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8-Man Football Weekly Spotlight: August 31

08/31/2016, 1:15pm CDT
By Travis Wilson

Every Wednesday during the regular season we will highlight the 8-Man Football game with a spotlight article on WisSports.net. We'll look back at the action and big stories from the previous week, look ahead at the coming week's big match-ups, and select a Star of the Week.

8-Man coaches, please enter player stats on WSN so that we can continue having the necessary information to produce this weekly spotlight of your game, and feel free to send any news or information to us as well.

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Looking Back

So, do you like a little offense with your football? If you were at the Oakfield versus Abundant Life game on Friday, you got quite the treat in that department. After leading 54-39 at halftime, Abundant Life held on for an 80-72 victory. Abundnat Life quarterback Mike Rhatican threw for 428 yards and 8 touchdowns, while his counterpart, Eric Jacob, had 492 yards and 7 touchdowns as the teams combined for 939 yards through the air. The beneficiaries of all that throwing were Abundant Life receiver Justin Schmiesing (9 catches, 256 yards, 5 TD) and Oakfield's Brandon Williams (8, 269, 3) and Ethan Tapp (13, 167, 2). Abundant Life was able to do more damage on the ground however, as Obi Iwuagu, who holds a scholarship offer from North Dakota, ran for 223 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 carries. In addition to his receiving exploits, Brandon Williams of Oakfield had two kickoff return touchdowns, a punt return score, a rushing touchdown, a team-high 10 tackles on defense, and a pick.

Oneida Nation (51 points), Siren (52), and Northwood/Solon Springs (70) also put up big numbers offensively. Oneida's Ryan King had 110 rushing yards with 2 punt return touchdowns, Northwood's Elijah Volz ran for r scores, and Siren's Brady Mangen had 337 yards rushing with 4 touchdowns, adding another score as a passer. Mangen has more than twice as many rushing yards (630) as any 8-Man player so far this year, with 9 touchdowns and 5 two-point conversions on the ground as well.

After falling to Wisconsin Heights last week, Green Bay NEW Lutheran got back on track with a 32-20 victory over Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas. Luck has four games on its record as of Week 3 thanks to forfeits by both Birchwood and New Auburn, but the games on the field haven't haven't gone as well as the Cardinals had hoped. After falling to Prairie Farm in Week 1, Luck took on U.P. power North Central, going down 60-14.

Looking Ahead

Clayton makes its debut in the 8-Man game in Week 3, taking on Luck. The Bears were forced to cancel their 11-Man schedule shortly after practices began, but have added several 8-Man games this year. After not only making the 11-Man playoffs last year but winning a postseason game, it will be interesting to see how the team adjusts to reduced-player football. 

Both Valley Christian and Abundant Life have played just one game so far this year, but put up eye-popping offensive numbers. It could be a shootout between these two teams on Saturday, as Abundant Life plays host at 1 pm.

Star of the Week: Brandon Williams, Oakfield

While it came in a losing effort, what Williams did last week against Abundant Life was rather incredible. The 6-1, 160-pound junior racked up 574 yards, doing big-time damage in all phases of the game. Williams caught 8 passes for 269 yards and 3 touchdowns, ran for 58 yards and a score, had a 50-yard punt return touchdown, and returned three kickoffs for 197 yards with two more scores. Not only that, he led the team with 10 tackles and recorded an interception.

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.

Tag(s): News Archive  News  Travis Wilson