Catholic Memorial has made it to at least the state semifinals for five consecutive years, and with a loaded senior group that includes Wisconsin commit Dustin Roach, they are the favorites in D3
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: Winneconne ran away with the Bay Conference title in 2025, and didn’t stop there. The Wolves advanced all the way to the Division 4 state title game, capturing the championship to finish 14-0. Seymour was second, while Fox Valley Lutheran was the only other team to make the postseason, though neither won a playoff game.
Note: The Bay Conference is a seven-team league that is paired with the North Eastern, and each team will play one crossover against the NEC.
2025 Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference
2026 PREVIEW:
Predicted Order of Finish:
1) Winneconne
2) Fox Valley Lutheran
3) Xavier
4) Shawano
5) Waupaca
6) Shawano
7) New London
Players to Watch:
Marcus Brezgel, RB, Shawano: Brezgel led the Hawks with 664 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore, earning Second Team All-Conference recognition.
Jacoby Dobberstein, WR, Fox Valley Lutheran: Dobberstein was a First Team All-Conference selection last year after leading the league in all three major receiving categories: 38 receptions, 811 receiving yards, 9 receiving touchdowns.
Braden Heiges, QB/LB, Fox Valley Lutheran: Heiges was First Team All-Conference as a linebacker last year and earned Second Team honors at tight end, but will make the switch to quarterback on offense this season, where he’ll replace older brother Gabe.
Mason Mathe, RB, Winneconne: Mathe is the top returning rusher for the Wolves, going for more than 400 yards with eight touchdowns last season. He also caught 16 passes for 107 yards.
Ryan Quigley, WR, Winneconne: Quigley was highly productive as a First Team All-Conference choice, catching 34 passes for 700 yards with eight touchdowns.
2026 Team Previews
1) Winneconne opened with a win over Little Chute, which proved to be just a preview of what we’d get in the Division 4 state championship game. Trailing late against Little Chute, Winneconne rallied for a 28-22 win and the school’s second state title. It was a senior-laden team led by Brody Schaffer, a two-way star who accounted for more than 3000 yards of offense and 43 offensive touchdowns. With his move to the University of Iowa, there’s definitely some big holes to fill in such a key production spot. Look for junior Broderick Stille to slide into that spot. He’ll be welcomed by three returning starters on offense, including All-Conference receiver Ryan Quigley, second-leading rusher Mason Mathe, and talented offensive lineman Baylor VanBommel. There are three starters back on defense as well. The JV team went undefeated a year ago as well, and those players will be looked to to fill holes and step into bigger roles.
2) Fox Valley Lutheran was third in the Bay Conference a year ago, and while they qualified for the playoffs, they’d fall to Luxemburg-Casco in a tight Level 1 game. “We have some good pieces returning this year in key positions and a lot of our younger guys that stepped up and received some varsity experience later in the season,” said head coach Seth Jaeger. That includes five starters back on offense, where the conference’s leading receiver Jacoby Dobberstein returns. Another Heiges is set to take over at quarterback, as Braden makes the move from receiver, replacing older brother Gabe, who graduates. Braden is also described as the heart and soul of the defense by Jaeger and one of five starters returning there.
3) Seymour dropped the opening game of the season to Luxemburg-Casco in a non-conference affair, before rattling off seven consecutive victories. That set up a winner-take-all showdown with Winneconne for the Bay Conference title in Week 9, but unfortunately they’d come up short. A road game at Altoona in Level 1 led to a 54-34 defeat. Jeff Marsh takes over for Jason Bins as the head coach, and he’ll have a roster that turns over substantially from last season, with just one starter back on both sides of the ball. “We will have a lot of new starters that are hungry to define their own level of success,” said Marsh. “We will have some speed this season, however.”
4) Waupaca dropped five straight games to begin the season in 2025, and while they’d win three of the final four, it wasn’t quite enough to get into the postseason. The Comets return 11 total starters and 12 letterwinners this season, which will begin with a new coach for the second straight season, as Jay Krcmar takes over for Tony Altmann. Wyatt Buenning is expected to take over at quarterback after seeing some time there last season as a sophomore. Leading receiver Westen Lauritzen will provide him with a solid target on the outside, while Erik Harms and Dylan Johnson also have experience in the passing game.
5) Xavier had a very un-Xavier like season in 2025, as the team won just one conference game and missed out on the playoffs with a 2-7 overall record. Head coach Dave Hinkens usually has the Hawks competing towards the top of the league, and it would not be a surprise to see the team back in the playoff hunt. Leading rusher Ben Kappell is back after a solid sophomore season, and there are some other solid young players coming back that could help them get things turned around.
6) Shawano once again struggled in 2025, winning just one game during the regular season, though they’d pick up a victory over Wautoma in an extra contest. Tristan Lawe got some run at quarterback last year as a junior, while the top three rushers are also returning this season, led by Second Team All-Conference pick Marcus Brezgel. Top receiver Austin Heling, also a standout kicker and punter, is also back.
7) New London was able to take down Xavier in the middle of the season, but it proved to be the only victory for the Bulldogs, despite a significant number of very competitive contests. To take the next step and win some of those close games this year, the offense will need to improve after the team scored more than 12 points just once. Being the second year in the spread option system will hopefully allow the team to take a step forward. Cory Booker is back at quarterback, while lineman Preston Krueger is one of the best in the league. Head coach Bennett Hansen brings back five starters on both sides of the ball this season.
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].
