A look at Friday night’s football games as teams tackle Week 4 in Wisconsin and Week 3 in Minnesota:
Reedsburg (2-1, 0-1) at Onalaska (2-1, 0-1)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Onalaska High School
LAST YEAR: The Hilltoppers won 27-24 with a fourth-quarter touchdown.
MVC SERIES: Onalaska has won all three meetings since Reedsburg entered the conference.
NOTEWORTHY: Reedsburg–The Beavers were knocked off 35-28 by Central last week after 2 wins to open the season. … Senior QB Will Mikonowicz has rushed for 356 yards and 6 TDs in addition to throwing a TD pass. … Senior RB Landin Purifoy (64 carries-390 yards, 4 TDs) has been the top rusher for as team with more than 1,000 rushing yards; Onalaska–Senior QB Ian Kowal (45-for-66-509 yards, 6 TDs-1 INT) has been a very consistent piece of an offense that lost junior RB Kaeson Stettler (36-197) to injury against Holmen last week. … Senior Carson Zinnecker (27-154, 2) stepped in for Stettler, and sophomore RB Adam Kuhn (14-72, 2) has been solid when used. … Senior WR Luke Siegel (9 catches-200 yards, 2 TDs) was held in check last week, but senior WR Jackson Egan caught his third TD pass of the season and had a safety. … Egan also has 2.5 sacks this season.
Baraboo (0-3, 0-1) at Central (1-2, 1-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex at UW-La Crosse
LAST YEAR: The RiverHawks won 60-13 behind two TDs apiece from Gabe Servais and Christian Rudrud.
MVC SERIES: Central leads 2-1 with wins the past two years.
NOTEWORTHY: Baraboo–The Thunderbirds have scored just 22 points and been shut out once through three games. … Junior RB Ethan Huelsmann (52-222, 2) has been the top offensive threat, while the passing game has accumulated 94 yards; Central–Senior QB Christian Rudrud (67-347, 4) has been responsible for 7 TDs this season, with 4 of them coming on the ground and 3 through the air. … Rudrud also has 5.5 tackles for loss. … Junior Gabe Servais passed for 95 yards last week and has 1 TD pass, 1 TD rush and 1 TD catch. … Senior WR Connor Groth (12-193, 3) has been the top passing target.
Logan (3-0, 1-0) at Tomah (0-3, 0-1)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Tomah High School
LAST YEAR: The Rangers won 42-15 after building a 20-0 halftime lead.
MVC SERIES: Logan leads 21-14 with 11 wins in the past 12 meetings.
NOTEWORTHY: Logan–The Rangers scored 3 TDs in the fourth quarter to beat Sparta last week 43-21. … Senior RB Maxim Roberts (56-324, 4) had 200 yards and scored all of the fourth-quarter TDs last week. … Sophomore QB Tommy Check (69-382, 6) has been effective on the ground and passed for 149 yards and a TD. … Defensively, senior Ben Spears has 6 tackles for loss, juniors Jesse Lycke and Sam King have 5 and senior Jackson Bosch has 4; Tomah–The Timberwolves beat Baraboo 19-8 for their first win last week. … Senior RBs Timothy Budde (45-267, 1) and Shon Abbas (46-186) will be the focus of the Logan defense.
Sparta (2-1, 0-1) at Holmen (3-0, 1-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Empire Stadium, Holmen High School
LAST YEAR: The Vikings won 42-7, scored all of their points in the first half and received two TDs from Jack Barth.
MVC SERIES: Holmen leads 27-9 and has beaten the Spartans five straight times.
NOTEWORTHY: Sparta–The Spartans are led by junior QB Everett Laufenberg (26-54-482, 6-2) and senior RB Camden McTaggart (61-340, 3). … Senior WR Kayden Kaat (14-268, 4) has been a good combo with Laufenberg; Holmen–The Vikings didn’t run the ball well in last week’s win over Onalaska but have 823 rushing yards, led by senior Eli Kane (39-347, 6) and Jack Barth (18-259, 3), who threw a winning 72-yard TD pass last week. … Senior Ayden Smith and junior Mason Flury both have 5 tackles for loss to lead the defense for a team that has allowed 31 points.
Aquinas (3-0, 1-0) at G-E-T (0-3, 0-1)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: G-E-T High School
LAST YEAR: The Blugolds won 38-13 at UW-La Crosse.
COULEE SERIES: Aquinas leads 3-0 and has scored 106 points in those games.
NOTEWORTHY: Aquinas–The Blugolds have outscored their opponents 108-19 and scored 86 points the past two weeks. … Senior QB Ryan Johnson (34-46-562, 5-0) is the area’s top passer with 187.3 yards per game for an offense that has 608 passing yards and 606 rushing yards. Senior WR Logan Becker (11-200, 1) is a big-play threat and junior RB Isaac Miller has scored 4 TDs… Aquinas has 12 players with at least 1 carry and 11 with at least 1 catch; G-E-T–The Red Hawks are still looking for their first win and are led by junior QB Sayer Foust (53-88-727, 5-7) and junior WR Andrew Lebakken (17-277, 2).
