Football Sectional Final Preview: Division 6

Division 6 Schedule
Division 6 Stats Leaders

Toughest Road So Far

Bonduel won going away in Level 1 against Saint Mary Catholic, 49-21. Waiting in Level 2 for the Bears was Kewaunee, the champion of the Packerland Conference who Bonduel lost to 14-7 earlier in the year. It was another outstanding ballgame, coming right down to the end, as Bonduel led by multiple scores in the second half, then had to rally for a 37-36 victory.

Cinderella

Last year’s belle of the ball, Belleville, is continuing to make noise. After a run to the state semi-finals as an eight-seed last season, the Wildcats stayed alive in Level 2 with a 38-36 victory over Crandon. They move on to face conference foe Darlington, who they lost to in the regular season. Rayden Taylor threw for 249 yards and four touchdowns, most of it to senior receiver Cooper Nemec, who hauled in nine passes for 239 yards and three of those scores.

Most Impressive

While most of the other top teams in Division 6 have had a scare in the playoffs, Darlington has continued its domination from the regular season. The undefeated and top-ranked Redbirds hammered Melrose-Mindoro 55-14 to open the playoffs, then took down conference rival Fennimore 35-6 on Friday night.

The Match-Ups

#2 Mondovi (10-1) at #1 Regis (11-0)

These teams played one of the best games of the entire season back in Week 7, when Regis completed a Hail Mary at the end for a 27-22 victory, which determined where this one will be played, a home game for Regis. The Ramblers had a rematch last week and narrowly held off Fall Creek 23-22. Does that portend potential troubles in another conference rematch this week?

My Pick: Regis

#3 Bonduel (9-2) at #1 Edgar (11-0)

Bonduel advanced to the state semi-finals in D6 last season, falling in a 34-29 deicision against Grantsburg. This Bears group is no stranger to big games and strong opponents, but they take on a test of a different level this week, going up against two-time defending Division 7 state champion Edgar, who followed up a surprisingly close Level 1 win over Loyal/Greenwood with a dominating 42-0 running clock victory over Poynette.

My Pick: Edgar

#7 Belleville (6-5) at #1 Darlington (11-0)

Belleville is trying to keep its second straight Cinderella run going after advancing to the state semi-finals last year. The path this season is much more difficult, with heavyweight Darlington standing in the way. The Redbirds are on a mission to get back to Madison and claim a gold ball as state champions after seven consecutive silver balls over the last three decades. These teams met in the final regular season game, with Darlington jumping out to a 28-0 halftime lead before cruising home for a 42-21 victory.

My Pick: Darlington

#2 Cedar Grove-Belgium (7-4) at #1 Manitowoc Lutheran (11-0)

Another regular season rematch where the top-seeded team scored a pretty dominating victory the first time around. Way back in Week 4, Manitowoc Lutheran had little trouble with Cedar Grove-Belgium in a 47-14 victory. That was a bit of an inflection point for Cedar Grove-Belgium, who had lost three of the first four at that point, but have gone 6-1 since that time, coming off a 40-7 domination of Saint Mary’s Springs last week.

My Pick: Manitowoc Lutheran

My Picks:
(7-1 last week; 21-3, 87.5% overall in Division 6)