Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the high school football season was split into two parts, with about 70% of teams participating in an abbreviated fall schedule, while about 30% of teams participated in an alternate spring schedule. Neither season had a traditional playoff tournament, and teams that participated in the fall did not play against teams from the spring. 

In an effort to compare teams from both seasons and generate discussion in the absence of teams settling it on the field, WSN General Manager and football writer Travis Wilson will be producing All-State Team Rankings. These rankings are determined by Wilson based on his in-person observations, film review, record and stats consideration, and other factors, and are not affiliated with the WSN Coaches Poll.

In an effort to continue to recognize the outstanding teams and players while placing and evaluating teams in somewhat like-sized groupings, we will be using Large Schools (1000+ enrollment), Medium Schools (999-400), and Small Schools (399 or under) designations along with 8-Player.

Previously released rankings:

Large All-Season Rankings
Medium All-Season Rankings
Small All-Season Rankings
8-Player All-Season Rankings

Whitefish Bay put together one of the best seasons in school history, as the Blue Dukes went unbeaten to claim a North Shore Conference title. They didn't end there, beating a very good Martin Luther team to open the WIAA fall postseason before taking down Catholic Memorial 19-7 to close out the year. It was a tough, physical group that featured some outstanding athletes, including Division 1 lineman Joe Brunner, senior quarterback Jack Stecker, two-way standout Grover Bortolotti, and emerging D1 junior linebacker prospect Nick Jorndt. Whitefish Bay was a perfect 7-0 on the year.

Greendale dominated its way through the revised spring Woodland Conference-Grey Division, with just a 17-14 decision over Whitnall coming by fewer than three scores. Rob Stoltz's defense allowed just 34 points all season, posting four shutouts. A big, dominating offensive line helped pave the way for an offense that averaged 34 points and 340 yards of offense per game. 

Catholic Memorial followed up back-to-back state championships with another solid season, as the Crusaders opened the year with impressive victories over Wauwatosa West and Brookfield Central. While the solid victories would pile up, there were a few hiccups, with defeats against Menomonee Falls, Germantown, and a Level 2 loss against Whitefish Bay. Still, you'd be hard-pressed to find the kind of quality victories CMH had by many other teams. The Crusaders finished 6-3 on the year.

Ellsworth is one of the biggest surprise teams of 2020, going unbeaten through the always-tough Middle Border Conference after failing to qualify for the playoffs in 2019. The Panthers dispatched Somerset a second time to open the postseason, then posted a dominating 42-14 win over Northwestern to close out the year. The defense was outstanding, allowing less than ten points per game. Quarterback Mason Anderson showed significant improvement this season, Max Grand averaged more than 13 yards per carry, and Jack Janke was a big-play threat at receiver. Ellsworth finished a perfect 8-0 on the year as the only unbeaten team in Division 3.

Menasha was really good in the middle part of the season, with some impressive wins against Holmen, Racine Horlick, and Kewaunee amongst others. However, the Bluejays opened with a loss to Notre Dame, and closed it with a loss to DeForest in a rematch of the 2019 Division 3 state championship game. Sophomore quarterback A.J. Korth grew into a force, throwing 18 touchdowns while rushing for seven more. Luke Maurer led the state in receiving yards (718) and touchdowns (10). 

Luxemburg-Casco missed the playoffs last year but had an excellent bounce back campaign. After a 41-16 loss to Wrightstown in the second game of the year, the Spartans would win six straight to close the season, including postseason victories over ranked Division 2 teams Plymouth and West De Pere. Luxemburg-Casco finished 7-1 in the fall season.

