It’s the last day of the Wisconsin high school football season and it’s going to be a big one.
WIAA state-championship games in Division 1, 2 and 3 are Friday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
The action kicks off at 10 a.m. Here’s the schedule:
Division 3: Catholic Memorial (11-2) vs. Notre Dame (13-0), 10 a.m.
Division 2: Rice Lake (11-2) vs. Slinger (13-0), 1 p.m.
Division 1: Bay Port (11-2) vs. Muskego (9-4), 4 p.m.
We’ll have live updates all day. Be sure to refresh your browser for the latest.
JR Radcliffe
Live broadcasts of all seven championships will air locally on:
WCGV My 24 in Milwaukee
WKOW 27.2 in Madison
WAOW 9.2 in Wausau
WXOW 19.2 in La Crosse
WQOW 18.2 in Eau Claire
WLUK/WCWF CW14 in Green Bay/Appleton
The finals will be streamed live on the stations’ websites and app.
JR Radcliffe
Division 7: Edgar 19, Potosi/Cassville 0. Edgar (13-1) goes back-to-back despite racking up just 119 total yards of offense, ending the undefeated bid for Potosi/Cassville (13-1).
Division 6: Lomira 26, Grantsburg 19. Taylor Schaumberg ran for 216 yards and three touchdowns to lead Lomira (12-2) over Grantsburg (12-2) in a battle of first-time state finalists.
Division 5: Stratford 21, Wrightstown 6. Stratford (14-0) becomes the first program to win 10 WIAA state football titles, while Wrightstown (12-2) fell short in a state final for a second straight year.
Division 4: Racine St. Catherine’s 26, Baldwin-Woodville 22. Lamont Hamilton set three state-final records with four total touchdowns for St. Cat’s (14-0), and the Angels held off a furious rally from Baldwin-Woodville (12-2).
Zac Bellman and Michael Whitlow
No. 1 Catholic Memorial (11-2) vs. No. 2 Notre Dame (13-0)
When: 10 a.m. Friday.
Road to Camp Randall: Catholic Memorial – beat No. 8 New Berlin Eisenhower 42-6, beat No. 4 Reedsburg 34-33, beat No. 2 Mount Horeb/Barneveld 17-14, beat No. 3 Wisconsin Lutheran 31-14. Notre Dame – beat No. 7 Pewaukee 50-7, beat No. 3 Port Washington 35-13, beat No. 1 Grafton 28-6, beat No. 3 La Crosse Logan 41-21.
Previous WIAA championship experiences: Catholic Memorial − 10th appearance; won 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 titles; lost 2001, 2010, 2015, 2022 titles. Notre Dame − 5th appearance; won 2003, 2015 titles; lost 2000, 2016 titles.
The matchup:
For the third time since 2015, Catholic Memorial and Notre Dame will face off with a state title on the line. The two programs split the previous two meetings, in 2015 with a 19-17 nail-biter for the Tritons and the Crusaders bouncing back the following year with a 24-14 victory.
It’s been a tightrope back to state for the top-seeded Crusaders, who have survived two of their four previous games by a combined four total points. Some of that late-game magic can be credited to superstar quarterback MJ Mitchell, who has accounted for 11 total touchdowns in CMH’s playoff run.
“It just shows that if you don’t quit and play as hard as you can on every play … don’t worry about the final score. Just worry about working the process, one play at a time and win those one-on-one battles,” Crusaders coach Bill Young said. “It just toughens up your kids mentally, and it just brings them all together when they’re all committed to one another.”
Zac Bellman and Michael Whitlow
No. 1 Slinger (13-0) vs. No. 2 Rice Lake (11-2)
Road to Camp Randall: Slinger – beat No. 8 Brookfield Central 43-7, beat No. 4 Wauwatosa East 21-3, beat No. 3 Homestead 17-14, beat No. 1 Badger 35-28. Rice Lake – beat No. 7 DeForest 56-22, beat No. 3 Monona Grove 35-34, beat No. 1 New Richmond 28-6, beat No. 3 West De Pere 31-24.
Previous WIAA championship experiences: Slinger − 3rd appearance; won 1998 title; lost 1997 title. Rice Lake − 9th appearance; won 1979, 2017 and 2023 titles; lost 1980, 1982, 2004, 2014 and 2021 titles.
The matchup:
Slinger already knocked off reigning D2 champion Badger in its semifinal victory, but one more reigning champion stands in its way. The 2023 D3 champion from Rice Lake has weathered a competitive balance promotion to return to Camp Randall and earn its chance to repeat. While competing at the D2 level is uncharted territory, state football in Madison is anything but for Rice Lake head coach Dan Hill. This will be his fifth trip to state since 2014, all with the Warriors. He said avoiding distractions and treating state week like any other are keys to finding success.
“You have to make a very conscious effort, and sometimes that may come across wrong to some people, but I do everything I can to keep it as normal as possible and refer to just about everything else as a distraction,” Hill said. “Keep our eye on the ball and try to keep doing what we do.”Rice Lake has largely grounded and pounded its way back to a title game, rushing for at least 210 yards as a team in each of its four postseason games. On the season, running backs Lucas Peters and Connor Durand have combined for 2,056 yards and 22 touchdowns, with quarterback Jakob Kunz adding 1,969 total yards and 30 total touchdowns rushing and throwing. The Warriors may seek to keep the ball on the ground given Slinger’s propensity for the interception. Chase Leverance leads an opportunistic Owls secondary with eight interceptions on the season, with Kaleb Burkel and Matthew Retzlaff each adding four.
Zac Bellman and Michael Whitlow
No. 2 Bay Port (11-2) vs. No. 4 Muskego (9-4)
When: 4 p.m. Friday.
Road to Camp Randall: Bay Port – beat No. 7 Milwaukee Bradley Tech/Arts 56-14, beat No. 6 Sheboygan North 61-12, beat No. 1 Marquette 35-21, beat No. 7 D.C. Everest 34-27. Muskego – beat No. 5 Oak Creek 42-7, beat No. 1 Franklin 42-14, beat No. 3 Neenah 21-7, beat No. 2 Mukwonago 16-14.
Previous WIAA championship experiences: Bay Port – 2nd appearance; lost 2019 title. Muskego – 4th appearance; won 2018, 2019 titles; lost 1994 title.
The matchup:
Two teams that each knocked out a finalist in last year’s Division 1 title game will square off in the final football game of the season Friday.
For the second time in the last five state tournaments, Bay Port and Muskego will do battle with the D1 title on the line. Muskego won the previous meeting in 2019 with a 21-10 victory over the Pirates to cap a back-to-back state title run. The Warriors aren’t the Warriors from those two title seasons, but they could still make history Friday. A win would mark the first time a team with four or more losses in a season won the D1 title.
It’s been an uphill climb for coach Ken Krause and his program since a five-week stretch when they went 1-4 and the hope of a playoff berth seemed unlikely for the first time in a long time. The Warriors got healthy late in the regular season after losing five starters, including four returners from last year’s squad. They’ve reeled off five straight wins to put them on the cusp of a third title in program history.
