Five teams from the Appleton area remain in the high school football playoffs.
State quarterfinal matchups this week include Neenah in Division 1, Kaukauna in Division 2, Freedom and Winneconne in Division 4, and Wrightstown in Division 5.
Here are the matchups for those five teams that are looking to secure a spot in next week’s semifinals and get one step closer to Camp Randall Stadium.
Last week’s prediction record: 6-2.
Season prediction record: 50-19.
The teams: This is a rematch of the season opener, which Muskego won 31-21 after Neenah led 21-3 at halftime. Muskego has won three in a row, including knocking off No. 1 seed Franklin 42-14 in the second round. Jackson Niemiec has rushed for 1,014 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Jack Labisch missed four games with an elbow injury but still has 826 yards and 10 touchdowns, including 178 yards and two TDs against Franklin. Liam Shaw leads the defense with 76 tackles, including 12 sacks. … Neenah has won seven games in row, including two over Kimberly during that stretch, and beat the Papermakers 34-14 last week. Grant Dean has rushed for 1,039 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Rockets. Evan Vanevenhoven has 13 rushing touchdowns and nine passing touchdowns. Luke Jung leads the defense with 95 tackles.
Muskego coach Ken Krause: “Our program is excited and grateful to have earned the opportunity to grind another week together. The buy-in from the kids has been incredible, highlighted by leadership from so many players, in particular seniors Liam Shaw, Nick McCullough and Jack Labisch. We know Neenah to be a proud and strong football program with experienced coaches who will have their team ready for Friday’s game.”
Neenah coach Steve Jung: “They run the Wing-T offense, which is very challenging to defend, and play a very physical style of defense that is hard to score against. Another week where we need to value the ball and execute offensively and play very stingy defense.”
Prediction: Neenah 24, Muskego 21.
The teams: The Phantoms and Ghosts meet for the second time this season and the sixth time in the last three seasons. Kaukauna won 35-31 on Aug. 29 to hand West De Pere its only loss. The Ghosts also won both meetings last season, including 13-7 in the second round of the playoffs. West De Pere won both meetings in 2022, including 26-7 in the semifinals. West De Pere has scored at least 31 points in every game this season, including a 38-14 win over Sun Prairie East last week. Patrick Greisen passed for 512 yards and five touchdowns last week after throwing for 534 yards and eight touchdowns in a first-round win over Oshkosh North. Brock Story has caught 64 passes for 1,135 yards and 14 touchdowns. … Kaukauna beat Beaver Dam 48-21 last week. Aiden Reardon ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns. He leads the Ghosts with 1,330 yards and 13 touchdowns. Bron Schaefer has passed for 1,915 yards and 18 TDs. Sam Weber leads the Kaukauna defense with 62 tackles, including nine for loss.
West De Pere coach Chris Greisen: “This is shaping up to be another great game in the series between two very good teams. We will have to play well in all facets of the game and not turn the ball over to be successful.”
Kaukauna coach Matt Binsfeld: “West De Pere is a major challenge once again for our team. They are widely regarded as the best offense in the area and play smothering, high-pressure defense. In order to beat them, we will have to play extremely disciplined football. Our goal is to try to stay close and win the game at the end. Similar to most of the games played between us, I see this being won in the fourth quarter. Our kids will be ready.”
Prediction: Kaukauna 38, West De Pere 35.
The teams: The Cardinals and Wolves haven’t played each other since 2005. Mayville’s only loss this season is to St. Mary’s Springs on Oct. 11. It advanced with a 28-26 win over Berlin in the second round. Sawyer Hardesty ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns for Mayville. He’s rushed for 1,137 yards and 14 TDs this season. … Winneconne advanced with a 22-6 victory over Xavier. It was the fewest points the Wolves have scored and allowed in a game this season. Brody Schaffer ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 1,505 yards and 29 touchdowns on the ground this season. He’s also passed for 1,489 yards and 14 TDs. Oliver McAloon leads the defense with 64 tackles.
Mayville coach Scott Hilber: “Weeks like this are what make playoff football so much fun. Prior to this week, we knew very little about this team and the league they play in due to a lack of common opponents, other than Omro which was at the very start of the season. What we do know is they play in a league with larger schools than us, so we know they are battle-tested and competing with them will be an uphill climb. Aside from their most obvious threat, which is their dual-threat quarterback who is faster and more elusive than anyone we have on our team, they also have other great athletes and some large and aggressive players on both sides of the ball. We have to be sure to stay within ourselves and do what we do best, which is play hard-nosed football. We are definitely excited for this challenge.”
Winneconne coach Nate Ryf: “It’s an incredible journey. I’m just lucky enough to be a part of it. It’s awesome. When you get this late in the season, you want to get the guys in the right mindset and in the right position so they can do what they do.”
Prediction: Winneconne 21, Mayville 14.
The teams: Baldwin-Woodville is no stranger to postseason success, having won two state football titles (1987, 1992) and finishing runner-up twice (1981, 1994). The Blackhawks, who won the Middle Border Conference title, beat Ellsworth 42-7 last week for their 10th win in a row. Baldwin-Woodville has a pair of 1,000-yard rushers with Taden Holldorf (1,725 yards, 25 TDs) and Gavin Sell (1,241 yards, 20 TDs). Holldorf (64 tackles) and Sell (58 tackles) are also the top two tacklers on defense. … Freedom routed Prescott 43-14 in the second round. Drew Kortz passed for 289 yards and four touchdowns and has 2,674 yards and 29 touchdowns through the air this season. Nixon Heinke leads the Irish defense with 87 tackles, including nine for loss.
Baldwin-Woodville coach Dan Keefer: “Freedom is a talented team that has many weapons offensively. The key will be tackling their elusive and talented dual-threat quarterback Drew Kortz. They are big up front and talented on the back end defensively. We are excited for the opportunity. Taking care of the ball will be another key in determining the outcome. We have been very good on offense ourselves. The team that plays better defense will likely win this game.”
Freedom coach Charlie Jadin: “Baldwin-Woodville is an excellent team with some very talented players. They are the champions of the Middle Border Conference this season, which we have a lot of respect for. Creating explosive plays on offense and limiting them on defense will be an important factor in this game.”
Prediction: Freedom 34, Baldwin-Woodville 27.
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The teams: Kiel is averaging 46.5 points a game and has scored at least 34 points in every game this season. The Raiders beat Kewaunee 42-7 in the second round. Cade Voelker has passed for 1,343 yards and 22 touchdowns. Bryce Gullixon has rushed for 1,791 yards and 34 TDs. Gullixon also leads the defense with 53 tackles, while Brady Bortz has 50 tackles, including 21 for loss and 9.5 sacks. … Wrightstown has won four in a row since its only loss to Freedom on Oct. 4. The Tigers rolled past Southern Door 50-8 in the second round. Aiden Humphreys rushed for 106 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 1,250 yards and 24 TDs on the ground this season. He’s also the leading tackler for the Tigers with 90 total stops, including 11 for loss.
Kiel coach David Esswein: “Wrightstown is a good, disciplined football team. We’ll need to play to our strengths and execute in all three phases in order to win.”
Wrightstown coach Steve Klister: “Kiel is big, physical and athletic up front. They also have some very talented skill players. We will have to play our best game of the year and limit mistakes.”
Prediction: Wrightstown 28, Kiel 24.
