A look at Friday night’s WIAA and MSHSL playoff games for couleesports.com teams still alive …
WIAA FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
Second Round
Division 2
(4) Central (7-3) at (1) River Falls (9-1)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Futsal Field at UW-River Falls
UP NEXT: Either (2) New Richmond or (3) Oshkosh North on Nov. 7
NOTEWORTHY: Central–The RiverHawks beat Menasha 38-20 in the first round and are trying to win in the second round for the first time since 2003. … Senior QB Christian Rudrud rushed for 235 yards and 4 TDs against the Bluejays and pushed his season rushing totals to 1,694 yards and 25 TDs. … Rudrud has also passed for 875 yards and 8 TDs. … Junior Gabe Servais has rushed for 489 yards and 5 TDs and passed for 362 yards and a TD. … Senior WR Connor Groth (35 catches-593 yards, 8 TDs) is the top receiver. … Junior Calvin Arentz leads the team with 13 tackles for loss, and Rudrud has added 12. … Servais leads the team with 67 tackles; River Falls–The Wildcats have won 5 straight games since a 23-6 to New Richmond. … River Falls averages 383.1 total yards and 41.1 points per game and tied Rice Lake for the Big Rivers Conference championship. … Senior QB Tino Massa (146-for-203-1,985 yards, 21 TDs-6 INTs) and senior RB Joseph Tarasewicz (243 carries-1,446 yards, 27 TDs) will be a handful for the defense, but so will senior WRs Mason Novak (57-807, 7) and Todd Benedict (36-576, 8).
Division 3
(6) Pewaukee (5-5) at (2) Onalaska (8-2)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Onalaska High School
UP NEXT: (1) Madison Edgewood or (4) Reedsburg on Nov. 7
NOTEWORTHY: Pewaukee–The Pirates are making their 21st straight playoff appearance and tied for fifth place in the loaded Classic Eight Conference. … Pewaukee won the Division 3 championship in 2021. … The Pirates average 169.5 rushing yards and 63.6 passing yards per game. … Senior RB Omar Cherrington (207-1,096, 6) rushed for 193 yards in a 31-10 win over Sauk Prairie in the first round. … Sophomore QB Brooks Dobberstein (38-74-501, 5-4) doesn’t throw much; Onalaska–The Hilltoppers beat Menomonie 34-31 when senior QB Ian Kowal ran for a 6-yard TD — his first of the season — with 11 seconds left. … Kowal (144-221-1,804, 20-4) has had an exemplary season as a passer, and Onalaska will be without injured junior RB Kaeson Stettler (121-636, 7). … That will lead to plenty of carries for senior RB Carson Zinnecker (73-411, 4) and sophomore RB Adam Kuhn (58-267, 5). … Leading WR Luke Siegel (36-478, 5) has missed the past 2 games. … Junior Brendan Chenault (19-370, 3) has made plenty of big plays this season after returning a kickoff for one TD and an interception for another in the win over Menomonie. … Senior Phengsu Vang leads the team in tackles (63), and senior Carson Campbell tops in it TFLs (11) and sacks (4).
(4) Logan (7-3) at (1) Waukesha Catholic Memorial (9-1)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Haertel Field at Carroll University
UP NEXT: (2) Mount Horeb/Barneveld or (6) Burlington on Nov. 7
NOTEWORTHY: Logan–The Rangers blasted Wisconsin Lutheran 42-19 in the first round and have won 3 of their past 4 games. … Logan advanced to the semifinal round a year ago and scored more than 40 points in 5 games this season. … Senior RB Maxim Roberts (188-1,363, 18) bounced back from an injury in Week 9 and rushed for 187 yards and 2 TDs in the win over Wisco. … Sophomore QB Tommy Check had 278 rushing and passing yards in the playoff win and has rushed for 953 yards and 16 TDs this year. … Senior Andrew Stanton (16-346, 3) is the top receiver. … Senior LB Preston Elston leads Logan in tackles (77), and senior Ben Spears leads it with 12 TFLs and 5 sacks; Catholic Memorial–The Crusaders have won 9 straight games after a 23-20 loss to Division 1 power Franklin in Week 1 and allowed 56 points during that streak. … Sophomore QB Dalton Steinke (93-146-1,600, 23-5), junior RB Devon Williams Jr. (138-951, 11) and junior WR Dustin Roach (20-597, 6) are the top offensive players. … Steinke threw 5 TD passes in last week’s 55-7 win over Jefferson. … The Crusaders have won 5 state titles since 2012 and were in the Division 3 championship game last year.
