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

Many high school football standouts in Wisconsin go on to big things at the college level and in the pros, and this is our spot to recognize those athletes each week and help you keep up with what is going down on some of your favorite players from the past. If you have alumni news, please send it to Colton Wilson

T.J. Watt is one of the best defensive players in the NFL and has been for the better part of the past decade. The Pewaukee native has excelled on the gridiron at every stop.

In high school, Watt was an honorable mention All-State defensive end. He went on to Wisconsin where he was a second team All-American as a senior, racking up 11.5 sacks.

Since he entered the NFL, T.J. has been a menace and is putting together a Hall of Fame career. Watt is a six-time Pro Bowler, four-time First-Team All-Pro, and won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 when he tied the NFL record for sacks in a season with 22.5.

Sunday in the Steelers 20-17 loss to the Cowboys, Watt surpassed the 100 career sacks mark on a strip sack of Dak Prescott. Watt reached this milestone in the second fastest amount of games (109), only trailing legendary Reggie White.

Will McDonald IV has a long way to go to reach 100 career sacks, the but the Waukesha North grad has put together a great sophomore season for the New York Jets. In a 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, McDonald recorded his sixth sack of season, which is second best in the entire NFL.

Alec Ingold is in the discussion for best fullback in the NFL. The former Bay Port standout quarterback does a little bit of everything for the Miami Dolphins; lead block, handle short-yardage rushing duties, catch balls out of the backfield, and play every special teams snap.

Saturday Ingold found the end zone in crunch time in the Dolphin's 15-10 win over the New England Patriots. On a first and goal from the three-yard line, Ingold took the handoff in for the go-ahead, and eventual game-clinching, touchdown with 4:24 left in the game.

Like Ingold, Nick Bellore does all the dirty things for whichever team he's playing for and has done for a very long time. The Whitefish Bay grad is the longest tenured player from Wisconsin still playing in the NFL, lacing them up for his fourteenth season this year for the Washington Commanders. Bellore has been a special teams ace and saw some action at linebacker this past Sunday in the Commanders 34-13 win over the Cleveland Browns. Bellore tallied four tackles as he played his 205th career NFL game.

In MACtion news, Malcolm Gillie has put together back-to-back solid seasons at Ball State. The HOPE Christian alum usually shines from his wide receiver position, but impacted the game in a different manner in the Cardinal's 45-42 loss to Western Michigan. Gillie took a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown in the loss.

Last week Northern Illinois' Brock Lampe scored his first career touchdown in his senior season. The Kenosha Bradford alum must have gotten a taste for the end zone as he found it in back-to-back weeks, this time in a 34-20 win UMass. Lampe caught his first touchdown pass, his second ever score, in the victory.

Lucas Finnessy saw extended action for the Minnesota Gophers in a 24-17 win over USC over the weekend. The Sussex Hamilton grad took advantage, recording a career high five tackles in the upset win for the Gophers. 

Myles Burkett led the Albany football team to a 31-10 win over Cornell this past Saturday behind an efficient day under center. Burkett, a Franklin grad and the 2021 Dave Krieg Award winner on WisSports.net, completed 21 of 30 for 225 yards and a touchdown.

Joey Giorgi put together a stellar day running the ball in Columbia's 34-17 win over Princeton. The Grafton grad was a Second-Team All-Ivy League runner last season and has gotten off to a good start in 2024. Giorgi carried the ball 18 times for 157 yards in the Lions victory.

North Dakota State picked up an impressive 41-17 win over rival North Dakota on Saturday as a plethora of Wisconsin ties were involved in that matchup. For the Bison defense, Sam Jung of Neenah had a team high six tackles, including one for loss while Pulaski grad Dylan Hendricks had three tackles, a sack, and also recovered a fumble he forced.

In other Missouri Valley Conference play, Illinois State knocked off Southern Illinois 45-10. Stoughton grad Ben Harman is in his freshman season with the Redbirds and made an impact in this one from his defensive tackle position. Harman had five tackles and added a sack and a half in the win.

Augustana squared off with Duluth in Northern Sun action and the amount of Wisconsin high school football ties on the field was staggering. We'll highlight a few Augie's as they knocked off Duluth 28-24. Rice Lake alum Peyton Buckley is a three-time all-Northern Sun performer and All-American defensive back. He had eight tackles, including one for loss, and added two pass break ups in the upset win. Ellsworth standout Max Grand found the end zone on the ground for the Augies.

