Notre Dame was the Division 2 runner-up last year
DIVISION 2 | BRACKET
(All games Friday at 7 pm unless noted; Times, dates, & locations subject to change)
#5 Waukesha West at #1 New Richmond
#7 Brookfield Central at #6 River Falls
#5 Marshfield at #1 Monona Grove
#6 Grafton at #2 Elkhorn
#4 Menasha at #1 Notre Dame
#3 Pulaski at #2 Kaukauna
#4 Waukesha South at #1 Union Grove
#3 West Bend West at #2 Homestead
To see the Level 1 Bracket Breakdown, click here.
Level 1 Surprise
Division 2 was the upset bracket, with three teams seeded sixth or lower advancing. In addition to #6 Grafton and #6 River Falls, the biggest seed upset came when seventh-seeded Brookfield Central went on the road and took down second-seeded Beaver Dam 42-41 in a wild, and controversial, overtime affair. Despite losing six of the last seven games and entering the playoffs at 3-6, Brookfield Central led 14-13 at the break before Beaver Dam pushed out to a 14-point advantage heading into the final quarter. Helped by a blocked field goal attempt that was returned for a touchdown with just over a minute remaining, Brookfield Central tied things up to force overtime. While the officials erred in putting the ball at the 10-yard line for both teams in the overtime period, Beaver Dam scored first but the extra point was blocked, setting up Augie England to score on a touchdown run and Nick Schnetsky to boot home the game-winning, walk-off extra point.
Best Rematch
Notre Dame versus Menasha is the only rematch from this year, and Menasha actually held a 12-7 advantage after the first quarter in that one. However, Notre Dame scored 29 points in the second quarter and 21 in the third en route to a 66-18 blowout that saw senior running back Kingston Allen go for 281 yards and six touchdowns on 29 carries.
#1 seed with toughest match-up
Waukesha West took a little while to get adjusted to its new home in the North Shore Conference, but has now won three straight against solid opponents, including a 24-16 decision after a long trip to play La Crosse Central in Sparta. The Wolverines rolled up 359 rushing yards in that one, and with a building confidence level will be a tough out for top-seeded New Richmond, who enters undefeated with one of the state’s offenses led by North Dakota State running back commit Austyn Wittek.
Level 2 Most Important Player
Bohdan Schmidt is the top passer and rusher for Pulaski in the Red Raiders’ single-wing offense, with more than 1600 yards of offense and 21 touchdowns. The ball is in his hands a lot. In the team’s losses against Bay Port and West De Pere, he averaged just 121 total yards, and will need to exceed that by quite a bit for Pulaski to do well against Kaukauna in what should be an outstanding ballgame.
My Picks
(14-2 last week; 87.5% in D2 overall)
New Richmond over Waukesha West
Brookfield Central over River Falls
Monona Grove over Marshfield
Elkhorn over Grafton
Notre Dame over Menasha
Kaukauna over Pulaski
Union Grove over Waukesha South
Homstead over West Bend West
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 as Communications and Website Director. 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].
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