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8-Player Football Weekly Spotlight: September 18

09/18/2019, 11:00am CDT
By Travis Wilson

Every Wednesday during the regular season we will highlight the 8-Player 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-Player 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.

8-Player Football Standings
8-Player Football Schedule
8-Player Football Stats Leaders

Looking Back

Bruce had been undefeated and ranked ninth in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll, but then the Red Raiders ran into the behemoth that is the Luck Cardinals. Luck raced out to a 62-0 lead at halftime, and despite running just 25 offensive plays in the game, the Cardinals would go on to win 74-0, averaging 13.3 yards per rush attempt with eight touchdowns on the ground.

In addition to Bruce, three other ranked teams went down last week. Wabeno/Laona went down to Gibraltar 28-24 in a game that saw six lead changes, though none more important than the final Gibraltar score with 4:09 remaining in the game that put them up for good, as Luke Steebs hit Alex Laughlin for a 66-yard score.

Belmont continued its strong showing as a first-year 8-player program, handing Wisconsin Heights its first loss, 43-16 in a running clock game. Riley Christensen ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns, caught a 25-yard score, and threw for 123 yards and a touchdown.

Northwood/Solon Springs, previously ranked sixth, dropped out of this week's poll after going down to Shell Lake 20-14.

Defending state champion Sevastopol fell to 0-4 on the season, as things are not looking good for the Pioneers after a 60-0 loss to Florence on Friday.

Siren remains third in the latest WSN Coaches Poll, and the Dragons put up big numbers last week in a 47-8 win over Mercer/Butternut. Trevor Stanford rushed for 240 yards and three touchdowns, caught seven passes for 191 yards and two scores, and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in the game. Quarterback Jordan Webster chipped in with 230 passing yards and a pair of scores as well.

Looking Ahead

Perhaps the biggest 8-player game we'll see all regular season takes place this week, as third-ranked Siren travels to top-ranked Luck for a non-conference contest. The teams met last year in the regular season game, as Luck ran for 447 yards to claim a dominating 64-26 victory. Both teams have dominated so far in 2019. Luck again does it mostly on the ground, as a balanced rushing attack churns out 345 yards per game. Siren can run it as well, averaging 261 yards per game on the ground, though the Dragons also average 201 yards per game through the air. 

Defending state champion Sevastopol is still looking for its first win of the year, and the Pioneers should have a shot to get on the correct side of the ledger against winless Wausaukee.

Suring and Wabeno/Laona are both new programs to 8-player football, and have started out very well in their debuts seasons, each sitting at 3-1. They'll be looking to keep pace with Florence, who is the only unbeaten in MONLPC-8 play and takes on Gillett this week.

Prairie Farm and Frederic are undefeated in the Lakeland-8 South, and their matchup means one of them will remain tied with league heavyweight Luck.

North Crawford dips its toes in the 8-player realm this week, as the Trojans are playing a mostly 11-player schedule this year before making the switch to 8-player next year. However, they'll take on Belmont this week in an 8-player game.

Star of the Week: Alex Laughlin, Gibraltar

Gibraltar handed Wabeno/Laona its first loss of the season in a nip-and-tuck affair, as the last of six lead changes occurred with just over four minutes remaining when Alex Laughlin hauled in a 66-yard touchdown pass from Luke Steebs. Laughlin was all over the field for the Vikings, completing both passes he attempted for 53 yards and a touchdown, rushing 10 times for 37 yards and a score, and hauling in five catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns. He added 17 tackles (including two for loss) on defense with a forced fumble and two pass breakups as Gibraltar won 28-24.

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.

Tag(s): News Archive  News  Travis Wilson