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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.

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Unfortunately the marquee game on last week's schedule did not get contested, as Newman Catholic and Athens could not be worked out, though both were healthy and able to play. There are conflicting reports on the reasons for the cancelation.

In games that did actually get played, McDonell Central fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, going down to Phillips 46-44 as the Loggers rallied from a ten-point deficit with less than five minutes remaining to score the victory.

Luck survived against Shell Lake 63-57, overcoming a ten-point fourth quarter deficit. Wyatt Jensen had a huge game for Luck, rushing for 430 yards and eight touchdowns on just 19 attempts. Shell Lake went for more than 600 rushing yards in the game, all coming from just two players: Sam Negus ran 34 times for 351 yards and five touchdowns, Wes Kilber ran 35 times for 253 yards and three touchdowns.

Athens senior Cooper Diedrich had quite the all-around day as the Bluejays defeated Gillett 60-14. He threw a 26-yard touchdown, ran it twice for 112 yards and two scores, returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown, returned the second half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, and recorded an interception on defense.

What a day it was for Ashton Maney on Saturday as Three Lakes took down Suring 50-8. He ran 23 times for 191 yards and five touchdowns, caught five passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and recorded a team-high 16 tackles on defense with an interception.

Marion/Tigerton won a 60-27 decision over Tri-County as Ethan Scheef threw for three touchdowns and ran for three more. 

The final week of the regular season wraps up with some big-time games on the schedule. 

Perhaps the marquee game on the schedule features fourth-ranked Saint Mary Catholic/Valley Christian traveling to third-ranked Oakfield, where the Southern Conference championship will be decided as both teams are undefeated. 

Top-ranked Gilman is looking to close out an unbeaten regular season as the Pirates will travel to McDonell Central. The Macks are coming off their first defeat of the season last week and looking to rebound with a shot at a share of the CWC-West title on the line.

Prairie Farm is undefeated and trying to wrap up a Lakeland-West crown, but they can't overlook a dangerous Shell Lake team that pushed Luck to the brink last week while posting more than 600 rushing yards.

In the Rogue Independent Conference, unbeaten Athens will travel to Thorp, who has just one loss. Those teams used to compete together in the Cloverwood Conference, where last season Athens posted a 56-8 victory.

Phillips and unbeaten McDonell Central went back-and-forth all games, but McDonell took a 10-point lead with just over six minutes remaining. The Loggers posted a furious rally, and running back Will Knaack score the game-winning touchdown with 37 seconds remaining in a 46-44 win. He finished with 238 rushing yards with four touchdowns on 31 carries. Knaack also threw a 50-yard pass, caught a four-yard pass, and recorded a team-high 11 tackles on defense with an interception as well.

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.