which won the Division 5 state title last season and took the Division 6 crown in 2017. The 21-14 victory Saturday was fueled by special teams touchdowns at the start of each half. Senior Zander Mueller opened the game with an 89-yard kickoff return. At the start of the third quarter, sophomore Gunnar Grosenick caused a fumble and senior Andrew Schumacher, the kicker, returned the ball 20 yards for a touchdown. Lutheran held Springs scoreless until the fourth quarter. Schumacher, a linebacker, finished with 22 tackles while senior Noah Vanderberg (13), senior Jack Leverenz (12), Mueller (10) and senior Zach Hans (10) reached double-digits.
Kenosha Christian Life: Victory was a long time coming for the Eagles. Before their 24-12 victory over St. Thomas More on Friday, the program's last varsity win came in Week 8 of the 2015 season. The school didn't have a team in 2016 and played junior varsity the past two seasons. In its return to varsity competition, senior Jacob Shaffer had a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter to tie the game, 6-6, and finished with 194 rushing yards in 17 carries. He sealed the win with a 42-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.