A look at this week’s football games, which include the annual battle over the Ark of Victory for Central and Logan, Holmen hosting Reedsburg in a big MVC game, Onalaska Luther heading to La Crosse to play Aquinas in a big Coulee Conference game and Melrose-Mindoro hosting unbeaten Pepin/Alma in a Dairyland Conference matchup:
MVC
Onalaska (2-2, 0-2) at Baraboo (0-4, 0-2)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Baraboo High School
LAST YEAR: The Hilltoppers won 42-0 and scored five touchdowns in the first half.
MVC SERIES: Onalaska leads 3-0 and scored more than 40 points in two of those meetings.
NOTEWORTHY: Onalaska–The Hilltoppers have lost 2 straight games after opening with wins over West Salem and Medford. … Senior QB Ian Kowal (68-for-107-762 yards, 8 TDs-2 INTs) leads the area in passing yards and is tied for the lead in TD passes. He passed for 253 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT in last week’s loss to 47-14 Reedsburg. … Senior WR Luke Siegel (14 catches-252 yards, 4 TDs) and Tanner Siebert (17-171, 0) have been Kowal’s top targets, but there are 12 players with at least 1 catch this season; Baraboo–The Thunderbirds have been outscored 108-42 and shut out once. … Tomah and Central beat Baraboo the past 2 weeks. … Most of Baraboo’s offensive success hinges on junior RB Ethan Huelsemann (98 carries-469 yards, 5 TDs), who has scored all of the team’s TDs.
Reedsburg (3-1, 1-1) at Holmen (4-0, 2-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Empire Stadium, Holmen High School
LAST YEAR: The Beavers won 35-21 and broke a 21-21 tie with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
MVC SERIES: Holmen leads 2-1 and won 42-8 the last time they played in Holmen two years ago.
NOTEWORTHY: Reedsburg–The Beavers rushed for 319 yards last week as they bounced back from a 35-28 loss to Central with a 47-14 win over Onalaska. … Senior RB Landin Purifoy (82-529, 7) and senior QB Will Mikonowicz (36-405, 7) lead that ground game, which averages 369.3 yards and has reached the end zone 23 times. … Purifoy was also injured during last week’s win over the Hilltoppers. … Reedsburg has 1 completed pass this season, and it was a 33-yard touchdown; Holmen–The Vikings pounded Sparta 45-0 last week for its second shutout. … Holmen has allowed 31 points (15 to Onalaska and 16 to Medford). … Senior FB Eli Kane (47-441, 9) and senior RB Jack Barth (26-374, 6) have sparked a run game that averages 288 yards and an offense that averages 40.3 points. … Barth has also thrown a 72-yard TD pass and caught 6 passes for 158 yards and 2 TDs. … Junior LB Mason Flury leads the team with 33 tackles and has made 5 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Central (2-2, 2-0) at Logan (4-0, 2-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Swanson Field, Logan High School
LAST YEAR: The Rangers won 27-19 and took control with three straight TDs from the end of the second quarter to the beginning of the fourth.
MVC SERIES: Central leads 19-17 and won three straight before Logan bounced back last year.
NOTEWORTHY: Central–The RiverHawks have won 2 straight with 1 of those victories coming against Reedsburg in Week 3. … Senior QB Christian Rudrud followed that up with a 260-yard, 4-touchdown night in last week’s 42-20 win over Baraboo. … Rudrud (83-607, 8) ranks second in area rushing, and senior WR Connor Groth (12-193, 3) is averging more than 16 yards per catch. … Junior Gabe Servais has had a hand in everything with 222 rushing yards and 3 TDs, 106 passing yards and a TD and 9 catches for 97 yards and a TD. … Rudrud also leads the team with 29 tackles and has 6 stops for loss; Logan–Senior RB Maxim Roberts (81-528, 6) enters this game after rushing for at least 200 yards in each of the Rangers’ last 2 wins. … Logan has allowed 62 points through 4 weeks and began with a shutout of Ellsworth and scored more than 40 points in wins over Sparta and Tomah. … Sophomore QB Tommy Check (18-499, 9) is tied for the area lead in rushing TDs and has passed for 198 yards and TD. … Senior Ben Spears has been disruptive defensively with 6 tackles for loss. … Juniors Sam King and Jesse Lycke each have 5 TFLs.
COULEE
Onalaska Luther (2-2, 2-0) at Aquinas (4-0, 2-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex at UW-L
LAST YEAR: The Blugolds won 14-7 and scored both of their touchdowns in the second half to erase a 7-0 halftime deficit.
