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Every Wednesday during the regular season we will highlight the 8-Player Football game with a spotlight article on WisSports.net. We'll look back at the action and big stories from the previous week, look ahead at the coming week's big match-ups, and select a Star of the Week.

8-Player coaches, please enter player stats on WSN so that we can continue having the necessary information to produce this weekly spotlight of your game, and feel free to send any news or information to us as well.

8-Player Football Standings
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We didn't expect a whole lot of fireworks in Week 1 of the 8-player football season, but we certainly got some right out of the gates.

Newman Catholic saw the state's longest active winning streak come to an end at 29 games, as the two-time defending champion Cardinals tasted defeat for the first time since 2019, going down to Three Lakes/Phelps 28-7. More on that one a bit later.

The team that Newman Catholic beat in last year's championship game, Belmont, also went down in Week 1, as the Braves fell 20-12 to Oneida Nation/GB NEW Lutheran. Bryce Liebzeit ran for 177 yards and a touchdown to help the co-op team overcome three interceptions. Logan Nichols had 16 tackles while Jedi Gbaja-Biamila had 12 to lead a stingy defense.

Thorp moved to number one in the Coaches Poll after the first week, as the Cardinals opened with a dominating 78-46 win against Prairie Farm. Denzel Sutton completed nine-of-11 passes for 300 yards and five touchdowns, adding 122 yards and a score on the ground.

Sutton was one of four quarterbacks in 8-player football to throw for at least 300 yards, joined by: Walker Winkelman, Wabeno/Laona (332 yards), Jared Schultz, Northwood/Solon Springs (324), and Gannen Reynolds, Siren (307).

Gilman saw eight different players score rushing touchdowns in a 74-0 shutout of Lake Holcombe, as the team compiled 381 rushing yards, though just one player (Troy Duellman, 111 yards) went over 100 yards on the ground.

De Soto jumped out to a 38-0 first quarter lead on Williams Bay and cruised home to a 60-12 victory. The Pirates had more than 500 yards of offense in the game, including 406 on the ground. Both Austin DeFlorian and Landon Pedretti went for more than 100 yards.

Wonewoc/Weston's Brock Sprotte scored a total of five touchdowns in a 74-0 win over Menominee Indian on Saturday. The senior ran for three scores, returned an interception for a touchdown, and returned a kickoff for a score.

It was initially unclear if Valley Christian (Oshkosh) was going to have a varsity squad this year, but they did open with a 28-14 victory over Sevastopol last Thursday.

Newman Catholic will look to get back on track this week with the lone Saturday game over the holiday weekend, as the Cardinals take on Florence at 1 pm.

Three Lakes/Phelps, the team that ended Newman Catholic's 29-game winning streak, will try to keep its strong start going as they welcome in Wild Rose.

After posting a dominating win over Menominee Indian to open the year, Wonewoc/Weston will get a much tougher test this week as they host Oakfield at Weston High School Thursday night.

Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas at Oneida Nation/GB NEW Lutheran is another solid Thursday night game.

Friday features the lone ranked matchup this week, with #9 McDonell Central welcoming in top-ranked Thorp for what could be an excellent contest.

Clayton will travel to Phillips as both teams won their opening games of the 2023 season.

Three Lakes/Phelps scored an upset in Week 1 of the 8-player season, downing two-time defending state champion Newman Catholic 28-7 to end the Cardinals' 29-game winning streak. Three Lakes/Phelps quarterback Jared Kaufman had a big hand in the success, throwing for 132 yards and two touchdowns with a team-high 72 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground. He also posted 13 tackles, a sack, and two forced fumbles on defense.

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

For the latest and most up to date football news and recruiting information, follow Travis on Twitter @travisWSN. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Travis at travis(at)wissports.net.