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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 by 10 p.m. on Tuesdays.

As college basketball opened up it’s season last night, college football entered it’s last third of its season. As always, Badger state alumni showed out over the weekend.

After missing last week’s game due to injury, Melvin Gordon bounced back in a big way in the Los Angeles Charger’s 25-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks. The former Kenosha Bradford standout recorded his third 100-yard rushing game of the season and got into the end zone for the tenth time overall.

With only one week of games left, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s regular season of football is almost complete. UW-Whitewater clinched the regular season championship in a 59-7 victory over UW-Stevens Point. Brennan Demark (Waukesha North), Josh Ringelberg (Greendale), Ronny Ponick (Stanley-Boyd), Ryan Wisniewski (Sparta), Mitchell Dess (South Milwaukee), and Julio Perez (Kettle Moraine) all accounted for at least one score for the Warhawks. Defensively Cal Durni (Brookfield East) and Justin Hansen (Beloit Turner) put the pressure on the quarterback by recording at least one sack each.

UW-Eau Claire scored somewhat of an upset victory, defeating UW-Oshkosh 20-14. Former Prescott standout Charlie Brookshaw led the Eau Claire defense with six tackles, while also recording a sack and two tackles for loss. Brookshaw was named the WIAC Defensive Player of the Year for his performance.

Shawn Magee had quite the day punting the ball for UW-Stout in their 38-33 win over UW-Platteville. The Rice Lake alum had five punts, averaging 44 yards. He landed three inside the 20, had a long of 55, and none of them were returnable. Magee was named the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Week. Stout’s defense was led by Dylan Peterson of Stratford High School as he recorded eight tackles, two for loss, and a sack. Quarterback Sean Borgerding (Spring Valley) accounted for over 300 yards of offense and three touchdowns.

In the last matchup in the WIAC, UW-La Crosse was led to a 29-14 win over UW-River Falls behind a huge day from wide receiver Dominic Labellarte. The Brookfield Central grad had four catches for 161 yards and two scores. Defensively, Colton Nieman (Wisconsin Rapids) and Rusty Murphy (Cudahy) helped stifle the River Falls offense by recording at least five tackles, a sack, and an interception each.

Northern Illinois has long been a team scattered with many in-state alumni. The offensive line play specifically has been highlighted in the last few years. In a 36-26 victory over Akron, Max Scharping (Green Bay Southwest) and Jordan Steckler (Two Rivers) helped lead the Husky offense to 296 rushing yards and over 480 yards of total offense in the game.

The Missouri Valley Conference was spotlighted by a couple players making the most of their opportunities this past weekend.

Blair Mulholland, the 2015 winner of the Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch Award, and Kimberly graduate rushed into the end zone in South Dakota State’s 59-7 throttling of Missouri State. His defensive teammate Jarek Berg (Oconomowoc) recorded his first collegiate interception.

Rickey Neal Jr. has been a force defensively for Northern Iowa the past few seasons. In a 26-16 victory over Illinois State, the Racine Horlick graduate had four tackles, three for loss, two sacks, and forced a fumble to lead the UNI defense.

Chris Garrett has been nothing short of unstoppable for Concordia St. Paul this season. The Wisconsin Lutheran High School alum continued to wreck havoc in opposing backfields as Concordia beat Southwest Minnesota State 16-10. Garrett had seven tackles, four sacks, and forced a fumble. Chris currently leads all of division 2 football in solo sacks with 12. He was also named the Northern Sun Defensive Player of the Week.

Gregory Lewis had a career day as St. Cloud State beat Minot State 30-23. The Wauwatosa West alum rushed for 226 yards and a touchdown to lead the offense. Defensively, Jack Horter (Marquette) Matthew Lechner (Catholic Memorial), Jake Bruner (Homestead), Devon Krzanowski (Fond du Lac), Parker Buckley (Rice Lake), Jake Schley (St. Thomas More), and Zach Stecklein (Mount Horeb) all recorded at least one tackle for loss to stifle the Minot State offense.

In Minnesota Moorhead’s 31-26 win over Bemidji State, a player on each sideline had it going offensively. Zach Simons of Xavier High School rushed for his twelfth and thirteenth touchdowns of the season for Moorhead. For Bemidji State, freshman quarterback Alec Ogden (Monona Grove) threw for 292 yards and four touchdowns.

James Nachtigal had over 100 tackles last season for the Army football team. The Fort Atkinson grad his way to a repeat performance after posting 11 tackles in Army’s 17-14 win over Air Force. James currently leads the team with 59 tackles on the season.

It seems as if Ripon and St. Norbert College are spotlighted every week in the Midwest Conference as their seasons have been fueled by Badger state alumni. That is no different this week.

In Ripon’s 52-0 blowout win over Lawrence University, quarterback Cormac Madigan was at it again. The Laconia High School grad threw for 108 yards and three touchdowns, while also compiling 162 yards on the ground. Backfield-mate Tyler VanDeVelde of Badger High School rushed for 100 yards and added on another three touchdowns. Kicker and Iola-Scandinavia alum Kyle Jobke was a perfect 7 for 7 on extra points and also connected on his lone field goal from 39 yards. Kyle was named the Midwest Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week.

St. Norbert was led offensively and defensively by alumni in their 60-0 throttling of Beloit College. Quarterback and Waukesha West grad, Drew Rhodes threw for 180 yards and a score while rushing for another 113 yards. Green Bay West’s Brandon Dudley rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Also, Nate Ihlenfeldt (Notre Dame) had a rushing score while Samuel Staehling (Plymouth) had a rushing and receiving touchdown. Defensively, Kordell Draves (Southern Door) and Blake Oleniczak (Notre Dame) had at least five tackles and a sack each, while Hunter Prokash (Algoma) recorded his third interception of the season.