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Below are some quick takeaways from Level 1 of the high school football playoffs. Look for a full preview of each division to come out next week on WisSports.net.

Last year, 23 of 112 road teams won in Level 1, or 20.5%. It was the second-highest road winning percentage since the WIAA went to 1-8 seeding in 2012. This year, just 16 of 112 road teams (14.3%) claimed victory in Level 1, the lowest percentage by visiting teams since 2012.

Teams seeded 6th or lower claimed victory in 13 Level 1 games last season, including seven #7 seeds that won road contests. Higher-seeded home teams fared much better in 2016 however, as just eight teams seeded 6th or lower got victories.

Perhaps most surprisingly, top-seeded Sun Prairie was blown out by #8 Madison La Follette, 40-13. It came just one week after Sun Prairie had defeated the Lancers 31-7, meaning a 51-point swing in just seven days.

The full list of teams seeded #6 or lower to gain victories is below:

#6 Pulaski over #3 Hortonville 35-28
#6 Eleva-Strum over #3 Turtle Lake  42-26
#6 Owen-Withee over #3 Hurley  22-16

#7 Holmen over #2 Superior  58-37
#7 Menomonee Falls over #2 Menasha  21-14
#7 Delavan-Darien over Mount Horeb/Barneveld  28-21 (OT)
#7 Watertown over #2 Wilmot  28-21

#8 Madison La Follette over #1 Sun Prairie  40-13

The Badger-North has produced four different teams to advance to at least Level 4 in the last decade and routinely sees multiple teams make deep postseason runs. This year, the league struggled, going 1-3, with Waunakee's victory over league rival DeForest the only win for the conference.

Conversely, the Mississippi Valley has seen its share of postseason struggles over the years, but finished 4-1 last night, as the only loss was Sparta going down to Onalaska. The Six Rivers also went 4-1 with the lone loss a conference match-up.

The Greater Metro has not had a team in the state title game since Marquette beat GMC foe Menomonee Falls for the 2009 D1 title, though Marquette has three state semi-final trips since then. The conference is off to a great start, going 4-0, including 7-seed Menomonee Falls handing Menasha its first loss of the year. The Capitol-North went 3-0 also.

It was domination by the defending state champions in Level 1, as the teams won by an average of 44 points. Osceola's 28-14 victory over Altoona was the only game decided by less than 30 points.

D1: Kimberly beat Milwaukee Vincent 78-0
D2: Homestead beat Milwaukee Bradley Tech 56-0
D3: Notre Dame beat Shawano 45-13
D4: Osceola beat Altoona 28-14
D5: Amherst beat Oconto 41-6
D6: Saint Mary's Springs beat Manawa 65-8
D7: Bangor beat McDonell Central 65-28

It was one of the premier match-ups on the schedule, as Big Eight co-champ Verona hosted Arrowhead, who had made four straight Division 1 state title games. The first half was exciting, though both teams struggled to sustain any momentum on offense. In fact, almost every score in the game was set-up by a turnover.

It started on the opening drive, when Arrowhead was forced to punt by a poor decision on trying to field a bouncing punt by a Verona played resulted in a muff, recovered by Arrowhead inside the red zone. The Warhawks punched in a touchdown, and a short time later took advantage of a fourth-down Verona fumble to go ahead 14-7.

Verona got a turnover of its own late in the first quarter however, as Jack Scott tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage and pulled it in for an interception, taking it inside the Arrowhead five-yard line. A few players later, Max Fink found Hunter Bourne for a 1-yard touchdown. 

Arrowhead held on for a 17-14 halftime advantage as I head to head to the radio studio, but a turnover proved the difference in the second half, as Jared Grassman returned a fumble for a touchdown late in the third quarter to put Verona up 21-17, which turned out to be the final score.

It was a disappointing ending to a frustrating season for Arrowhead, who finish just 5-5 in Fritz Rauch's first year as head coach. The Warhawks, who have four former Big Ten players (Joe Panos, Drew Meyer, Jeff Budzien, and Brady Kelliher) and three former high school head coaches (Tom Taraska, Ryan Serfort, Dave Pfeiffer) among the numerous assistant coaches, have too much talent in the program to stay down for long. Look for the team to get things figured out in the off-season and bounce back strong next year.

Verona advances to face an undefeated Badger team, but the Wildcats are banged up and will need to generate more offense as they take on better teams in the playoffs. The defense is outstanding though, and can keep them in most ballgames.

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.