Grafton won a state title in 2025 in Division 3 but was elevated to D3 this year and has already scored an upset road win

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)

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 second year of the Wisconsin Football Playoff Matrix, which changed how teams qualify, are seeded, and are grouped for the postseason.

There are two games on Friday still, but so far this season, road teams in 11-player football have a winning percentage of 15.5%, claiming victory in just 17 contests.

While home teams took control of most of the games, there were several road teams that not only won, but won big. 11 of the 17 road victors won by double digits, including six that won by 20 points or more. There were road victories with winning margins of 43, 35, and 30 points.

There were 8 teams seeded sixth or worse that claimed victories (8 in 2025):

  • #6 Appleton North over #3 Stevens Point, D1

  • #7 Brookfield Central over #2 Beaver Dam (OT), D2

  • #6 River Falls over #3 Holmen, D2

  • #6 Grafton over #3 Greenfield, D2

  • #6 Wrightstown over #3 Fuller Collegiate Academy, D4

  • #6 University School over #3 Milwaukee North/Lifelong Learning, D5

  • #7 Fall Creek over #2 Saint Mary Catholic, D6

  • #7 Osseo-Fairchild over #2 Shiocton, D7

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS

There were two conferences that were perfect in Level 1 of the playoffs: the Cloverbelt at 5-0 and Classic Eight at 4-0. Three leagues had a combined record of 4-1 (Glacier Trails, Greater Metro, North Eastern), while the Big Rivers, Dairyland, and Metro Classic were a combined 3-1 with the Packerland and Rock Valley 2-1.

Four conferences did not win a playoff game - South Central, Woodland, SWC, and Milwaukee-Blackbourn. Of note, the only win for the Milwaukee-Richardson was against another MPS team.

  • Badger - Large 2-3

  • Badger - Small 1-3

  • Bay 2-2

  • Big East 3-2

  • Big Eight 1-3

  • Big Rivers 3-1

  • Capitol 3-3

  • Central Wisconsin 2-4

  • Classic Eight 4-0

  • Cloverbelt 5-0

  • Coulee 2-3

  • Dairyland 3-1

  • Dunn-St. Croix 4-2

  • Eastern Suburban 3-2

  • Eastern Wisconsin 3-3

  • Fox River Classic-North 3-2

  • Fox River Classic-South 2-2

  • Fox Valley Association 3-2

  • Glacier Trails 4-1

  • Great Northern 1-4

  • Greater Metro 4-1

  • Heart O’ North 2-2

  • Lakeland 2-2

  • Marawood 1-2

  • Metro Classic 3-1

  • Middle Border 1-2

  • Midwest Classic-Classic 2-2

  • Midwest Classic-Midwest 2-2

  • Milwaukee City (Blackbourn) 0-2

  • Milwaukee City (Richardson) 1-4

  • Mississippi Valley 2-3

  • North Eastern 4-1

  • North Shore 4-2

  • Northwoods 1-2

  • Packerland 2-1

  • Parkland 4-2

  • Rock Valley 2-1

  • Scenic Bluffs 1-5

  • Six Rivers 4-2

  • South Central 0-5

  • Southeast 2-2

  • Southern Lakes 3-3

  • Southwest Wisconsin 0-4

  • Southwest Wisconsin Activities 3-2

  • Trailways 2-2

  • Wisconsin Flyway 3-2

  • Wisconsin Valley 1-3

  • Woodland 0-5

TRACKING THE CHAMPIONS

All of the state champions from 2025 qualified for the postseason this year, with multiple defending champions being elevated to higher divisions.

  • D1: Arrowhead beat Oshkosh West 37-0

  • D2: West De Pere beat Kimberly 31-21 (elevated to D1)

  • D3: Grafton beat Greenfield 24-17 (elevated to D2)

  • D4: Winneconne beat McFarland 45-0 (elevated to D3)

  • D5: Mayville beat Amery 27-24

  • D6: Darlington beat Dodgeville 35-14 (elevated to D5)

  • D7: Kenosha St. Joseph beat Poynette 42-0 (elevated to D6)

  • 8-Player: McDonell Central Catholic lost to Boyceville 36-0 (moved to 11-player, D7)

SUB-.500 TEAMS

There were 42 teams that qualified for the playoffs with an overall record under .500. Four of those teams earned victories in Level 1 of the playoffs:

  • Brookfield Central (3-6)

  • Osseo-Fairchild (3-6)

  • Catholic Memorial (4-5)

  • Wrightstown (4-5)

About the Author

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].

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