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2023 Recap:  Catholic Memorial claimed an outright conference title last season, though there were some struggles outside the league. CMH lost both non-conference games and then suffered a heartbreaking late loss to Luxemburg-Casco in the state semi-finals. New Berlin West was second, getting to Level 2. Wauwatosa West, Pewaukee, and New Berlin Eisenhower also qualified for the playoffs.

Note: Pewaukee leaves the Parkland for the Classic Eight, Pius XI Catholic moves from the Parkland to the Midwest Classic-Large, and Milwaukee Lutheran goes from the Parkland to the Woodland. Waukesha North and Waukesha South join the Parkland from the Classic Eight, while West Allis Central moves into the Parkland from the Greater Metro.

2023 Parkland Season Information (Standings, Stats, All-Conference)
2023 Classic Eight Season Information (Standings, Stats, All-Conference)
2023 Greater Metro Season Information (Standings, Stats, All-Conference)

2024 Preview:

Predicted Order of Finish:

1) Catholic Memorial
2) New Berlin West
3) Waukesha North
4) Wauwatosa West
5) New Berlin Eisenhower
6) Wauwatosa East
7) Waukesha South
8) West Allis Central

Players to Watch:

Marvanous Butler-Brown, WR/DB, Catholic Memorial: Butler-Brown led the Crusaders with 31 catches for 676 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning First Team All-Conference on both sides of the ball.

Davion Hayes, RB, Wauwatosa East: Hayes was a First Team All-Conference pick last year when he ran for a tea-high 828 yards and nine touchdowns.

Kevin Johnikin, RB, Wauwatosa West: Johnikin led Tosa West in rushing last year with 630 yards, earning Honorable Mention All-Conference recognition.

M.J. Mitchell, QB, Catholic Memorial: Mitchell was outstanding last year, throwing for 1,590 yards and 23 touchdowns with another 833 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground.

Sean Ryan, RB/LB, New Berlin West: Ryan was First Team All-Conference on both sides of the ball last year, rushing for 1,068 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Vidal Spivey, WR, New Berlin Eisenhower: Spivey was second on the team in receiving and third in rushing last year, accounting for more than 700 yards of offense to earn Second Team All-Conference recognition.

Owen Strebig, OL, Catholic Memorial: Strebig is the top offensive lineman in the state and received offers from all over the country before committing to Notre Dame.

Jason Webster, WR, Waukesha North: Webster earned Second Team All-Conference in the Classic Eight after catching 51 passes for 646 yards and a couple scores.

2024 Team Previews

1) Catholic Memorial went through a bit of an odd season, entering with loads of hype behind numerous scholarship prospects. However, the Crusaders lost the first two games of the year to Marquette and Franklin before rallying to win 10 straight. Locked in a tough game against Luxemburg-Casco in the state semi-finals, CMH was up in the closing seconds, only to see the Spartans score late and complete a shocking 23-21 win, sending Catholic Memorial home shy of Madison. This year, the team moves up a division due to the WIAA Tournament Performance Factor points, as they'll return to Division 3 after competing in D4 since 2019. While they lose Penn State recruits Corey Smith and Donovan Harbour amongst others, CMH can claim as much talent as any in the division. M.J. Mitchell had an excellent first season as a starting quarterback, adding a dual threat out of the backfield. Marvanous Butler-Brown is a two-way standout on the outside. Owen Strebig continues the offensive line tradition for the Crusaders, having committed to Notre Dame.

2) New Berlin West finished second in the Parkland behind Catholic Memorial, following up a state semi-final run in 2022 with a playoff victory last season. Losing Parkland Conference Offensive Player of the Year Jack Wesolowski will certainly hurt, but the Vikings do bring back a 1000-yard rusher in Sean Ryan, who doubles as an outstanding linebacker for head coach Ben Chossek. Owen Athas, Lucas Hartung, and Bennett Mueller are returning starters on the offensive line. “We return a strong senior core that got a lot of playing time the last two seasons,” said Chossek. “We have a lot of two-way players so health is crucial.” The Vikings return nine starters on offense and six on defense.

3) Waukesha North went 3-6 last year and 1-6 in league play, losing six games in a row at one point. The Northstars haven't made the playoffs since 2006. But perhaps more than any team in recent memory, a conference change could open up a whole new world of possibilities for North. After several years of requesting out of the ultra-tough Classic Eight Conference, the team finally makes a move to the Parkland Conference, still a tough league but without the weekly grind of facing the state's best large school teams. "We have lot of guys returning with playing experience who learned what it takes to win and will be playing against similar schools," said fourth-year head coach Vince Sciano. One Curtis, A.J., moves on from the quarterback spot, but another is waiting in the wings, with Connor ready to take over. Top receiver Jason Webster is back as well for the Northstars.

4) Wauwatosa West was on the playoff bubble in 2022 but would miss out on the postseason. The Trojans made sure not to leave things up to tiebreaker last season, qualifying with a 5-2 league mark. The stay was short, however, as Wauwatosa West would fall to Waukesha West in Level 1. Still, it was a nice debut for first-year coach Nick Vitale, who came over after many years as an assistant at Catholic Memorial. Tosa West brings back four starters on offense this year, including a couple experienced running backs in Avion Cunningham and Kevin Johnikin. The defense returns five starters.

5) New Berlin Eisenhower was able to sneak into the playoffs last year despite significant roster turnover from 2022, though the Lions would go out to Monroe in Level 1 of the Division 3 playoffs. It’ll be a much more experienced group in 2024. “We have a lot of returning players, as the team was very young last year and we’ll get some dividends from all the experience they picked up,” said head coach Matt Kern. Quarterback Jarrett Hall, top receiver Jake Veley, and versatile weapon Vidal Spivey are all back for the Lions. There are eight starters back on offense, with six returning on defense.

6) Wauwatosa East showed nice improvement last season in Tom Swittel’s first season back leading the program. After a 1-8 record in 2022, the Spartans improved to 4-5 last year, though a 2-5 conference record left the team just outside the playoffs. “We will be much more competitive this year,” said Swittel. “We only had four seniors on the team last year, so we have a lot of experience coming back. We have had a tremendous off-season. Our daily attendance at workouts was incredible. We are definitely bigger, faster, and strong than we were last year.” The offense will move to the Wing-T this season, with eight starters coming back. First Team All-Conference running back Davion Hayes is among the returnees. Tosa East brings back eight starters on the defensive side of the ball as well.

7) Waukesha South continued its struggles in the Classic Eight Conference last year, going winless in league play and forfeiting against Muskego, the second straight season the Blackshirts have forfeited a game. After years of requesting to move out of the Classic Eight, their wish was finally granted as they go into the Parkland, though the road to contention is no easier. South has one of the longest playoff droughts of any big-school team in the state, with the last appearance coming in 1999.

8) West Allis Central continued to struggle in 2023, going winless with only one game that wasn’t a running clock, a 13-12 loss to Brown Deer in a non-conference contest. The Bulldogs enter 2024 with a 43-game losing streak, the second-longest in the state, as they haven’t tasted victory since the 2018 season. West Allis Central makes the move from the Greater Metro to the Parkland this season. Stevie Calvin replaces Chenard Haywood as the head coach.

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.