Marawood 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: Edgar won the Marawood title and advanced to the Division 6 state title game, but came up short against Darlington. Auburndale was second, followed by Abbotsford, Pittsville, and Assumption. However, Edgar was the only Marawood team to score a postseason victory.

Note: The Marawood is a seven-team league that plays a crossover with the Cloverbelt. Iola-Scandinavia is dropping to 8-player, leaving an opening on the other team’s schedules. Assumption and Rosholt move to 8-player this year. Loyal/Greenwood moves into the Marawood from the CWC-Large.

2025 Marawood Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference

2025 CWC-Large Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference

2026 PREVIEW:

Predicted Order of Finish:

1) Edgar
2) Abbotsford
3) Auburndale
4) Loyal/Greenwood
5) Pittsville
6) Pacelli
7) Iola-Scandinavia (moving to 8-player)

Players to Watch:

Bryce Flaker, RB/LB, Pacelli: Flaker was Second Team All-Conference at running back and also Second Team as a linebacker last season.

Landon Lukasko, RB, Edgar: Lukasko was the fourth rushing option for the Wildcats last year, but showed quite a bit of promise in averaging 9.9 yards per carry, scoring four touchdowns on the ground.

Jesus Reyes, RB, Abbotsford: Reyes was Second Team All-Conference after finishing third on the team in rushing a year ago, and his role will increase quite a bit this season.

Ray Teska, WR, Auburndale: Teska led the Eagles in receiving last year and also finished third on the team in rushing, accounting for more than 600 yards of offense and eight touchdowns.

Sawyer Weiland, OL, Edgar: Weiland is the only returning First Team All-Conference offensive lineman in the Marawood this year.

2026 Team Previews

1) Edgar won Division 7 state championships in 2023 and 2024, and the Wildcats were elevated to D6 last season by the WIAA’s Tournament Performance Factor. After a dominating regular season that saw Edgar allow just 12 points, they’d advance back to Madison in the higher division, coming up just short in a loss to Darlington. They’ll stay in D6 this year, as legendary head coach Jerry Sinz enters 2026 just six wins away from 500 for his career. That includes 50 consecutive winning seasons, over 100 playoff victories, 16 state championship game appearances, and nine titles. That winning tradition will be relied on again to keep the Wildcats competing at a high level, as they return 20 letterwinners including five starters on both sides of the ball. Gone are most of the skill players on offense, though junior Landon Lukasko could be ready to take on a larger role in the backfield.

2) Abbotsford was third in the Marawood Conference last season, then went out in Level 1 of the playoffs. After winning five straight early in the year, they did not win on the field after September. “We return a lot of players that were low on football IQ and experience last year,” said head coach Jake Knapmiller. “The goal is to see that progression from our off-season training take place.” Quarterback Carter Cihlar plus running backs Jesus Reyes and Jaxon Ploeckleman are among the key returning skill players.

3) Auburndale dropped just one game during the regular season, against Marawood rival Edgar. Getting a home game in the postseason, there was a hope the team could make a run, but instead they’d fall to Crandon in Level 1. “We have a solid program with an undefeated JV team ready to step forward,” said head coach Jay Anderson. “We have a good balance of size and quickness with competition at most positions.” There isn’t a lot of varsity experience, however, as just eight letterwinners are back, and only three starters on both sides of the ball. Russ and Ray Teska are two of the more experienced players coming back.

4) Loyal/Greenwood was on quite the rollercoaster in 2025, winning the first four games before losing the next five. Given an eight-seed in the playoffs, they went on the road to top-seeded Edgar and nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets we’ve seen before narrowly losing 21-14. They make the move from the CWC to the Marawood this year, where they’ll face Edgar as well as an Abbotsford team they beat in non-conference play. It will be an interesting change, and they should be in the playoff hunt in the new league. Quarterback Jake Lindner is one of the standouts coming back this year.

5) Pittsville made it into the playoffs for a second straight season, despite not winning a game on the field until the month of October. They’d win the final three games of the year, which combined with an earlier forfeit victory against Rosholt got them into the postseason, where they’d go out to Hilbert in Level 1. The Panthers return six starters on offense and six on defense, with 12 total letterwinners back. “The offensive and defensive lines should be strong and talented,” said head coach Jeremy Duerr. “We will need new skill players to step up on offense.”

6) Pacelli went 2-7 on the field last year, along with a forfeit victory over Rosholt. Their wins came against Manawa and Iola-Scandinavia. Head coach Drew Nelson likes how things are progressing for 2026, however. “We are finally going to have numbers and a large group of seniors who have been chomping at the bit to get going this season,” Nelson said. “We have had a great off-season so far in the weight room and hopefully it transfers over to the field. Depth will still be an issue at the varsity level, even with increased numbers as majority of them will be incoming freshmen.” The Cardinals do bring back nine starters on both offense and defense for this year, including offensive skill guys Jake Williams, Bryce Flaker, and Eric Reincke.

7) Iola-Scandinavia has canceled its 11-player schedule and instead will play an 8-player schedule.