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The Team of the Week is back again for 2012. The voting this year is upgraded and is featured at the bottom of the article. Voting is open until Thursday at 4 p.m., so be sure to vote for who you feel is most deserving and spread the word. Users may vote once per day.

Durand -- The Panthers raced out to a 6-0 record this year, which made for plenty of excitement in the community. While they started to make a name statewide, many pointed to the Week 7 game versus last year's D4 runners-up Somerset as the ultimate proving ground as to what kind of team Durand had. The Panthers served notice that they are one of the state's elite teams with a hard fought 16-13 win over Somerset to secure at least a share of the Middle Border Conference title. Trailing 13-10 since the second quarter, Durand converted on a fourth down late in the fourth quarter and then scored on a double pass from Jake Weber to a tightly covered Jacob Biesterveld to go up 16-13 as they held on for the win.

Lancaster -- The Flying Arrow found themselves in a position Friday night that they are unfamiliar with this year - trailing. Down 14-7 at halftime against fellow unbeaten River Valley in a battle for SWC supremacy, Lancaster dug deep and put together a pair of second-half scoring drives to pull out a 21-14 victory. Ranked #1 all season in the WisSports.net Division 5 Coaches Poll, the Flying Arrows were unable to break the big plays that had resulted in a 46 point per game scoring average coming in. Instead, fullback Trae Mezera pounded away with 23 carries for 93 yards, including the game-tying touchdown in the third quarter. Quarterback A.J. Day, one of several explosive skill position players, scored from 18 yards out in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Lancaster's defense held River Valley to just 234 total yards of offense.

Menasha -- The Bluejays' 42-7 win over previously unbeaten Marshfield ranks up there as one of the most surprising scores of the 2012 season. Certainly a solid team that has now clinched a fourth straight playoff berth, few could have predicted Menasha rolling to a 42-0 lead before Marshfield scored and holding the Tigers to just 44 yards of offense. If not for a 68-yard touchdown run by Kerion Howlett in the third quarter after the team was already down by six touchdowns, Marshfield would have finished with negative yards overall. Senior quarterback Tyler Korth scored three rushing touchdowns while running back Josh Mennen added a pair of scores on the ground.

West De Pere -- The Phantoms breezed through the first six weeks of the season, scoring at least 43 points in every game and cracking the 65 point mark twice. They knew they'd be in for a battle with fellow unbeaten Seymour however, and a battle it was. In a game dominated by the defenses, West De Pere went up 12-7 at halftime and held on for the win by the same score. Led by a strong defensive front, the Phantoms held Seymour to just 119 total yards of offense. The team got on the board first with a fake punt that Zach Rothering took 56 yards for a touchdown, and went head for good on a 10-yard touchdown catch by Connor Konshak early in the second quarter. The victory runs West De Pere's winning streak to 35 games since falling to Reedsburg in the 2009 Division 3 state title game.

Whitefish Bay -- In a week marked by some incredible offensive performances, it was the defense for Whitefish Bay that made the difference as the Blue Dukes defeated Homestead 14-7. It marked the first win over the Highlanders since Bay head coach Jim Tietjen took over in 2002, ending a streak of 10 straight losses during that time. Senior Rashadeem Gray is one of the top running backs in the state and holds at least one Division 1 scholarship offer, but it was a pair of big plays on defense that made the biggest impact Friday. With just under 4 minutes left in the game, Gray stole the ball from Homestead's Jay Schneider on a pass down the sideline for an interception that ended a Highlander drive. Homestead got the ball back and faced a 4th and 8 in their own territory when Gray tackled Schneider short of the first down marker to secure the victory.