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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.

8-Player Football Standings
8-Player Football Schedule
8-Player Football Stats Leaders

8-Player football plays just eight games and starts a week after their 11-player brethren, so this will be the first week of action for 8-player squads around the state.

And speaking of first games, several new teams will make their debut in 8-player football:

• Hurley has been a highly success small-school program for a long time, making 26 straight WIAA playoff appearances. Declining enrollment and struggles finding 11-player games led the Northstars to make the switch to 8-player this season, and they'll play their first-ever 8-player game on Thursday against Lake Linden-Hubbell (MI).
• Highland made the playoffs six straight years despite the smallest enrollment in 11-player football, but finally drop down to 8-player this year. Their first action comes Thursday night as they'll make the trip to Williams Bay.
• Monticello breaks off from its longtime 11-player co-op with New Glarus and moves to a standalone 8-player team this season. The Ponies welcomes in Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah on Thursday for a 5 pm kickoff.
• Prentice played in an 11-player co-op with Rib Lake for several years but last year they canceled their varsity season, and will now split into separate teams. Rib Lake will take on Gilman on Thursday, while Prentice is scheduled against South Shore on Friday.
• St. John's Northwestern Academies canceled its 11-player season a year ago and this year switches to 8-player. They will travel to Belmont to kick things off Friday night.

Probably the biggest game on the schedule for Week 1 finds preseason top-ranked McDonell Central traveling to seventh-ranked Clayton for a Thursday game. McDonell Central ended Clayton's season in Level 2 of the playoffs last year when both squads were undefeated, rallying with 22 points in the fourth quarter. UPDATE: Because of weather concerns, this game has been moved to Saturday at noon.

Florence starts its title defense with an out-of-state game in Week 1, as the Bobcats will face off against Ishpeming (MI) on Thursday at 6 pm.

Luck hasn't quite been able to continue its long run of 8-player success the last couple years, but has hopes of getting back on track this season with some experienced playmakers. They'll welcome in Shell Lake on Friday night.

There's a rare Saturday game on this holiday weekend, as Newman Catholic will face off against Phillips on Saturday for a 1 pm kickoff.

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.