8-Player Football Weekly Spotlight: September 30

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.

8-Player Football Standings
8-Player Football Schedule
8-Player Football Stats Leaders
8-Player Football Coaches Poll

The latest number one versus number two matchup in 8-player turned out to be not much of a game, as top-ranked Gilman had a running clock at halftime in a 44-6 win over second-ranked Assumption. The Pirates ran for 301 yards while their defense forced four turnovers. Assumption came in with the top rushing attack in the state, but they were limited to just 48 yards on 24 carries.

The other top five showdown in 8-player football was much more competitive, with fourth-ranked Valley Christian pulling out a 28-22 win over fifth-ranked Suring. Just like Gilman above, Valley Chrisitian ran for 301 yards, led by 141 yards from junior Sam Gloudemans.

Belmont took control of the Ridge & Vallety-8 with a 22-0 shutout of last year’s league champion North Crawford. It was a slugfest on both sides, but the Braves got the job done, led by junior quarterback Wyatt Temperly, who accumulated 154 yards of offense and two touchdowns.

Shell Lake stayed undefeated and moved into solo first place in the Northwoods-West 8 with a 44-14 win over Northwood/Solon Springs.

Bruce scored a 66-50 Homecoming win over Winter/Birchwood on Friday behind a Hurculean effort from sophomore Blake Nyhagen. Last week’s 8-Player Star of the Week, Nyhagen threw for 232 yards and five touchdowns with another 316 yards and four scores on the ground. He also had an interception on defense and a pair of two-point conversions.

Almond-Bancroft got another big game from Kaden Martinez in a 24-22 win over Wild Rose, as Martinez rushed for 225 yards and three touchdowns on 43 carries. He’s second in the state overall in rushing yards and tops in 8-player with 1,327 yards.

After a pair of top five showdowns last week, there are no ranked matchups in Week 7 of the 8-player season.

Algoma and Sevastopol are both 5-1 overall and tied for second in the Packerland-8 standings. Each has already dropped a game to league-leading Valley Christian. While Algoma is ineligible for the postseason due to enrollment, Valley Christian is trying to bolster its playoff resume for seeding.

De Soto has just one loss this year and is currently tied for second in the Ridge & Valley-8 behind Belmont. The Pirates welcome in the Braves this weekend, trying to force their way into a share for the lead.

Clear Lake and Prairie Farm/Clayton are currently tied for the lead in the North Central-West 8 Conference, and the winner secures at least a share of the league crown.