Badger-Small 2026 Football Preview

Over the next several weeks, we’ll be previewing every conference in the state as part of our preseason preparations.

Check out all of our Football Conference Previews for every league in the state, here.

2025 Recap: In a league with six teams, three of them tied for the conference title in 2025, as Sauk Prairie, Edgewood, and Mount Horeb/Barneveld took turns beating each other and sharing the crown. Mount Horeb/Barneveld made the deepest playoff run of the group, advancing to the sectional finals before going out to Catholic Memorial for a second straight season.

Note: Lakeside Lutheran and Portage move to the Capitol Conference this year. Beaver Dam enters from the East Central, while McFarland and Monroe move over from the Rock Valley, and Fort Atkinson joins out of the Badger-Large.

2025 Badger-Small Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference

2025 Badger-Large Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference

2025 Rock Valley Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference

2025 East Central Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference

2026 PREVIEW:

Predicted Order of Finish:

1) Beaver Dam
2) Mount Horeb/Barneveld
3) Edgewood
4) McFarland
5) Sauk Prairie
6) Stoughton
7) Monroe
8) Fort Atkinson

Players to Watch:

Tristen Anderson, RB, Monroe: Anderson earned Second Team All-Conference recognition last year after leading the team with 1,149 yards on the ground.

Garrett Crull, QB, McFarland: Crull threw for 1,941 yards and 24 touchdowns last year to earn First Team All-Conference recognition in the Rock Valley.

Caleb DeZarn, OL, Beaver Dam: DeZarn is a standout offensive lineman who earned First Team All-Conference and Offensive Player of the Year accolades in the East Central Conference a year ago.

Evan Leibfried, OL, Mount Horeb/Barneveld: Leibfried is part of a strong offensive line group and has given a commitment to Northern Illinois.

Eli Maier, RB/LB, Mount Horeb/Barneveld: Maier rushed for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns last year and is also an elite linebacker, earning First Team All-Conference for the Vikings.

Ben Morey, WR, Edgewood: Morey is an explosive wide receiver that caught 41 passes for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago as a First Team All-Conference selection.

Ashtyn Seifert, WR/DB, Beaver Dam: Seifert was the leading receiver for the Golden Beavers last year and also picked up First Team All-Conference recognition as a defensive back.

Azindo Takoro, DL, Edgewood: Takoro is one of the state’s top players in the 2028 class, already holding scholarship offers from Missouri and North Dakota with a host of other D1 interest coming in for the big man.

2026 Team Previews

1) Beaver Dam won just four games last year and fell in the first playoff game, but there’s reason to believe they’ll be much improved in 2026. After missing a good amount of time last season, junior running back Brock Hiley is back and expected to provide a big boost. He’ll join returning quarterback Jaxon Ladron as well top receiver Ashtyn Seifert, with a total of seven starters back on offense, which includes talented lineman Caleb DeZarn. After missing some time with injury last year after a promising start to the season, senior running back Brock Hiley is a name to watch as a breakout candidate. Six starters are back on the defensive side of the ball. The Golden Beavers make a conference change, moving from the East Central to the Badger-Small.

2) Mount Horeb/Barneveld was part of a three-way tie for the Badger-Small Conference title last year, as they beat Sauk Prairie but fell to Edgewood late in the year. They’d see a familiar end to their season, going out to Catholic Memorial in Level 3 of the playoffs, finishing 9-3 overall. A talented senior class moves on, especially at the skill positions, but head coach Bret St. Arnauld does return six starters on offense and five on defense. “The strength of our team will be on the offensive line,” he said. “We bring back four starters on the offensive line from last season and they have all gotten bigger, faster, and stronger.” One of those is Evan Leibfried, who recently committed to Northern Illinois. Eli Maier is an experienced running back returning (and doubles as an outstanding linebacker), while Django Christian got plenty of run at receiver a year ago.

3) Edgewood won its first eight games of the season, including a 27-20 victory over Mount Horeb/Barneveld in Week 8 that guaranteed a share of the Badger-Small Conference title. They’d drop the next game to Sauk Prairie to leave a three-way tie for the crown, then go out to Reedsburg in Level 2 of the D3 playoffs as a top seed. Head coach Jesse Norris graduates a strong senior class, but a good amount of talent returns as the Crusaders drop from Division 3 to Division 4 this season. Ben Morey is an electric receiver who led the team with 41 catches for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns. Chris Lee, Owen Rist, and junior Azindo Takoro, who holds D1 offers, are strong players in the front seven on defense.

4) McFarland dropped a couple early non-conference games to Reedsburg and Edgewood, and weren’t far off from being a contender in the Rock Valley, but had to settle for a distant fourth place finish at 4-3 in league play. After getting shutout 42-0 by Whitnall in Level 1, the Spartans would end the year at 4-6 overall. Veteran head coach Paul Ackley picked up his 100th career win last year, and returns a strong group of athletes as they make the move back into the Badger-Small. Quarterback Garrett Crull put up big numbers last year, throwing for just shy of 2000 yards. Leading rusher Jayden Bloodsaw as well as talented pass-catchers Parker Roh, Grayson Gauwitz, and Eli Krueger are returning this season. McFarland brings back seven starters on offense and seven on defense.

5) Sauk Prairie put together a historic season in 2025, as the Eagles’ 20-7 win over Edgewood to close the regular season led them to a share of the Badger-Small title, the first conference title for the school in 44 years. A strong senior class led the way, and with that group moving on, it will be a challenge for head coach Randy Wallace to keep that going, but things are trending positively for the Eagles.

6) Stoughton won three of the first four games, including the two crossovers against the East Central Conference schools, but dropped five straight to close the regular season. After downing Fort Atkinson in an extra game, they’d finish up 4-6 overall. “The team will be looking to replace most of it's backfield production with the graduation of Gatlin Empey and Logan Hedstrom,” head coach Jason Becker said. “A year after starting seven different offensive line groups due to injuries, numbers are allowing us to fully commit to two platoon.” Look for juniors Brooks Richter and Tate Schneider to battle it out for the starting quarterback spot.

7) Monroe moves back into the Badger-Small after several years competing in the Rock Valley Conference. The Cheesemakers were 2-7 last year, missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2018. “We return a fair amount of offensive players, with a good junior class, including five that played on offense as sophomores last year,” said head coach Tom Witt. They’ll continue to run the Wing-T offense, and bring back the workhorse from a year ago, junior Tristen Anderson, who went for more than 1100 yards.

8) Fort Atkinson was not able to find the win column last year, going 0-10 including an extra game loss to Stoughton. The Blackhawks scored just 48 points last season, but head coach Nick Nelson returns seven starters on offense along with nine on defense as the team is looking forward to some welcome changes in 2026. “After several years away, the Fort Atkinson Blackhawks are excited to return to the Badger-Small Conference,” Nelson said. “Our young Fort football program competed hard last season and returns a strong core of players in key roles. Nearly the entire starting offensive and defensive lines are back, along with solid depth and size up front. We look forward to younger players stepping into skill positions and building on the leadership and resilience demonstrated by last year’s senior class.”