Classic 8 dominates, and a new backfield duo shines
Week 1 of the WIAA high school football season brought some nail-biting finishes and dominant performances for area programs. Here are three takeaways from opening week:
Classic 8 dominates Week 1 foes
The Classic 8 Conference swept their opening week matchups on Friday, including six games played away from home. Mukwonago beat Stevens Point, 35-7, and Waukesha West pulled away from Hartford in a 42-14 game to highlight the less competitive road games. Kettle Moraine beat Racine Horlick, 40-14, at Pewaukee High School while construction around the Lasers' home field remains ongoing. Oconomowoc defended home with a 42-13 win over Watertown. Waukesha South had a successful road opener in a 29-12 win over Milwaukee Lutheran, while Waukesha North started with a 28-14 home victory over West Allis Hale. Two other Classic 8 teams survived close contests on the road as well. Arrowhead made two clutch stops in the fourth quarter on an interception by sophomore Santonio Martin and a fortunate overhead snap by Marquette at the goal line in the final minute to hang on for a 21-14 win. Muskego won a 38-35 game over Verona on junior placekicker Gabe Walden's first varsity field goal attempt from 43 yards as time expired. The Classic 8 figures to produce some of the state's toughest matchups once again in 2023, and Week 1's showing was an impressive opening salvo.
Slinger holds off Menomonee Falls in shootout
Slinger defeated Menomonee Falls, 49-41, in a nonconference affair that ended up being the highest-scoring area game of the week on Friday. The Owls built a comfortable 28-6 lead headed late into the first half led by three total touchdowns from quarterback Michael Thiede. The Phoenix fired back with a double-up around the halftime break, however. Menomonee Falls scored on a 54-yard Joseph Koch run before half, and a 38-yard Koch run out of the half to pull within 28-19. Falls also answered Thiede's fourth TD of the game with another 65-yard Koch run to again climb within a score at 35-27 later in the third. A four-yard touchdown run early in the fourth from Wilson Kershner pulled the Phoenix within two, but the two-point try to tie came up short. Slinger pulled away on Thiede's fifth touchdown of the game on a 24-yard strike to Mark Leidel, and an 8-yard run from Jack Klippel to make it 49-33 with 3:25 remaining in the fourth. Falls drove quickly down the field and scored on a Kershner touchdown pass to Mason Holseth with 2:11 remaining, but were unable to complete the comeback and force overtime. The Owls are looking to build upon an 8-3 finish last season, and the resilience shown Friday was a good first step toward that end.
New backfield shines in debut for Sussex Hamilton
Senior quarterback
Tyler Hatcher had big shoes to fill taking over under center for the Chargers this year in place of graduated three-year starter Nate Kollath. If Week 1 was any indicator, Sussex Hamilton has another stud signal-caller on their hands. Hatcher completed 16-of-19 passes for 304 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in a 56-28 win at Fond du Lac on Friday. He also displayed his athleticism in the running game, rushing for 84 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries as the Chargers' second-leading rusher. Nick Kihn received plenty of targets with seven receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown, but Blake Schauer (3 catches, 96 yards, TD), Kyle LaVoy (3 catches, 43 yards, TD) and Adam Heberer (2 catches, 52 yards) were also featured. Sussex Hamilton also got a dominant 197 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries from new starting senior running back Hayden Coppersmith. If both can keep up this level of production while minimizing turnovers, the Chargers have an offense not to be taken lightly in 2023.