Black River Falls (0-3, 0-1) at Onalaska Luther (1-2, 1-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Luther High School
LAST YEAR: The Knights won 48-13 after scoring 21 points in the first quarter.
COULEE SERIES: The Tigers lead 14-2 after the Knights knocked them off last season in their return to the conference.
NOTEWORTHY: BRF–The Tigers have lost 5 straight conference games and 4 of their 20 since the start of the 2021 season. … Junior Braylon Backaus (3-68-526, 4-3) has rushed for 188 yards and 1 TD and will be the focus of the Knights’ defense; Luther–The Knights picked up their first win last week with a 28-20 victory at G-E-T. … Junior QB Jonny Holub (22-47-297, 4-5) and junior RB Logan Pierce (38-168, 2) has scored 4 TDs this season. … Junior LB Sam Schmeling has a team-high 25 tackles and has made 3.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
West Salem (2-1, 1-0) at Westby (1-2, 1-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Westby High School
LAST YEAR: The Panthers won 40-6 after scoring 33 points in the first half.
COULEE SERIES: Westby leads 26-14, but the Panthers have won two of three since coming back to the conference.
NOTEWORTHY: West Salem–The Panthers are averaging 37.3 points per game. Junior QB Drew McConkey (19-34-292,5-2) has rushed for 178 yards and 3 TDs, giving him a hand in 8 TDs already. … Junior RB Rory O’Neil (36-224, 3) is the team’s top rusher and junior WR Jameson Skifton (9-98, 2) its top receiver… Junior LB Isaiah Laack has a team-high 21.5 tackles with 3 going for losses; Westby–Junior Maddox Torkelson (18-37-218,0-1) and senior RB Nate Frydenlund (38-199, 2) are the offensive leaders. … Frydenlund also has 16 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
Viroqua (0-3, 0-1) at Arcadia (2-1, 0-1)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Arcadia High School
LAST YEAR: The Raiders won 32-21 behind 144 rushing yards from Max Blaschko.
COULEE SERIES: Arcadia leads 26-10 with 13 wins in the past 14 meetings.
NOTEWORTHY: Viroqua–The Blackhawks have sored 22 points and have averaged 88.3 total yards per game; Arcadia–Senior RB Max Blaschko (70-549, 8) is the area leader in rushing yards and TD scored. … The Raiders won their first two games by a combined score of 56-33 before a 52-6 loss at Aquinas last week.
North Crawford (3-0, 2-0) at De Soto (2-0, 1-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The Pit, De Soto High School
LAST YEAR: The Trojans won 14-8 with a fourth-quarter touchdown.
NOTEWORTHY: North Crawford–The Trojans have outscored their first three opponents by a score of 192-12. … Senior QB Cullen Jacobus (7-18-275, 5-0) has rushed been a dual threat and rushed for 202 yards and 4 TDs; De Soto–Senior QB Finn Wrobel (9-17-262, 4-0) passed for 205 yards in last week’s 42-18 win at W9onewoc-Center/Weston. … Senior RB Austin DeFlorian (21-240, 5) has rushed for more than 100 yards in both games. … Senior TE Bryce Schultz (7-235, 4) had 188 receiving yards last week.
Melrose-Mindoro (2-1, 0-1) at Independence/Gilmanton (0-2, 0-1)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Independence High School
LAST YEAR: The Mustangs beat the Indees 14-0 for their 10th straight victory in the series.
NOTEWORTHY: Mel.-Min.–The Mustangs had a two-game win streak snapped last week and is led by junior QB Brady Blaken (33-61-372, 3-4) and junior RB Isaiah Kleinsmith (218 rushing yards, 107 receiving yards, 4 TDs) ; I/G–The Indees had to cancel their game against Voyceville in Week 1 and has lost its past two games by a combined score of 83-13.
Triton (1-1, 1-0) at Caledonia (1-1, 1-1)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Caledonia High School
LAST YEAR: Triton beat Caledonia 21-20
NOTEWORTHY: Triton–The Eagles bounced back from a loss to Goodhue and scored a 21-6 win over Rushford-Peterson last week; Caledonia–The Warriors lost to R-P in Week 1 but won 40-16 over St. Charles last week. … Senior RB Jack Schmitz (28-283, 5) has been the offensive workhorse, but senior QB Will Allen (17-23-215, 1-1) completed 70 percent of his passes for 115 yards and a TD last week. … Sophomore Cooper Allen has 24 tackles and 2 sacks, and senior Noah Schroeder has matched that sack total.