NOTEWORTHY: Luther–The Knights rebounded from losing their first 2 games by winning the past 2 weeks in games against G-E-T and Black River Falls. … Junior QB Jonny Holub (29-65-399, 5-6) and junior Logan Pierce (53-253, 2) have picked up their play, and Holub has completed at least 1 pass to 8 receivers. … Junior Sam Schmeling has 5 tackles for loss and ranks third on the team with 29.5 total tackles. … Pierce has a team-high 32 with 4 TFLs; Aquinas–The Blugolds are ranked fourth in the Medium Division of the ESPN Wisconsin Media Poll. … Aquinas rushed for 383 yards and received 2 TD runs from senior RB Marcus Klar in last week’s 49-14 win over G-E-T. … Senior QB Ryan Johnson (41-57-687, 8-0) ranks second in the area in passing yards and is tied for the lead in TD passes … Senior WR Logan Becker (14-230, 2) is his top target. … The Blugolds have allowed 43 points this season, and senior LB Waylon Hargrove has 4.5 tackles for loss.
Arcadia (3-1, 1-1) at West Salem (3-1, 2-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: West Salem High School
LAST YEAR: The Panthers won 57-22 after Drew McConkey passed for two TDs and ran for one.
COULEE SERIES: West Salem leads 35-16-1 and has won all three meetings since rejoining the conference in 2022.
NOTEWORTHY: Arcadia–Senior RB Max Blaschko (89-664,7) continues to lead the area in rushing yards despite gaining 148 and scoring once in the past 2 games. Junior QB Carter Wegman (28-62-430, 6-3)… Sophomore WR Khyle Updike (11-190, 3) has emerged as the leading receiver on a team that has 3 players with more than 100 receiving yards; West Salem–Junior QB Drew McConkey (26-44-484, 7-2) has rushed for 178 yards and 3 TDs, and junior RB Rory O’Neill (41-288, 5) has led the team in rushing despite both taking very limited snaps in blowout wins the last 3 weeks (wins over Tomah, Viroqua and Westby by a combined 135-22 score)…. Senior DL Landon Michlig has 7 of the team’s 30.5 tackles for loss.
RIDGE AND VALLEY
De Soto (2-1, 2-1) at Wisconsin Heights (0-4, 0-3)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Wisconsin Heights High School, Mazomanie
LAST YEAR: The Vanguards won 52-12 for their second straight victory in the series.
NOTEWORTHY: De Soto–Senior Bryce Schultz is impacting De Soto games all over the field with 260 receiving yards, 153 rushing yards, 5 YDs and 11 tackles with 1 for loss. … Senior RB Austin DeFlorian (30-315, 6) and QB Finn Wrobel (15-32-349, 5-0) have also put up solid numbers for the Pirates. … De Soto gave up 18 points the first two weeks, then 44 in a loss to state-ranked North Crawford last week; WH–The Vanguards are allowing 54.5 points per game after yielding 134 in losses to North Crawford and Highland the past 2 games.
SOUTHEAST CENTRAL — YELLOW
Caledonia (1-2, 1-2) at Dover-Eyota (1-2, 1-2)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Dover-Eyota High School
LAST YEAR: The Warriors won 27-0 behind three touchdown runs from Noah Schroeder.
NOTEWORTHY: Caledonia–Senior RB Jack Schmitz (38-313, 5) has been the anchor of the offense so far. … Senior QB Will Allen has passed for 326 yards and rushed for 56. … Sophomore Cooper Allen is averaging 10 tackles per game and has 2 sacks; D-E–The Eagles are led by QB Cooper Kellen (33-57-444, 4-2), but they have lost 2 straight since opening with a 35-8 win over St. Charles.
DAIRYLAND
Pepin/Alma (4-0, 2-0) at Melrose-Mindoro (3-1, 1-1)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Melrose-Mindoro High School
LAST YEAR: The Eagles won 16-8 by scoring all of their points in the first half and holding the Mustangs scoreless in the fourth quarter.
NOTEWORTHY: P/A–Senior RB Justin Bergmann (45-658, 11) averages 164.5 rushing yards per game and 14.6 yards per carry after a 318-yard performance in last week’s 52-14 win over Blair-Taylor. … The Eagles rushed for 491 yards in that game; Melrose-Mindoro–Junior QB Brady Blaken (37-66-433, 5-3) ranks fourth in the area in passing yards, and junior RB Isaiah Kleinsmith (33-307, 4) has accounted for 6 TDs with a couple of scoring receptions. … Senior WR Brett Peterson (10-163, 1) leads the Mustangs in receiving yards.
