Every Wednesday during the regular season we will highlight the 8-Player Football game with a spotlight article on boundwisconsin.com. 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 Bound Wisconsin 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.
Looking Back
Abundant Life/St. Ambrose and Oakfield were pegged as the top two teams in the Southeast-8 coming into the season, and they met up right away on Thursday in Week 1. It was a spirited contest, but one that Abundant Life/St. Ambrose would come out on top of, winning 26-14. The Challengers get an early leg up in the conference race, with JD Highman throwing for 184 yards and two touchdowns, while Maxwell Voetlner ran for 111 yards and a score.
Highland rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Wisconsin Heights 22-20 on Thursday, as junior Brady Nankey accounted for all three touchdowns and Tanner Degenhardt ran for 182 yards on 36 carries.
North Crawford made an early statement with a dominating 38-6 win over De Soto. Landry Stluka rushed for 159 yards and four touchdowns, averaging better than 12 yards per carry.
Iola-Scandinavia was a late addition to 8-player this season, and while the T-Birds are ineligible for the playoffs, they had a nice debut, defeating a very good Marion/Tigerton team 34-8. Senior Aiden Bowen rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries.
Assumption makes the move to 8-player football this year with a 49-0 opening victory over Rosholt. Camden Martin led the Royals with 172 rushing yards, as they went for 386 yards as a team, averaging nearly 12 yards per attempt.
In a rematch of a sectional final from a year ago, Wabeno/Laona held off Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas in a low-scoring 12-6 ballgame. Senior quarterback Cooper Albrecht accounted for 194 yards of offense and both Wabeno/Laona touchdowns.
Looking Ahead
Hurley and Wabeno/Laona each claimed victories in Week 1 of the season, and they’ll square off on Thursday night. Hurley dominated Tri-County 36-0 last week, while Wabeno/Laona was a narrow winner over Wabeno/Laona.
The only top ten matchup this week pits number one Gilman against tenth-ranked Athens. The host Pirates of Gilman took down a solid Phillips squad 57-0 in Week 1, while Athens was a 30-8 winner over Niagara.
Oakfield fell in Week 1 to Abundant Life/St. Ambrose in a Week 1 conference game, and the Oaks have to rebound quickly as they’ll take on third-ranked Belmont this week. The Braves had no trouble with Kickapoo/La Farge in Week 1, winning 48-0.
Assumption welcomes in Thorp this week, both coming off Week 1 victories.
Star of the Week: Clay Mueller, Owen-Withee
Owen-Withee scored a 55-28 win over Prairie Farm/Clayton last week, as the Blackhawks got off to an excellent start to the 2026 season. Sophomore Clay Mueller accounted for 197 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, averaging more than 11 yards per attempt. He also caught a 28-yard touchdown, had six tackles, accounted for 83 kick return yards, and scored a two-point conversion.
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 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 @travisBound or reach him at [email protected].
