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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.

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Defending state champion Florence went down right out of the gates, as the Bobcats lost to Ishpeming (MI) 34-12 on Thursday night.

It wasn't all bad for Wisconsin teams against Michigan squads on Thursday, as Hurley scored its first 8-player victory by defeating Lake Linden-Hubbell 36-20. Devin Soltis ran for 157 yards and three touchdowns, threw a touchdown, and had ten tackles with a sack on defense.

Speaking of 8-player debuts, Highland was successful in its first action Thursday night. The Cardinals went on the road and defeated Williams Bay 49-8. Bennett Smith threw two touchdowns and Kaden Washa one, as the team also ran for 211 yards.

Monticello didn't have the same level of success in its first 8-player game, however, as the Ponies fell to Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah 42-6.

Luck scored 26 fourth-quarter points to come back to defeat Shell Lake 46-38 on Friday night. The Cardinals played two different players at quarterback with very different results. Zak Walters had a great amount of success, completing seven-of-ten passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Levi King had a big game, catching three passes for 138 yards and three scores.

The game of the week took place Saturday, as top-ranked McDonell Central went on the road and scored a 27-26 win over Clayton, the same team the Macks beat in the postseason last year.

Clayton dropped the opening game of the year in a tough one-point loss to McDonell Central on Saturday. Now the Bears make a quick turnaround for a Thursday night home game at Siren.

On Friday, North Crawford makes the trip to Wisconsin Heights. The Trojans are ranked seventh in the first WSN Coaches Poll, but it will be a tough road trip to Wisconsin Heights, who put up 54 points in a win over Abundant Life/St. Ambrose. 

Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas is also ranked to begin the year, coming in at number nine, and the team welcomes in Green Bay NEW Lutheran this week, who is coming off a triple overtime win against Algoma.

Highland and Belmont used to compete together in 11-player football in the Six Rivers Conference, but now they're both in 8-player as members of the Ridge & Valley-8. Both teams were dominating winners last week, and this should be an excellent game between two of the top teams in the conference.

Almond-Bancroft dethroned Newman Catholic in conference last year, beating the Cardinals 52-14. Now, they square off right out of the gates in the new Mideast Conference, with early control of the league on the line Saturday.

After picking up its first 8-player win last week, Hurley travels to Prentice this week. Luck rescheduled a couple different matchups but will head to Phillips for a 6 pm kickoff on Saturday.

Prentice begins its second year as an 8-player standalone program after splitting from Rib Lake. They opened the year on the right foot, beating South Shore 36-24. Jonas Staroba made big plays all over, catching four passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the Buccaneers with 128 rushing yards and two scores. Staroba added seven tackles 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.