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Level 2 Rapid Reaction

10/28/2023, 12:15pm CDT
By Travis Wilson

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Somerset's Dylan Leccia hauls in the game-winner to complete an improbable Spartans comeback

Below are some quick takeaways from Level 2 of the high school football playoffs. Look for a full preview of each division to come out next week on WisSports.net. Click here for the full results list from this week.

Clock Strikes Midnight

There were 13 teams seeded sixth or seventh that claimed victory in Level 1 of the playoffs, but for the majority of them, the dream came to an end in Level 2. Ten of those 13 teams suffered defeat Friday night.

All was not lost for underdogs, as, overall, 14 of 56 lower-seeded road teams would win in Level 2. Compare that to the 14 lower-seeded teams that won on the road in Level 2 last year, and 15 lower-seeded teams that won on the road in the 2021 Level 2 playoffs.

CINDERELLA KEEPS DANCING

For many reasons, it perhaps isn't too surprising to see these teams still alive, but any time a six or lower seed survives into Level 3, it is impressive and noteworthy.

There are a pair of seven-seeds still going in Division 3. Menasha knocked off second-seeded Plymouth in Level 1, then went on the road again to take down third-seeded New Berlin West 32-6. In the bottom half of that bracket, Stoughton went just 4-5 during the regular season and had to get into the playoffs via tiebreaker, but the Vikings have looked good so far, downing second-seeded Greendale in Level 1 before a 27-16 victory against third-seeded Waterford last night.

Speaking of teams that had to get in via tiebreaker, Somerset was just 3-4 in conference and 4-5 overall, but got into the playoffs and has made the most of the chances. The Spartans defeated third-seeded Oconto Falls last week and won a wild one against Mosinee last night, 42-40. More on that game later.

In addition to the teams above, Fond du Lac was a five-seed with a 4-5 overall mark. Fondy is still going though, beating De Pere to advance to Level 3.

Rematches can be tough

The old adage is "It's hard to beat the same team twice". We often see that some of the upsets that occur in the high school football playoffs are a result of this familiarity of opponents. But how often does it actually happen?

We've counted it up, and by our tally there have been 47 regular season rematches so far in the playoffs. The teams that won the first meeting have gone 38-9 in those rematches, though that is probably about to be expected since you would assume most of the head-to-head winners were also better teams with better overall records, better seeds, and home games.

It is interesting to note that in Level 1, the winner of the first matchup was 22-4 the second time around, while the winning percentage shrunk a bit in Level 2 to 16-5.

Teams that avenged earlier losses in Level 2 included:

  • Cedarburg over Homestead
  • Onalaska over Medford
  • Grafton over Port Washington
  • Baldwin-Woodville over Saint Croix Central
  • Thorp over Gilman

There are six rematches on tap for Level 3 of the playoffs (previous winner listed first):

  • Kimberly against Neenah
  • Baldwin-Woodville against Somerset
  • Northwestern against Saint Croix Falls
  • Cashton against Bangor
  • Potosi/Cassville against Black Hawk/Warren
  • McDonell Central against Thorp

Tracking the Champions

One defending champion was eliminated in Level 2 of the playoffs.

D1: Kimberly beat Stevens Point 35-18
D2: Kettle Moraine beat Westosha Central 31-0
D3: Monroe beat McFarland 28-20
D4: Columbus beat Prairie du Chien 33-7 in a Division 5 game
D5: Aquinas beat Watertown Luther Prep 46-22
D6: Stratford beat Mondovi 21-0
D7: Regis lost to Edgar 20-0 in Level 2
8-Player: Newman Catholic lost to Gilman 49-20 in Level 1

Conference Results

Below is a list of conferences and the combined win-loss percentage of league teams. The FVA has the best overall record at 8-1, with the only loss coming Level 1 as Appleton North fell to league foe Kimberly. The Six Rivers is next with a 5-1 league mark (and the only loss was against another conference team), while the FRC-South is 4-1. A total of 14 conferences have no more teams alive in the postseason.