Rhinelander put together an incredible turnaround in the last couple years. Prior to 2019, the program had just two playoff appearances in school history. They advanced to the postseason for just the third time in Aaron Kraemer's first year at the helm in 2019, and expectations were certainly raised. I think it's fair to say those expectations were exceeded this year, as the Hodags won a number of close games (five by one score) to post a record of 8-1 in the fall. They came up short in a de facto Great Northern Conference championship game against Medford in the final week of the regular season, but it set the stage for a history-making first just a week later. A 27-20 win against Lakeland in Level 1 was the first playoff win for the Hodags in school history, and they followed it up with a thrilling 27-26 win over Mosinee just a week later. 

Stoughton opened the season with a loss to Waunakee, then fell to Milton later in the season, but the Vikings scored a big 19-10 win over Notre Dame in the final game of the season to make a big jump in the final WSN Coaches Poll, going from seventh to second. A strong running game saw three different players rush for at least 450 yards: Darrick Hill, Jonah O'Connor, and Brooks Empey. A tough defensive unit featured Empey along with other standouts like Rudy Detweiler, John Harman, Luke Mechler, and Curtis Jaskulke, as those five top players combined to be credited with 28 sacks and 75 tackles for loss.

Lodi navigated through a pretty tough schedule to finish undefeated in the 2021 spring season. They opened with a nice 32-11 win over Edgerton, and survived a few close calls along the way. The closing two games to the season were especially impressive, first a 17-14 decision over Columbus followed by a dominating 40-6 victory against Kewaunee. Lucas Heyroth had a big season, averaging more than 150 yards per game on the ground.

Xavier certainly made a strong case as the top team in Division 3 last fall, though the Hawks would come up short in the Coaches Poll voting. Playing a bit of an adjusted schedule due to teams opting out, Xavier's only loss on the year was a close 25-14 affair with a very good, and larger, West De Pere squad. The Hawks did have victories over Shawano, Fox Valley Lutheran, Hortonville, and Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian on the year, all of them in convincing fashion. Xavier finished 7-1 on the season.

Monroe played just five games this spring, like most of the Rock Valley Conference. The Cheesemakers were a perfect 5-0, winning the Rock Valley-Big. It was a well-balanced team that had a number of playmakers on offense and defense. Both Trevor Rodebaugh and Tyler Matley averaged more than 100 yards per game on the ground, while Keatin Sweeney added nearly 75 yards per contest.

Brodhead/Juda had two games canceled this spring, but fortunately were able to find a replacement for one of them. They also opted to not schedule a game in Week 7. Still, they went a perfect 5-0 on the year. Every game was a blowout except a tight 23-22 decision over New Glarus/Monticello, as they claimed the league title in the COVID Spring-Large Conference. 

Notre Dame opened the season with a 13-10 comeback win over highly-regarded Menasha, and it catapulted the Tritons to the number one spot in the WSN Medium Schools Coaches Poll for the first five weeks. However, they lived on the edge in a couple close victories, and in the final two games of the season, they'd drop competitive contests to Superior and Stoughton, tumbling to seventh in the final Coaches Poll.

Onalaska wasn't sure they'd be able to play this season at all, with local health guidelines putting things at risk. However, not only did the Hilltoppers end up playing, they were able to piece together a solid schedule despite numerous cancelations. There were 19 different games on the team's schedule at one point or another, and they ended up playing eight contests. They dropped close games against Edgar and Saint Croix Central, but did beat Baraboo 50-26 to close out the fall schedule, finishing 6-2.

Baraboo was thrown into a bit of a quandary when many of the Badger Conference schools opted for the alternate spring season. The T-Birds were able to put together a full schedule nonetheless, and it turned into one of the best seasons in many years. Baraboo did not lose a game against a Badger Conference team, with the only defeats against Sussex Hamilton as well as a season-ending loss to Onalaska. Still, Baraboo was clearly the top Badger Conference team playing in the fall, finishing with a 7-2 overall record.

Ashland
Columbus
Freedom
G-E-T
Grafton
Jefferson
Little Chute
Martin Luther
Mosinee
New Richmond
Pewaukee
Plymouth
Shawano
Two Rivers
West Salem

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.