Belmont quarterback Wyatt Temperly
8-PLAYER | BRACKET
Belmont (11-0) vs. Wabeno/Laona (10-1), Friday 7 pm at Waupaca High School
Belmont is in far southwest Wisconsin and Wabeno/Laona located in far northeast Wisconsin, and they’ll meet somewhere in-between at Waupaca High School. Wabeno/Laona has been close before, with two previous trips to the state semifinals in 2021 and 2022. The Rebels have gotten better and better as the 2026 season has gone on, dominating the last month. It was a little rougher start to the year, as they narrowly got past Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas to open the season and then fell to Hurley for the only loss of the year. Returning All-Star pick Cooper Albrecht continues to carry the load, as he’s over 2300 passing yards and 1000 rushing yards, accounting for 50 offensive touchdowns and scoring 13 two-point conversions. Belmont made it to the state title game in 2022 and may be even better this year, dominating to an undefeated record so far. Their average margin is 53-8. The only game decided by less than 30 points was a 22-0 shutout of North Crawford. Head coach Brandon Wiese has a talented dual-threat quarterback of his own in Wyatt Temperly.
My Pick: Belmont
Gilman (11-0) at Owen-Withee (9-2), Friday 7 pm at D.C. Everest High School
A rematch in the state semifinals, as these teams met earlier this year in a North Central East-8 game. It ended up a 36-6 win for Gilman in what has proven to be their closest score so far this season. The Pirates ran for 363 yards and had more than 400 yards of total offense the first time around, while Owen-Withee struggled to just 96 total yards. Despite losing to Assumption just a couple weeks later, Owen-Withee is actually the second-ranked team in 8-player in our Bound Power Index, as they’ve faced a very difficult schedule this season. Their last two wins over Assumption and previously undefeated Valley Christian prove they can beat some of the best teams in the state. But Gilman has proven to be at a different level in 2026, including that earlier dominating win. Can things be different this time around?
My Pick: Gilman
My Picks:
(4-0 last week; 25-3, 89.29% overall in 8-Player)
Travis Wilson serves as the Bound Wisconsin Manager. 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 as Communications and Website Director. 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 @travisBound or reach him at [email protected].
