Reedsburg’s Will Mikonowicz ran for 498 yards in a Level 1 playoff victory over Waterford
Below are some quick takeaways from Level 1 of the high school football playoffs. Look for a full preview of each division to come out next week on BoundWisconsin.com.
For the full Level 1 results on the Bound Wisconsin scoreboard, please click here.
As a reminder, we'll have loads of additional content coming in the next few days to wrap up Level 1, including:
Prep Props: Top Statistical Leaders from the week (Monday)
Bound Wisconsin Football Player of the Week nominees (Monday)
Bound Wisconsin Football Team of the Week nominees (Monday)
RUSHING NIGHT FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
We don’t even have all game box scores in yet, but there are already a couple incredible rushing performances that will head straight into the state record book.
Reedsburg senior Will Mikonowicz rushed for 498 yards and seven touchdowns on 30 carries as the Beavers downed Waterford 49-24 in a Division 3 playoff game. He also had an interception on defense. His 498 rushing yards is now second in state history, trailing only the 524 rushing yards by Wautoma’s Nathaniel Loging in 2014.
Notre Dame junior Kingston Allen rushed for 477 yards and eight touchdowns on 22 carries as the Tritons dominated Greenfield 77-32. He now sits in third place on the state’s single-game individual rushing list. The Tritons had 627 rushing yards as a team, which is fourth-most in state history, moving one spot ahead of…Reedsburg’s 611 yards last year against Whitnall.
HOME TEAMS DOMINATE, BUT SO DO A FEW ROAD TEAMS
The first year the WIAA went to true 1-8 coach seeding of regional groupings was 2012. That season, 26 of 112 road teams claimed victory, for a winning percentage of 23.2%. Each year since, we have tracked the winning percentage of road teams in Level 1 of the 11-player playoffs. In 2019, the last year of a regular playoffs with coach seeding, road teams won 24 contests for a winning percentage of 21.4%.
Beginning in 2021, the seeding was done via an automated computer formula developed by the WIAA and Wisconsin Football Coaches Association. In 2023, road teams in 11-player football had a winning percentage of 28.7% in Level 1, claiming victory in 25 contests. In 2024, 24.4% of road teams (22 total) won in Level 1.
Of course, this marks the first year of the Wisconsin Football Playoff Matrix, which changed how teams qualify, are seeded, and are grouped for the postseason.
This season, road teams in 11-player football have a winning percentage of 27.3%, claiming victory in 24 contests.
While home teams took control of most of the games, there were several road teams that not only won, but won big. 19 of the 24 road victors won by double digits, including nine that won by 20 points or more. There were road victories with winning margins of 43, 42, 40, 30, and 28 points.
There were 11 teams seeded sixth or worse that claimed victories (12 in 2024):
#7 De Pere over #2 Neenah, D1
#6 Wauwatosa East over #3 Milwaukee King, D2
#7 Nicolet over #2 Holmen, D2
#6 Burlington over #3 New Berlin Eisenhower, D3
#6 Pewaukee over #3 Sauk Prairie, D3
#8 Whitefish Bay over #1 New Berlin West, D3
#6 Platteville over #3 Lodi, D4
#6 Wrightstown over #3 Oconto Falls, D4
#6 West Salem over #3 Berlin, D4
#6 Crandon over #3 Auburndale, D6
#7 Belleville over #2 Markesan, D6
CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS
There were two conferences that were perfect in Level 1 of the playoffs: the Cloverbelt and North Eastern each went 4-0. Three leagues had a combined record of 4-1 (FRCC-North, Mississippi Valley, Southern Lakes), while the Six Rivers and SWAL were both a combined 3-1 with the Coulee and FRCC-South 2-1.
Just three conferences did not win a playoff game - Milwaukee City-Blackbourn, Wisconsin Valley, and the South Central. Of note, the only win for the Milwaukee-Richardson was against another MPS team.
Badger - Large 2-2
Badger - Small 2-1
Bay 1-2
Big East 3-2
Big Eight 2-1
Big Rivers 4-2
Capitol 2-3
Central Wisconsin 5-2
Classic Eight 4-2
Cloverbelt 4-0
Coulee 2-1
Dairyland 3-2
Dunn-St. Croix 2-3
East Central 2-2
Eastern Suburban 1-4
Eastern Wisconsin 2-4
Flyway 3-3
Fox River Classic-North 4-1
Fox River Classic-South 2-1
Fox Valley Association 1-4
Great Northern 3-4
Greater Metro 3-3
Heart O' North 2-2
Lakeland 1-3
Marawood/CWC 1-4
Metro Classic 3-3
Middle Border 3-3
Midwest Classic-Large 1-3
Midwest Classic-Small 1-1
Milwaukee City-Blackbourn 0-3
Milwaukee City-Richardson 1-5
Mississippi Valley 4-1
North Eastern 4-0
North Shore 4-2
Northwoods 3-2
Packerland 2-2
Parkland 2-3
Rock Valley 2-3
Scenic Bluffs 2-3
Six Rivers 3-1
South Central 0-3
Southeast 2-2
Southern Lakes 4-1
SWAL 3-1
SWC 3-3
Trailways 2-4
Wisconsin Valley 0-3
Woodland 2-2
TRACKING THE CHAMPIONS
All eight of the state champions from 2024 qualified for the postseason this year, with defending champions Notre Dame (D3 to D2) and Edgar (D
D1: Bay Port beat Appleton North 41-6
D2: Slinger beat West Bend West 42-14
D3: Notre Dame beat Greenfield 77-32 in a Division 2 game
D4: Racine St. Catherine’s beat Saint Francis 47-0
D5: Stratford beat Richland Center 41-9
D6: Lomira lost to Saint Mary’s Springs 17-14
D7: Edgar beat Loyal/Greenwood 21-14 in a Division 6 game
8-Player: Owen-Withee lost to Gilman 55-8 (Level 2 game)
SUB-.500 TEAMS
There were 49 teams that qualified for the playoffs with an overall record under .500. Four of those teams earned victories in Level 1 of the playoffs:
Pewaukee (4-5)
Wittenberg-Birnamwood (4-5)
Nicolet (4-5)
Whitefish Bay (4-5)
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].