(sorted by winning percentage)

Badger-Large 4-2
Badger-Small 5-2
Bay  3-2
Big East  4-5
Big Eight  3-3
Big Rivers  4-4
Capitol  7-2
Classic Eight  6-3
Cloverbelt  3-6
Coulee  3-4
CWC-Large 5-2
CWC-Small 0-2
Dairyland  2-4
Dunn-St. Croix  4-5
East Central  1-4
Eastern Suburban  2-4
Eastern Wisconsin  3-3
Flyway 5-4
FRCC-North 3-5
FRCC-South 4-1
FVA 8-1
Great Northern  2-6
Greater Metro  5-3
Heart O'North  6-2
Independent 0-1
Lakeland  3-3
Marawood  5-3
Metro Classic  3-3
Middle Border  7-2
Midwest Classic  1-4
Milwaukee-Blackbourn 0-3
Milwaukee-Richardson 0-5
Mississippi Valley  5-6
North Eastern 5-2
North Shore  5-4
Northwoods  1-6
Packerland  3-4
Parkland 3-4
Ridge & Valley  0-4
Rock Valley  3-3
Scenic Bluffs  4-3
Six Rivers  5-1
South Central  0-3
Southeast  4-4
Southern Lakes 4-4
SWAL 3-3
SWC 4-3
Trailways  5-3
VFA 1-5
Woodland 2-3

My Game: Somerset 42, Mosinee 40

I'm still not quite sure where to start with this one, but I do know it was one of the top five games I've seen in person in my 16 years covering high school football for WisSports.net.

It was exciting from the start, with Somerset seemingly doing whatever it wanted to in racing out to a 24-7 lead at end of the first quarter, as the Spartans scored three touchdowns and coverted the two-point play on each.

Mosinee hung around though, and would pull within 24-21 in the second quarter, but with just 10 seconds remaining before halftime, Caymen Gebheim would take a pitch in from ten yards out for a Somerset touchdown and 30-21 halftime advantage.

Mosinee would get a score in the third quarter, and rattle off two more touchdowns in the fourth to move ahead 40-30 midway through the final period, as Keagen Jirschele converted a fourth and seven play for a touchdown.

Somerset would put a drive together, but on fourth and 27 from around midfield, a desperation heave would go unanswered as Mosinee took over with 2:47 remaining in the game, up by ten points.

It seemed the outcome was all but decided, though things went haywire in a hurry for Mosinee. The Indians fumbled the second play, giving the ball back to Somerset, who still faced a steep uphill climb.

The Spartans put together a string of positive plays and would get a 25-yard touchdown from Kane Donnelly to Dylan Leccia with 59 seconds remaining to pull within 40-36.

While Mosinee was reeling a bit, they just needed to recover the ensuing onside kick to wrap things up. However, a perfectly placed dribbler by Gebheim was recovered by Somerset.

Somerset again went down the field quickly, with Donnelly making several plays with his legs. With six seconds left, the Spartans completed a pass along the sideline but the runner could not get out of bounds. Time expired on the clock, but Somerset was granted a timeout and one second added back to the game clock.

That setup the fateful final play, as Donnelly lofted a pass from the three-yard line towards 6'5" Dylan Leccia. The defender stumbled and there was some contact, but the ball landed in Leccia's hands uncontested for the walk-off game-winning touchdown (video below) as Somerset claimed an improbable 42-40 victory.

A full box score is not yet available for Somerset, but there were big performances by Donnelly and Leccia in the victory.

Mosinee's Keagen Jirschele did all he could to keep the Indians in it, accounting for 310 total yards in the game with three touchdowns. He also had a pass breakup and several key tackles defensively. Gavin Obremski threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score, adding a pair of sacks on defense. Wyatt Harris ran for 128 yards and a score, with a receiving touchdown as well. Brady Lokken played extremely well on both sides of the ball also.

Ultimately though, against seemingly all odds, Somerset was able to rally in the final two-and-a-half minutes to pull off the stunner.


About the Author

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

For the latest and most up to date football news and recruiting information, follow Travis on Twitter @travisWSN. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Travis at travis(at)wissports.net.

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Tag(s): News Archive  News  Travis Wilson  Football Playoffs