Great Northern 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: Mosinee and Tomahawk shared the Great Northern title last season, each finishing at 6-1 in league play. Both advanced to a sectional final. Merrill was second, while a total of seven of the eight teams qualified for the playoffs.

2025 Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference

2026 PREVIEW:

Predicted Order of Finish:

1) Medford
2) Tomahawk
3) Wausau East
4) Mosinee
5) Merrill
6) Lakeland
7) Rhinelander
8) Antigo

Players to Watch:

Forest Hartl, OL, Medford: Hartl is a returning First Team All-Conference selection on the offensive line, adding Second Team laurels on defense.

Kanin Jahnke, RB, Merrill: Jahnke ran for 966 yards and six touchdowns last year and is the only returning First Team All-Conference skill player in the Great Northern.

Max Larson, RB, Tomahawk: Larson was the leading rusher for the Hatchets last season, carrying the ball 134 times for 700 yards and eight touchdowns.

Jett Reilly, QB, Tomahawk: Reilly operated some at quarterback last year, but is a talented athlete that the Hatchets will try to get on the field in multiple ways.

Will Wojick, RB, Medford: Wojick led the Raiders in rushing a year ago with 722 yards and five touchdowns, earning Second Team All-Conference recognition as just a sophomore.

2026 Team Previews

1) Medford went 3-7 overall last year after a Level 1 playoff defeat against eventual D3 champion Grafton. The Great Northern Conference figures to be very competitive this year, not surprising since seven of the eight teams made the playoffs a year ago. The Raiders should be very much in the mix with excellent physicality. Forest Hartl headlines a strong group up front, and leading rusher Will Wojcik should get even better in 2026 after rushing for 722 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore for the Raiders.

2) Tomahawk put together one of the best seasons in school history, sharing the Great Northern Conference title and advancing to the sectional finals in the Division 5 playoffs. “We will look to returning starters for leadership and some younger players to step up and fill the voids left both offensively and defensively,” said head coach Dewey Reilly. There were quite a few younger players in key roles last season, with junior quarterbacks Jett Reilly and Cash Olsen are back, as well as leading rusher Max Larson. All told, six starters return on both sides of the ball.

3) Wausau East lost four games in a row early in the year, but the Lumberjacks battled back to qualify for the playoffs, though they’d go out to Mount Horeb/Barneveld in Level 1. The strength will lie up front in 2026, as four starting offensive linemen return, averaging 6’3”, 260 pounds. While leading rusher Iain Stahel graduates and they’ll have to find a new bell-cow in the backfield, the team started sophomore Camdyn Rye at quarterback late in the year and the team feels he had an excellent off-season to prepare for 2026. The Lumberjacks return eight starters on the offensive side of the ball, with six back on defense.

4) Mosinee dropped an early conference game to Lakeland in a surprise, but rallied to get a share of the Great Northern title, advancing to a sectional final before going out to Columbus. It’ll be a season of change, with Kevin Sanchez-Stevenoski taking over as head coach for Kyle Stoffel. Another Stoffel is gone, with Great Northern Offensive Player of the Year Treve Stoffel moving on after accounting for nearly 3000 yards of total offense and 40 touchdowns. Finding who will be that next guy at quarterback will be one of the key things for the Indians to accomplish in the preseason.

5) Merrill had an excellent stretch in the middle part of the year, leading to a 6-3 record and home game in the postseason. A 38-12 win over league rival Lakeland gave the Bluejays their first playoff win since 2010. They’d go out to eventual Division 3 state champion Grafton the next week, however. The return of leading rusher Kanin Jahnke as well as dual-threat quarterback Cole Rundie have the team in a good position to be highly competitive in the league once again.

6) Lakeland won the first four games of the 2025 season, including a 24-20 victory over Mosinee. However, they’d find victory just one more time the rest of the way, dropping five of the final six, including a Level 1 playoff exit to Merrill as injuries piled up. Head coach Dan Barutha has a big group returning, with six starters back on offense and nine on defense. Aidan Bauers and Gavin LaBarge are a couple experienced anchors on the offensive line, with leading rusher Logan Burrows also returning.Gabe Karch is expected to slide into the quarterback spot.

7) Rhinelander went just 2-5 in the Great Northern a year ago, but the Hodags were able to sneak into the playoffs for just the seventh time in program history. They’d make the trip to Madison, where they’d fall to Edgewood in Level 1. “We have a core group of seniors with a load of underclassmen talent,” said head coach Aaron Kraemer, who is 34-26 in seven years at the helm. “This group will need to replace the leadership of last year's seniors on the defensive side of the ball.” Indeed, just five starters are back on defense, though six return over on offense. Among the regulars back on the offensive side are quarterback Abe Gretzinger as well as top receiver Rowan Wiczek.

8) Antigo struggled to be competitive in the Great Northern Conference last season, going winless in league play, with the only victory a non-conference decision over Sturgeon Bay. The Robins enter the 2026 season with renewed energy and optimism under the direction of new head coach Dan Witman, who was hired from Crandon. “With a veteran-heavy roster returning and valuable experience gained from last season, expectations are high for the Robins to make a strong push this fall,” said Witman. “After graduating only four seniors, the Robins return much of their core lineup from a year ago and will rely heavily on leadership from a talented senior class. The experience gained through adversity last season should pay dividends as the team looks to bounce back and compete at a high level.” There are seven starters returning on offense, with eight back on defense.