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
Defending 8-Player state champion Owen-Withee lost many of its top contributors from last year, while Gilman brought back a considerable amount of firepower. It led to a lop-sided Week 1 result, with Gilman putting a running clock on Owen-Withee in a 42-0 victory. Gilman’s defense limited the Blackhawks to just 108 yards of offense, forcing a pair of turnovers, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
It was blowout city on the opening night of action, with every game last Thursday decided by at least two scores, with Three Lakes/Phelps’ 20-6 win over Gillett the only contest within 26 points. Oakfield hammered Elhart Lake-Glenbeulah 48-0 in a matchup of two teams that both made the playoffs a year ago.
There were several more competitive games on Friday, including Clayton squeaking out a 27-25 victory against Frederic, New Auburn taking down Luck 58-54 in a shootout, Montello edging past St. John’s Northwestern Academies 14-12, and Thorp outlasting Prairie Farm 26-18.
Looking Ahead
There are a couple of top ten matchups that highlight the Thursday schedule in 8-Player Football. We’ll start with second-ranked McDonell Central welcoming in eight-ranked Clayton. McDonell Central narrowly got past Clayton 27-26 last year.
Algoma isn’t eligible for the playoffs, but the Wolves are still ranked seventh in the Bound Wisconsin 8-Player Coaches Poll, and they’ll make the trip to Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas on Thursday. Both teams won easily in Week 1.
Top-ranked Gilman will host Rib Lake this week, while ranked teams Newman Catholic (vs. Wild Rose), North Crawford (vs. Montello), and Siren (vs. Washburn) are all at home this week.
Athens and Thorp were both impressive in Week 1, and will meet up in Athens on Friday night.
Star of the Week: Chason Philson, Thorp
Thorp had a tough one against a solid Prairie Farm squad on Friday night, scoring in the fourth quarter to break a tie and pick up a 26-18 victory. Junior running back Chason Philson had a big game in that one, rushing for 231 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries.
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].