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
The big 8-player matchup featuring #1 versus #2 turned out to be a resounding win for top-ranked Gilman, who took down second-ranked Owen-Withee 36-6 on Friday. Gilman jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter and held a 22-6 advantage heading into the break before pulling away in the second half. Logan Halida (142 yards, 3 TD) and Trevin Duellman (137 yards, 2 TD) led a powerful ground attack that rolled up 363 yards while averaging 9.1 yards per attempt. The defense limited Owen-Withee to just 96 yards of offense.
In another ranked matchup, sixth-ranked Iola-Scandinavia snuck by fifth-ranked North Crawford 14-6. Senior Badger commit Korz Loken rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, adding two receptions for 20 yards plus six tackles.
Belmont took on Tri-County in a replacement game for both sides, and it was no contest, as Belmont scored 46 points in the first half before going on to win 54-14. Wyatt Temperly threw for 221 yards and five touchdowns on 12-of-15 passing, as eight different receivers caught a pass in the game.
Overall, there weren’t many competitive games in Week 3 of the 8-player season, with just four contests decided by fewer than three scores.
Looking Ahead
There is one ranked matchup on the schedule this week, as Algoma will travel to Valley Christian on Friday night. Both teams have cruised to this point of the season, with eighth-ranked Algoma scoring at least 40 points in every game while allowing single digits. Valley Christian has four players with at least 120 rushing yards this year, led by junior Sam Gloudemans, who has rushed for 390 yards and eight touchdowns on 28 carries.
Athens’ only loss was a couple weeks ago against top-ranked Gilman, and the Fighting Bluejays will make the trip to Assumption this week to take on another top team. The third-ranked Royals have put a running clock on their first three opponents behind the top rushing attack in the state. The team has 1,355 yards on the ground thus far, with Wylie Cornwell, Camden Martin, and Braxten Steinert all averaging more than 100 yards per game.
Unfortunately seven of the 8-player games scheduled for Friday night are already canceled.
Star of the Week: Sam Koshuta, Three Lakes/Phelps
Three Lakes/Phelps moved to 2-1 on the year with a dominating 64-0 win over Chequamegon in Week 3. Koshuta completed eight-of-ten passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns in the game, adding 131 yards and three scores on nine carries. He also had eight tackles on defense and converted three, two-point conversions.
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].