Division 4
(4) Osceola (7-3) at (1) Aquinas (10-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex at UW-La Crosse
UP NEXT: (2) Baldwin-Woodville or (6) Platteville on Nov. 7
NOTEWORTHY: Osceola–The Chieftains beat Ellsworth 33-6 in the first round and are in the postseason for the first time since 2021. … Osceola won a Division 5 title in 1984 and a Division 4 championship in 2015. … The Chieftains lost their final 2 regular-season games — one of them to Ellsworth in Week 9 — before bouncing back last week. … Osceola has scored at least 20 points in every game. … The Chieftains average 198.8 rushing yards per game and are led by sophomore R Elliot Havlish (71-457, 7), senior RB Jackson DeMoe (49-448, 6) and senior RB Riley DeMoe (45-432, 5); Aquinas–The Blugolds are trying to become second-round winners for the fifth straight year. … Aquinas opened with a 39-0 win over Amery. … Senior QB Ryan Johnson (85-122-1,604, 19-2) passed for 247 yards and 3 TDs last week. … Senior WRs Logan Becker (30-467, 5) and Waylon Hargrove (16-355, 4) are his top targets. … Senior Marcus Klar (45-251, 7) is the top back for a team that averages 141.7 rushing yards per game and has 25 rushing TDs in 9 games played. … Junior Brady Lee has 447 total yards on 12 catches and 11 carries for an average of 19.4 yards per touch. … Hargrove leads the team in tackles (52) and sacks (5.5), and senior DL Will Flottmeyer leads the team with 14 TFLs.
(6) West Salem (8-2) at (2) Little Chute (9-1)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Little Chute High School
UP NEXT: (1) Racine St. Catherine’s or (4) Lake Mills on Nov. 7
NOTEWORTHY–West Salem–The Panthers blasted third-seeded Berlin 48-20 and controlled an offense that was scoring more than 47 points per game. … West Salem is making its 5th straight playoff appearance and has won in the first round in all of those years. … The Panthers are allowing 11.6 points per game and averaging 37.6. … Junior QB Drew McConkey has passed for 1,086 yards and 15 TDs and rushed for 444 yards and 9 TDs. … Junior RB Lucas Fry (68-531, 13) and sophomore RB Kaden Langrehr (32-426, 7) have seen increased roles due to injury and performed welll in a group that averages 196 rushing yards per game. … Junior Jameson Skifton (21-308, 6) is the top receiver. … Junior Isaiah Laack leads the Panthers in tackles (78), and senior Landon Michlig tops it with 20 TFLs and 4 sacks; Little Chute–The Mustans have won 9 straight games since a 14-6 loss to unbeaten Winneconne and beat Ripon 40-2 last week. … Opponents score 9.6 points per game, and Ripon RB Eric Cumber entered last week’s game with nearly 2,600 rushing yards and 33 TDs and was held to 52 yards and kept out of the end zone. … The Mustangs average 298 rushing yards per game and led by junior Reece Jolten (159-1,179, 13). … Junior Jaden Hemsen (78-541, 12) is another solid option in the backfield.
MSHSL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
Section 1AA Championship
(3) Caledonia (8-2) vs. (4) Rochester Lourdes (7-3)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Paul Giel Field in Winona, Minn.
UP NEXT: State quarterfinal round
NOTEWORTHY: Caledonia–The Warriors are trying to win their 17th section championship and 2nd in 3 years and beat Triton 39-7 in lat week’s semifinal. … Caledonia has allowed 39 points during its current 7-game win streak and 76 — 7.6 per game — all season. … The Warriors beat Lourdes 32-15 on Sept. 26. … Senior QB Will Allen (78-129, 1,280, 11-5) can also impact a game with his legs (86-394, 5). … Senior RB Hunter Frank 68-490, 5) has rushed for 386 yards and all of his TDs in the past 3 games. … Sophomore WR Grant King (29-540, 8) and junior WR Jacoby Hammell (16-340, 2) are the receiving threats. … Caledonia averages 197.9 rushing yards per game. … Sophomore Cooper Allen leads the Warriors in tackles (91), and sophomore Max Schmitz has a team-high 8 sacks. … Lourdes–The Eagles have won 3 straight games since a 21-7 loss to Triton. … Lourdes has allowed 21 points in its past 3 games. … The Eagles average 194.3 rushing yards per game. … Junior QB Chase Carroll (122-570, 4) and senior Edward Lovely (89-381, 7) lead that rushing attack, and Carroll has passed for 468 yards and 5 TDs to go with 3 INTs.
