Muskego star Current has a very memorable night
Alex Current's stat line from Friday night is jarring, even for a player who has made a habit of posting video game numbers.
Five touchdowns. Two-hundred thirty yards. Eight carries.
Current accomplished those numbers against the imposing front seven of Arrowhead as he scored all of Muskego's touchdowns in a 32-24 victory on the road.
The Warriors tailback won the 2019 Gatorade state player of the year award and rushed for more than 3,000 yards and 45 touchdowns in his first two seasons, yet Friday might have been his best performance yet.
He took the second play from scrimmage 79 yards on a counter for a touchdown, then did the same from 70 yards on the next possession. He later scored from 15 and 49 yards before sealing the victory with a 14-yard scamper with 2 minutes, 45 seconds to go.
The win was Muskego's 29th in a row.
Arrowhead was able to find some success against the vaunted Warriors defense, compiling more than 300 yards and scoring three touchdowns, which could be promising signs for a team that struggled to find consistent offense a year ago.
Here are four more takeaways from the first night of high school football.
Grafton takes advantage
The Black Hawks were more like the Ball Hawks in Week 1.
Grafton forced three first-half turnovers and was the recipient of a muffed punt in the fourth quarter, turning the four turnovers into 24 points as it began its post-North Shore Conference life with a convincing 33-7 win over New Berlin Eisenhower.
“These early season games, it's tough,” Grafton coach Jim Norris said. “You've got to get ahead on that turnover margin because there may be a few. When I was (a player) at Whitewater, they used to say if your turnover plus/minus was even plus-one, your winning percentage goes up a pretty big amount.
"I don't know exactly what that number looks like in the Parkland Conference, but it's one of those things were we pride ourselves on working on fundamentals and being aggressive when we have the chance.”
The turnovers weren't the only story for Grafton.
Senior wide receiver Dominic Voiland caught two touchdown passes and ran for another. He scored on the Black Hawks' first offensive play of the game — immediately following an interception, of course — which was drawn up Sunday as the game-opening call.
“I got one-on-one on the outside and that was the look the coaches saw coming in,” Voiland said. “I knew I was going to beat him and so I just needed to focus on catching the ball. The nerves were there, but once that first snap goes they're all gone. That was great.”
The season kickoff
The very first game played around the state this year took place in Delafield as St. John's Northwestern Military Academy defeated Fall River/Rio, 26-7.
The Lancers, who moved to the Trailways Conference as part of the statewide conference realignment beginning in 2020, were a two-man show with brothers Donald and Philip Austin combining for all four touchdowns and more than 300 yards rushing. Donald, the running back, ran unofficially 30 times for 222 yards and three scores.
The rest of the game, though, looked a lot like what you would expect from the first game of the season: lots of penalties.
Still, there's no doubt St. John's, which is in its first year with former Kettle Moraine coach Mike Fink as head coach, will take pride picking up the first victory of the season in Wisconsin.
Close calls in the SEC
The No. 2 team in the area rankings got a Week 1 scare.
Franklin trailed Kenosha Bradford going into the fourth quarter before rallying for a 24-21 win.
Myles Burkett threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns but also had three interceptions, and the Sabers rushing attack never materialized as their leading rusher tallied only 16 yards.
Bradford took a 14-10 lead on a Nate Olson 1-yard run early in the third quarter and remained in front until Burkett and Jacques Brooks connected for an 80-yard score with 10:24 left in the fourth.
Oak Creek brought its defense and a freshman quarterback on the road and knocked off Kenosha Indian Trail, a team full of weapons on offense pegged as a potential conference winner.
The Knights held the Hawks to less than 250 total yards of offense while putting up a 13-0 shutout.
On offense, Oak Creek started freshman Cade Palkowski, who ran the ball 23 times for 99 yards and a score while also throwing for 88 yards.
New faces
The first week can provide a glimpse at what new names might become regulars in the box scores.
Among the players who played little to none in 2019 who had big performances this week are Palkowski, Norton, Germantown quarterback Ethan Sawyer, Sussex Hamilton quarterback Nate Kollath, Racine Lutheran quarterback Camdin Jansen, New Berlin West running back Andrew VanZile, Oconomowoc quarterback Jack Hellman, Burlington quarterback Peyton O'Laughlin and Westosha Central running back Michael Mulhollon.