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

The WSN Team of the Week is back again for 2022. Voting is featured at the bottom of the article. Voting is open until Thursday at 4 p.m., so be sure to vote for who you feel is most deserving and spread the word (hint:  Social Media is a great way to do so). Users may vote once per day.

Appleton East did not win a game last year, but the Patriots got an impressive win in Week 2 of the 2022 season, dominating crosstown rival Appleton West 40-14. A big second quarter that saw East score 24 points set the stage for the win. The Patriots ran for 290 yards in the game, limiting West's offense to 179 total yards. East forced four turnovers, including picking off West three times.

Racine Case scored one of the biggest program victories in quite some time, rallying to defeat Brookfield East 19-17 on Friday night. Case trailed 17-7 midway through the fourth quarter, before Brandon Nabbefeld hit Termarion Brumby for a 44-yard touchdown with 6:08 left to keep the Eagles in it. With 1:30 remaining in the game, Nabbefeld connected on a 75-yard touchdown with Latrell Herrington to provide the game-winning points. Nabbefeld finished with 250 yards and three touchdowns, as Herrington caught three passes for 155 yards and two scores.

Tragedy struck the Sparta community just hours before Friday's game against Mauston, as J.D. Olson, a member of the Spartans football team, was killed in an automobile accident on Thursday night. His family chose to honor JD by encouraging the game to continue, and it was a special one indeed. Sparta returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and rallied from a two-score deficit later on to go up 28-27, holding on as Mauston missed a potential go-ahead field goal with 15 seconds remaining. Special recognition goes to Mauston, who honored J.D. with a red-out and presenting a #47 jersey in his honor in the pregame. It was an emotional night as two communities came together in a special way.

West Bend West ended a 37-game losing streak that had dated to the last game of the 2017 season, as the Spartans shutout Fort Atkinson 18-0 on Thursday. The defense held Fort Atkinson to just 102 yards of offense, while quarterback Brendyn Grass completed seven-of-11 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Riley Van Laanen was a workhorse, carrying the ball 31 times for 129 yards. It was the first victory for new head coach Taylor Ripplinger.

West De Pere led 28-7 at one point in what turned out to be quite the shootout with Kaukauna, only to see the Galloping Ghosts rally to force overtime with the teams tied at 35. In the extra period, Kaukauna scored first to take a seven-point lead. On West De Pere's possession, Najeh Mitchell went in for a touchdown and then found the end zone on the two-point conversion to give the Phantoms a 43-42 victory. Both quarterbacks threw for more than 300 yards, with Duke Shovald of West De Pere going for 348 yards and two scores with another touchdown on the ground. 

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.