Jake Adams has been an absolute tackling monster for Northern State this season. The Pulaski grad somehow one-upped himself in the Wolves 14-13 win over Bemidji State. Adams recorded 20 tackles for the second time this season to lead the defense as he was named the Northern Sun Defensive Player of the Week. Adams currently leads all of Division II football with 86 tackles in just six games.

Concordia-St. Paul secured a 19-13 victory over Mary due in large part to a game-clinching interception by a former Mukwonago standout. Ben Rehl had three tackles on the game, a pass breakup, and most importantly, intercepted a Mary pass in the second overtime to secure the win for the Bears.

Winona State blew out Minnesota State-Moorhead 33-6 as the Warriors leaned on a new quarterback in his first start. Jackson Flottmeyer isn't afraid of the big moment as he won two state championships in his junior and senior seasons at Aquinas. The redshirt freshman got his first start under center in this one and didn't disappoint. Flottmeyer completed 13 of 17 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown, adding 87 yards on the ground in his first collegiate start.

Joseph Xiya is the kicker for the Dubuque football team and this past weekend had to battle 30 mile an hour winds in the Spartan's 64-7 win over Luther. The Prairie du Chien grad went 8 of 9 on extra points and handled kickoff duties as well in the gusts. Xiya was named the American Rivers Special Teams Player of the Week for his ability to battle and beat the wind.

Carthage College fell to Elmhurst 23-17 despite a former Marshall standout having a career day. Bryce Frank carried the ball 19 times for 164 yards and a score for the Firebirds, adding 43 yards receiving on four catches. It was the first time Frank had surpassed 100 rushing yards in a game in his collegiate career.

Ripon College fell to Cornell College 37-34 this past Saturday. The Red Hawks roster has 50 former Wisconsin high school football standouts on its roster including starting quarterback Jack Berens. Berens, a Wausau West grad, completed 21 of 28 passes for 348 yards and three scores, doing his best to keep Ripon competitive in the close loss.

Robby Michael has been one of the more electric Division III football players this year at Lakeland Unviersity. This past Saturday in a 42-21 win over Benedictine the Sheboygan Lutheran alum was once again must-see football. Michael completed 23 of 28 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed it 33 times for 170 yards and one touchdown as he was named the NACC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. Michael is currently four in all of Division III football, averaging 359 yards of offense per game.

The Muskies did get a big play defensively from Nicolet grad Charles Kobe, who returned a fumble 46 yards for a touchdown.

St. Norbert College defeated Concordia-Wisconsin 28-10 as a handful of alumni highlighted the victory. Offensively for the Green Knights Peyton Lyon of Oshkosh North passed for 152 yards and two scores. Peshtigo's Mitch Van Vooren and Waukesha West's Dylan Rhodes each had receiving scores.

Defensively for St. Norbert Brett Boelkow of Saint Thomas More had four tackles, a forced fumbled, and an interception while Appleton North grad Mason Haessly returned a fumble 38 yards for a touchdown.

Martin Luther College out of Minnesota defeated Minnesota-Morris 21-14 as a former Watertown Luther Prep grad took on a workhorse load of carries. Rees Roecker rushed the ball 33 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns for the Knights. Roecker scored the game-winning score with five seconds left in the game, to put a cherry on the top of his day.

UW-Platteville improved to 4-0 overall after knocking off Top-10 UW-La Crosse 30-27 in an overtime thriller. For the Pioneers, Cuba City alum Carter Olson hauled in seven catches for 65 yards and a score while Mineral Point grad Will Straka and Black Hawk grad Rece Shelton each had a sack with Straka recording 11 tackles.

UW-Whitewater started off the WIAC schedule 1-0 after a 21-14 win over UW-Oshkosh. Janesville Parker grad Paul Kim got his first start for the Warhawks and impressed. Kim had a team high seven tackles, two for loss, a sack and a forced fumble en route to being named the WIAC Defensive Player of the Week.

Also for Whitewater, Menomonee Falls grad Tamir Thomas rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown while both Drake Martin of Rhinelander and Jason Ceniti of Madison Memorial added rushing scores.

UW-Stout improved to 3-1 this past weekend and got off to a positive start in the WIAC with a 22-15 win over Stevens Point. A big reason why? Luke Cool was calm, cool, and collected from his kicker position. The Franklin grad had to battle unruly winds but that did not faze him. Cool connected on five of six field goals and made his lone extra point, scoring 16 points in the win. He was named the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

The Blue Devils also got some brother magic on the defensive side of the ball. Gavin and Dawson Goodman, graduates of Chippewa Falls, combined for nine tackles as both also recorded an interception.