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Level 1 Rapid Reaction

10/20/2018, 1:45am CDT
By Travis Wilson

Verona kicks off to Arrowhead to begin the second half on Friday night

Below are some quick takeaways from Level 1 of the high school football playoffs. Look for a full preview of each division to come out next week on WisSports.net.

HOME TEAMS DOMINATE, BUT SO DO A FEW ROAD TEAMS

The first year the WIAA went to true 1-8 seeding of regional groupings was 2012. That season, 27 of 112 road teams claimed victory, for a winning percentage of 24.1%. Each year since we have tracked the winning percentage of road teams in Level 1.

This season, road teams have a winning percentage of 18.75%, claiming victory in 21 contests. 

While home teams took control of most of the games, there were several road teams that not only won, but won big. 12 of the 21 road victors won by double digits, including seven that won by 20 points or more. There were road victories with winning margins of 42, 30, 28, 28, 27, 21, and 20 points.

There were 13 teams seeded sixth or seventh that claimed victories:

#7 Sussex Hamilton over #2 Madison Memorial  35-21, Division 1
#6 Hartford over #3 West Bend East  30-22, Division 2
#6 Waukesha West over #3 Wilmot  41-26, Division 2
#6 La Crosse Central over #3 Oregon  26-23, Division 2
#7 Sparta over #2 Ashland 36-8, Division 2
#7 Pewaukee over #2 McFarland  22-21, Division 3
#6 Seymour over #3 New London  19-7, Division 3
#6 Baldwin-Woodville over #3 West Salem  21-14, Division 4
#6 Lodi over #3 Lake Mills  17-14, Division 4
#7 New Glarus/Monticello over #2 Prairie du Chien  28-24, Division 5
#7 Darlington over #2 Melrose-Mindoro  15-13, Division 6
#6 Auburndale over #3 Manawa  31-16, Division 6
#6 Benton/Scales Mound (IL) over #3 Fall River  35-7, Division 7

Classic Eight Flexes its muscles, Big Eight stumbles

The Classic Eight qualified six of its nine teams into the postseason, and they combined to go 6-0. Three of those victories came on the road. The league teams combined to outscore their opponents 276-82. It was an incredible day for a conference that has ranked as one of the best in the state for many years. The Classic Eight is set up for more success going forward, as the only intra-league game in Level 2 is Muskego versus Kettle Moraine.

While the Classic Eight shined, the Big Eight stumbled. Six teams from the conference made the postseason, but only one is advancing: Sun Prairie, who beat fellow league team Middleton 42-36. Three Big Eight teams lost at home, by a combined 86 points, with two of those defeats coming at the hands of Classic Eight teams.

Tracking The Champions

Defending Division 4 state champion Lodi had to go on the road as a six-seed to open the playoffs, but the Blue Devils pulled off a tight win over Lake Mills, 17-14. It was the exception to the rule of domination by the defending state champs, however. All told, they won by an average of 29.7 points.

D1: Kimberly over Chippewa Falls 41-7
D2: Waunakee over Baraboo 27-0
D3: Rice Lake over Hayward 41-8
D4: Lodi over Lake Mills 17-14
D5: Amherst over New Holstein 35-13
D6: Saint Mary's Springs over Dominican 62-13 (Division 5)
D7: Bangor over Independence/Gilmanton 40-0

My Games - Mount Horeb/Barneveld vs Berlin | Verona vs Arrowhead

I had designs on trying to get to three different games in Level 1 of the playoffs, but it didn't quite work out, so I settled for two very compelling contests just outside of Madison.

With my 10-year old son Brett in tow, I first headed to Mount Horeb, where the Vikings hosted Berlin, a team I have not seen live previously. Level 1 is a great opportunity for me to check out teams I've never seen in person, a list that is now up to 137 since I started at WSN in 2008.

After a brief pre-game chat with Berlin coach Joe Stellmacher, we settled in for a first half that saw both teams made some headway at times, but struggle to sustain and finish drives. Mount Horeb/Barneveld got on the board first with a 30-yard field goal from kicker Christian Pertusatti, a lefty version of Rafael Gaglianone. In the second quarter, Lane Sobieski found Kobe Krebs for a 15-yard touchdown, putting Berlin up 7-3. A few minutes later, Mount Horeb/Barneveld went up 10-7 as Ethan Post kept it on a zone read and had an easy stroll into the end zone from 20 yards out.

While we left at halftime to head to our next destination, Berlin would score late in the third quarter to go up 14-10, with Mount Horeb/Barneveld getting a touchdown with 45 seconds remaining in the game to rally for a 17-14 victory.

After leaving Mount Horeb, we travelled over on Highway 151 to Verona, where we pulled in just as the host Wildcats and visiting Arrowhead Warhawks went into halftime. Arrowhead, the five-seed despite six straight wins, led 28-14 at the break, but little did we know that was just the start of the domination.

Arrowhead took the opening drive of the second half and marched easily down the field for a touchdown, as it was 35-14 in favor of the Warhawks into the later stages of the third quarter when we left to get back to the iHeartMedia studios on Madison's south side to prepare for Football Friday Night.

A bevy of scores followed our departure, as Arrowhead would blow out Verona 63-21 to put a running clock on their highest-seeded hosts.

Suddenly, top-ranked and unbeaten Fond du Lac's Level 2 game, with the Cardinals welcoming in a red-hot Arrowhead squad, is quite a bit more interesting.

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.

Tag(s): News Archive  News  Travis Wilson  Football Playoffs