Football Level 3 Preview: Division 2
posted by Travis Wilson at 11/5/2009
Division 2 Bracket
Toughest Road So Far
Franklin faced and shutout a solid Greendale squad 27-0 in Level 1 and then had to travel to a 1-loss Waterford team in Level 2, where they pulled out a 29-21 victory. Marshfield is a close second, having had to play both La Crosse schools (Logan and Central), who each went 8-1 in the regular season.
Cinderella
Pulaski really started to play well at the end of the season after losing three of their last four games, and had to feel confident going into their Level 1 match-up with top-seeded Shawano, despite a 5-4 overall record. A dominating 62-23 win in that game and a 17-7 victory over Menasha in Level 2 has the Red Raiders confident heading into a match-up with Kimberly on Saturday.
Most Impressive
While they certainly can't be happy giving up 31 points in Level 1, Kimberly has proved many critics wrong by racking up 86 points in their first two playoff games. When the team's quarterback and most dynamic offensive player, Mitch Hintz, went out with a season-ending injury late in the year, you had to wonder where they were going to get offense from. The answer was increased offensive time for Colten Heagle, an outstanding defensive back headed to North Dakota State next year. The senior has run for over 400 yards with 6 touchdowns in the two playoff games.
The Match-Ups:
Marshfield (10-1) vs. Merrill (10-1) Friday 7 p.m. -- Former and future Wisconsin Valley Conference foes square off in this one. Merrill left the WVC for the Great Northern Conference following the 2007 season, but will be moved back in next year. Its also a rematch of a Week 2 game won by Marshfield 24-0. The Bluejays rely heavily on running back Ross VanDerGeest and quarterback Pascal Paul for much of their offense. VanDerGeest has rushed for nearly 1300 yards this year with 18 touchdowns. Paul has thrown for over 1200 yards and 14 touchdowns while chipping in over 500 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. A tough defense has allowed just 10.9 points per game this year, fifth best in Division 2. Marshfield has 6 or 7 weapons they can throw at you offensively, with a nice balance of run and pass. Jake Lenz, Paul Schecklman, and Josh Lutz form a solid running back rotation. Quarterback Luke Accola has thrown 21 touchdowns this year, with Ryan Danczak as his favorite target. Despite extra attention paid to him, Danczak has managed to catch 10 touchdowns this year. Ben Johnson provides an outstanding deep threat as well. In their lone loss to Stevens Point and their closest win against Wisconsin Rapids, Marshfield has been vulnerable when a consistent running can be established against them.
Edge: Marshfield
Monona Grove (11-0) vs. Waunakee (10-1) Saturday 2 p.m. -- Badger Conference bragging rights are on the line in this one when South Division's Monona Grove takes on Waunakee from the North Division. This marks the sixth straight year these teams have met in the Division 2 playoffs, with Waunakee holding a 3-2 lead in those games. Monona Grove has already knocked off four Badger-North teams this year, including the other tri-champions in that conference, Reedsburg, and DeForest. Waunakee, meanwhile, has beaten four Badger-South teams. For Monona Grove, running back Ryan Roberts has missed the last few weeks with injury, but LaBraun Roach and Beau Goff have done a very nice job filling in. Roach went for 221 yards and 3 touchdowns in a Level 2 win over Cedarburg. Dylan Rauch is also a guy that has filled in for an injured starter and done quite well. Mike Percy went out earlier this year, but Rauch has stepped right in, completing 59% of his passes for 8 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Waunakee features a balanced attack and no one who's stats jump off the page at you, partially due to the fact the starters have gotten pulled so early in so many blowout wins. The running back tandem of sophomore Leo Musso and senior Kyle Acker has been outstanding though, combining for 28 touchdowns. Quarterback Trent Cummings has been very efficient, completing 65% of his passes for over 1200 yards and 13 touchdowns. Both teams could struggle offensively though, as the defenses are outstanding for both teams. Waunakee leads Division 2 with just 6.6 points allowed per game, while Monona Grove is second with 7.5 points per game.
Edge: Waunakee
Pulaski (7-4) vs. Kimberly (10-1) Saturday 4 p.m. -- Two teams that have been very impressive in the playoffs and the latter part of the year. Pulaski started the with losses in three of their first four games, and had to win their last game to guarantee a playoff spot. A late season offensive surge has coincided with some breakout performances by running back Derek Anderson and quarterback Race Noeldner. Noelnder has been a dual-threat with some nice games running and throwing the ball. He has four total touchdowns in the two playoff wins. Anderson has been the guy in the playoffs, rushing for over 400 yards with 3 touchdowns. Kimberly is of course the two-time defending state champs in Division 2, and the loss of some outstanding players from last year, had high expectations coming into this season. A Week 2 loss to Appleton North ended Kimberly's 29-game conference winning streak, but may have been a blessing in disguise for the Papermakers, as it seemed to take a bit of pressure off them to remain perfect. Despite a few closer than expected games along the way, things seemed to getting better for the Papermakers until a Week 9 injury to Mitch Hintz forced the senior quarterback out for the rest of the year. As the most dynamic player on the offense, some wondered where Kimberly would get their yards from now. Colten Heagle has moved over from defensive back and been a huge addition at running back, going for over 400 yards and 6 touchdowns in two playoff games. The defense with Heagle, Mike Hardy, Matt Craggs and company has been stout as expected.
Edge: Kimberly
Franklin (9-2) vs. Badger (9-2) Friday 7 p.m. at Greendale H.S. -- It will be the flexbone, run-heavy attack of Badger taking on the wide-open spread offense of Franklin in a game that should provide plenty of excitement. Franklin puts the ball in quarterback Lance Baretz's hands quite often. The junior signal-caller has completed 134 of 248 passes (54%) for 2092 yards and 20 touchdowns this year while piling up a team-high 694 yards on the ground with 9 touchdowns. Paul Lincoln and Jesse Palok are solid running threats in the backfield as well. Brady Oates, Evan Walton, and Matt Sklander are the leading receiving threats. As you can imagine, the Sabers didn't have too much of a problem scoring this year, averaging 33.9 points per game, fourth best in Division 2. Defensively they gave up almost 20 points per game though. Franklin's only two losses this season were to undefeated Division 1 teams Milwaukee Marquette and Kenosha Bradford. Badger hasn't faced quite the same level of competition in the Southern Lakes, but feature a balanced rushing attack led by Trevor York, Kyle Poplar and quarterbac John Leibforth. Expect the Badgers to keep the ball on the ground for the most part, as they've attempted just 66 passes all year and thrown for only 2 touchdowns. Badger has had trouble scoring at times this year, even in some of their wins.
Edge: Franklin
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