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WSN 2020-2021 All-Season Football Rankings: Large Schools

05/20/2021, 9:30am CDT
By Travis Wilson

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

WISSPORTS.NET ALL-SEASON FOOTBALL RANKINGS: LARGE SCHOOLS

Muskego or Fond du Lac?

This is what you all wanted. My take on Muskego and Fond du Lac. It's been a discussion item since early in the spring season, when Fond du Lac established itself as a truly dominant team putting up ridiculous numbers. It came to a head when the Cardinals hung 71 points on Kimberly in the final game of the season to cap off a perfect 7-0 record.

As one of the few prep sports media members who saw both Fond du Lac and Muskego this year (as well as other "top team" contenders like Sun Prairie, Waunakee, Whitefish Bay, Franklin, Menomonee Falls, Kimberly, and Catholic Memorial), I was fortunate to see both in their final games of the respective seasons, when the most dominating parts of their teams shone the brightest. In the fall, Muskego capped off its third straight unbeaten season with a 31-7 domination of Menomonee Falls, as the Warriors' defense limited what had been a prolific Phoenix offense to just 65 total yards. The lone Menomonee Falls score came on the second half kickoff. This spring, Fond du Lac put up one of the most eye-opening offensive performances in recent memory, dismantling a very good Kimberly squad 71-47 as the duo of Kyle Walljasper and Braelon Allen were just too much, accounting for 667 total yards of offense and ten touchdowns between just those two. 

A mythical matchup between these two heavyweights would be a true test of the "Irresistible force meets immovable object" adage. Fond du Lac's offense wasn't stopped or even slowed down this year, averaging more than 58 points per game. Muskego's defense was as good as any I've seen, against a very tough schedule. However, I think the key may lie on the other side of the ball for each team. Fond du Lac's defense is talented and very experienced, but allowed a lot of points and yards (more than 600) against Kimberly. Several of their top players, including Walljasper and Allen, also go both ways. Muskego's offense can create all kinds of problems with its athletes and now-rarely utilized Wing-T, with a team preparing for it in a one-off situation in a tough spot when they aren't used to seeing it. No doubt it would be a great game between two of the top teams in recent years, and one that high school football fans around the state were unfortunately robbed of the opportunity to witness.

To see the full top 16...

To see who we pick number one as well as the rest of the top 16, visit our original article here. A WSN Extra subscription is required, which will allow you to unlock hundreds of in-depth articles across football, boys basketball, girls basketball, and baseball, including preseason rankings, conference previews, feature stories, player rankings, and much more. You can select a monthly option for $9.99/month, or get a great value on a yearly subscription for $59.99 per year.


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