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
In the only ranked matchup last week, number one Gilman had no trouble with tenth-ranked Athens, winning 50-0. Trevin Duellman ran for a team-high 116 yards with a score, adding an 84-yard interception return for a touchdown as well.
Almond-Bancroft suited up just 11 players for their 8-player game vs Marion/Tigerton Friday night and trailed 34-16 at one point. However, behind 403 rushing yards and six TD’s from Kaden Martinez, Almond-Bancroft rallied for a 54-34 victory.
Phillips dominated Three Lakes/Phelps 56-26 behind 592 yards of offense. The running game put up 526, led by Wade Vetter’s 354 yards and five touchdowns on 15 carries. He’d also throw a 40-yard touchdown, score a two-point conversion, and record five tackles.
Iola-Scandinavia continues a successful move to 8-player, moving to 2-0 after a 44-6 win over Highland. Senior Badger commit Korz Loken ran for 25 yards and a touchdown, caught three passes for 91 yards and a score, had nine tackles, and a two-point conversion.
In a rare overtime game in 8-player, Hurley defeated seventh-ranked Wabeno/Laona 20-14 to move to 2-0 on the year. Senior Charlie Haanen ran for 172 yards on 32 carries.
Looking Ahead
We get a huge 8-player game this week, as top-ranked Gilman will take on second-ranked Owen-Withee in a rare #1 vs. #2 showdown. The teams met twice last year, with Gilman winning 43-0 in the regular season before a 55-8 win in the playoffs. Both have dominated this year, especially Gilman, who has outscored quality opponents Phillips and Athens 107-0 so far this year. Not to be outdone, Owen-Withee has looked very good as well in dominating victories against Prairie Farm/Clayton and Newman Catholic.
North Crawford will make the trip to Iola-Scandinavia Friday night. North Crawford is ranked fourth this week, while Iola-Scandinavia is sixth. Crawford did not have a game last week and is getting back into action, while Badger recruit Korz Loken continues to look dominant in 8-player.
Oakfield is off to a surprising 0-2 start, but the Oaks aren’t out of things yet, as the schedule sets up pretty favorably the rest of the way. They travel to winless Montello on Thursday night.
Star of the Week: Nolin Betker, Rosholt
Rosholt junior Nolin Betker had one of the best all-around performances we’ve seen in a 50-22 win over Wild Rose. Betker carried the ball five times for 82 yards and two touchdowns, caught seven passes for 115 yards and a score, had eight tackles (including three for loss), forced a fumble, recorded an interception, scored a two-point conversion, had 138 kick return yards with a touchdown, and a 16-yard punt return. Betker accounted for 365 all-purpose yards and 32 points.
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].
