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Below are some quick takeaways from Level 2 of the high school football playoffs. Look for a full preview of each division to come out next week on WisSports.net. Click here for the full results list from this week.

There were 13 teams seeded sixth or seventh that claimed victory in Level 1 of the playoffs, but for the majority of them, the dream came to an end in Level 2. Ten of those 13 teams suffered defeat Friday night.

All was not lost for underdogs, as, overall, eleven lower-seeded road teams would win in Level 2. Compare that to the 14 lower-seeded teams that won on the road last year.

For many reasons, it perhaps isn't too surprising to see these teams still alive, but any time a six or lower seed survives into Level 3, it is impressive and noteworthy.

Waukesha West liked its match-up on the lower part of the bracket in Division 2 Group D, and the sixth-seeded Wolverines dispatched Wilmot in Level 1 before squaring off with second-seeded Southern Lakes champion Waterford in Level 2. The game was back-and-forth, but ultimately West prevailed 31-28.

Sparta, the seven-seed, snuck into the playoffs as an under-.500 conference team, but the Spartans had wins this year over Mississippi Valley Conference champion Holmen and runner-up La Crosse Central. They've now won two straight road games, beating second-seeded Ashland and third-seeded New Richmond. 

The fourth-place team in the Six Rivers, Benton/Scales Mound (IL) has shown just how good the league is, scoring victories over Trailways-South co-champs Fall River and Johnson Creek. The seventh-seeded Zephyrs now go on the road for a third straight contest, heading to Black Hawk in Level 3 as a rematch of a 64-38 shootout the first time, won by Black Hawk.

Level 2 is where we usually start to see some of the #1 seeds drop out, and there have been years where half a dozen top seeds have gone down. That wasn't the case this year, where the top teams largely got the job done, though some of them not without significant struggle (more on that later).

The only #1 seed to lose this week was Almond-Bancroft, who fell 17-7 to fourth-seeded Pittsville. It was a significant turnaround from the first time the teams played, when Almond-Bancroft pulled away for a 34-7 victory.

While almost all of the #1 seeds advanced and there are few Cinderella's still going, that's not to say that the top teams breezed through. In fact, many of the top-ranked teams, especially in the larger divisions, got all they could handle.

The Division 1 field was full of nail-biters, as Bay Port won a back-and-forth game over Appleton North, 31-21. Five-time defending state champion Kimberly beat Neenah 38-0 earlier this year, but the game proved to be a dogfight this time around. In one of the lower-scoring games in the state, the Papermakers held on for a 7-3 victory. Staying in Division 1, Fondu du Lac expected and received a tough game from fifth-seeded and red-hot Arrowhead. The Cardinals were able to build a 28-9 lead in the third quarter before holding on for a 28-22 victory.

Three of the four top seeds in Division 2 had to eek out victories. Defending champion Waunakee went behind 14-0 early and trailed DeForest late into the fourth quarter, but went ahead 23-20 and picked off a final Norskies pass into the end zone in the final second.

Marshfield built a 26-7 lead but saw Menasha rally late, only to hold on for a 26-20 win. Brookfield Central led Brookfield East 5-0 for much of the game, as turnovers hurt the Lancers. Thankfully their defense was dominating, holding the Spartans to negative yardage.

Lodi dropped its final two games of the regular season and ended up with a six-seed in Division 4, but the Blue Devils went on the road to defeat Lake Mills in Level 1. The quest for a repeat title came to an end in Level 2, however, as Lodi became the first defending state champion to go out, losing to Edgerton 35-14.

D1: Kimberly over Neenah 7-3
D2: Waunakee over DeForest 23-20
D3: Rice Lake over Onalaska 40-25
D4: Lodi lost to Edgerton 35-14
D5: Amherst over Cedar Grove-Belgium 37-19
D6: Saint Mary's Springs over Omro 33-20 (Division 5)
D7: Bangor over Eleva-Strum 28-0

Sussex Hamilton was impressive in going on the road and defeating one of the Big Eight co-champs, Madison Memorial, in Level 1. The Chargers traveled to the Madison-area again in Level 2, taking on the other Big Eight co-champ Sun Prairie. The host Cardinals got on the board first, taking advantage of an ill-advised fake punt by Sussex Hamilton inside their own 15, scoring two plays later. 

The Cardinals offense sputtered the rest of the first half, however, and Sussex Hamilton was able to hit on some big runs to get into scoring position, going up 13-7 at halftime.

Sun Prairie got a long run from Nathan Schauer early in the third quarter but had to settle for a field goal. While I had to head back to the iHeartMedia radio station after that drive, it was all Sun Prairie the rest of the way.

The Cardinals got three more touchdowns the rest of the way, all on Schauer runs, as Sun Prairie scored the games final 24 points to claim a 31-13 victory.

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