Football playoffs: And now, the real season begins

Ethan Scott had a big day rushing for Wilmot in last week’s win over Westosha Central. The Panthers get a chance to avenge an earlier loss to Burlington on Friday night. (Photo by Earlene Frederick)
Ethan Scott had a big day rushing for Wilmot in last week’s win over Westosha Central. The Panthers get a chance to avenge an earlier loss to Burlington on Friday night. (Photo by Earlene Frederick)

From the first day of training camp in August, teams think about this week.

Playoff week.

Seven whole days of pure bliss starting with Saturday’s release of the WIAA playoff brackets.

It’s the best time of year to be a high school sports fan, as the best teams in the area will duke it out for state supremacy.

Throw the regular season out of the picture. While past games may give us an idea as to who will beat who, we’re dealing with a different animal come this Friday night under the bright lights.

SPORT CHECK LOGO ad sizeThe screams will be louder. The crowds will be more massive. The margin of error is slim to none.

One mental lapse, one split-second mishap, one wrong decision could give a team nine long, brutal months to think about what might have been.

The playoffs are here, and I couldn’t be more excited for the city of Burlington, as it will host two playoff games on the same night for the first time in nearly 10 years.

Burlington (Division 2) and Catholic Central (D7) will have at least one week to enjoy home-field advantage, complete with cooperative crowds, familiar footing and the always-menacing 12th man.

Both the Topper Bowl and Don Dalton Stadium can get quite loud, and both will be rocking Friday night at 7 p.m.

Burlington, a No. 4 seed, will host No. 5 Wilmot in the marquee game of the week, a rematch of the squads’ Oct. 10 four-OT instant classic.

Central, a No. 3 seed, will host No. 6 Shullsburg, which will experience the joy of a two-hour bus ride.

Shullsburg is known for its cheese, and I’ve recently sampled some on my wife Erin’s award-winning salsa chicken burritos. But all the cheese in the world probably won’t console the Miners on their long bus ride home.

The Toppers should roll, and it will get ugly, mark my words.

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

Last week: 7-3

Season: 65-29

 

GAME OF THE WEEK

Wilmot (6-3, 5-2 SLC) at Burlington (5-4, 5-2), Division 2 Level 1 playoff

The festivities will be off the chain for this rematch.

A pre-game tailgate party with the finest meats and cheeses in all of the land will fill a packed house before a game that could go to five overtimes this time.

Wilmot took care of business by uprooting Westosha Central last week and is most likely chomping at the bit to face the Demons again.

“Preparing all week (will be the key),” Wilmot coach Erick Kaiser said. “We need to get a little better every day. We’re hoping for another entertaining game Friday night.”

They say revenge is the sweetest joy. Revenge is sitting there on a silver platter for the Panthers Friday night. After losing Homecoming in a four-OT thriller, what better way to get back at the Demons than to beat them on their home turf to end their season.

Not so fast.

Burlington may be 1-4 at home this season, and Wil-mot is a perfect 4-0 on the road, but the Panthers have difficulty stopping the pass.

The Demons will throw early and often, and that playoff home-field ad-vantage could help make things difficult on Wilmot.

In the end, the Panthers will have to run the ball effectively to beat Burlington. And they will.

But the only reason Bur-lington lost to Elkhorn and isn’t the sole SLC champ is its own mistakes.

Burlington committed two turnovers: an interception that led to points and a fum-ble to lose the game.

The Demons will play a clean game in the school’s first home playoff game since 2006.

 

PREDICTION: Burlington 35, Wilmot 21

 

Waterford (6-3, 5-2) at South Milwaukee (8-1, 5-1), Division 2 Level 1 playoff

OK, so the
Wolverines have won four straight SLC titles now and are coming off a Level playoff appearance.

No big deal, right? The past is the past?

Waterford’s impressive playoff experience, especially that of coach Adam Bakken, is what gives them the advantage in this game.

The Wolverines advanced to the Division 2 championship game in 2011 and Level 3 in 2013, knocking off South Milwaukee last year in the process.

Sure, the Rockets are better than last year, but Bakken’s defensive genius is simply unmatched. It’s not even close, either.

South Milwaukee’s big stud is running back Ian Pribyl, who has rushed for 1,311 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The Rockets can burst in the air as well. Quarterback Justin Oliden has a staggering completion percentage (64.4) and has tossed 21 scores with only seven interceptions. He has thrown for 1,611 yards, nearly 200 per contest.

Also, receiver Mitchell Dess has 51 catches for 964 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The Wolverines have played like world beaters since a wake-up call loss at home to Burlington. Waterford has won its last four games by an average score of 25-10. They are making solid teams (Elkhorn, Delavan-Darien) look like JV squads.

The running-back-by-committee approach is starting to work well, and quarterback Dylan Malecki has also stepped up his game. He’s now over 1,000 yards passing for the season.

Expect the Waterford defense to keep it close and playmakers like Johnny McCormick and Malecki to come through in the clutch.

Bakken is the kryptonite for a big-play offense with multiple weapons.

 

PREDICTION: Waterford 21, South Milwaukee 14

 

Other area picks

Badger 29, Indian Trail 26

Elkhorn 23, Reedsburg 20

Mukwonago 34, Hartford 24

Muskego 35, Manitowoc Lincoln 21

Franklin 38, Kenosha Bradford 14

Big Foot 30, Jefferson 29

Waukesha West 27, Greenfield 19

Greendale 45, Bradley Tech 0

Williams Bay 33, Potosi 26


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