Scenic Bluffs 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: Bangor was the clear best team in the Scenic Bluffs Conference, going undefeated in league play and finishing two games ahead of anyone else. The Cardinals would advance to Level 2. Brookwood and Cashton were tied for second, while Royall and Ithaca also made the playoff.s

2025 Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference

2026 PREVIEW:

Predicted Order of Finish:

1) Bangor
2) Cashton
3) Brookwood
4) Ithaca/Weston
5) Royall
6) Hillsboro
7) Necedah
8) New Lisbon

Players to Watch:

Jett Bender, RB, Royall: Bender led the team in rushing last year with 554 yards and seven touchdowns to earn Second Team All-Conference recognition.

Brock Berry, OL/DL, Brookwood: Berry earned First Team All-Conference on both sides of the ball last year.

Jack Christensen, RB/DL, Cashton: Christensen was a First Team All-Conference selection on offense after rushing for 1,024 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025.

Sawyer Jacobson, RB, Bangor: Jacobson is the top returning rusher for the Cardinals and should see his role increase quite a bit after playing behind 1800-yard rusher Dylan Mathison last year.

Brennen Mack, QB, Brookwood: Mack is a returning starter at quarterback for the Falcons, throwing for more than 600 yards with six touchdowns last season.

Liam Rowin, RB, Ithaca/Weston: Rowin shared the load at running back for Ithaca with Hewsten Garcia-Boland last year, going for 804 yards and four touchdowns as a Second Team All-Conference pick.

2026 Team Previews

1) Bangor found its way back to the top of the Scenic Bluffs Conference last fall, as the only regular season blemish was an opening 21-20 defeat against Melrose-Mindoro. The Cardinals would defeat Marshall in the opening playoff game before falling to Mondovi. After a year elevated to Division 6, the Cardinals are back in familiar territory in Division 7 this season. “Offensively, we have three returning linemen, but we will need to replace our quarterback and two running backs from last season,” said head coach Todd Grant. “We should have a strong group of linebackers defensively.” The Cardinals bring back four starters on offense in total, with five returning on defense.

2) Cashton finished in second place finish in the Scenic Bluffs a year ago for Cashton, a spot they shared with Brookwood. The team did a pair of road playoff games, including over previously undefeated Black Hawk/Warren, before going out against Potosi/Cassville in a sectional final. They figure to battle it out with Bangor and Brookwood for control of the league in 2026, led by the return of 1000-yard rusher Jack Christensen.

3) Brookwood finished in a tie for second in the Scenic Bluffs Conference, but after beating Cashton during the regular season, they’d fall to the Eagles in the first postseason game. “We have a strong and experienced senior class,” said head coach Jeremy Mack. “We’ll have good team speed and a strong passing game. We must replace our top three rushers from last season, though.” Two-way lineman standout Brock Berry returns, along with quarterback Brennen Mack.

4) Ithaca/Weston finished tied for fourth in the Scenic Bluffs Conference last year, but it was a season of “almosts” for the Bulldogs in 2025. In the team’s three conference losses, they fell by a combined 23 points. The string of competitive losses continued in the playoffs, as they dropped a 30-14 decision to former league rival Wauzeka-Steuben/Seneca, their second loss to the Hornets on the season. It is a new co-op situation this year, as Weston joins with Ithaca, as they are doing for all sports now. Liam Rowin was second on Ithaca in rushing a year ago with more than 800 yards, and figures to be featured even more. Leading receiver Caden Keller also returns.

5) Royall snuck into the playoffs last year for a third consecutive season, though the Panthers would exit quickly in a Level 1 loss to Roncalli. Head coach Josh Board stepped down in the off-season after accepting the head boys basketball job at the school, and former Mauston coach Roland Lehman takes over this season after being on staff the last few years. “We return a good nucleus of players at the skill positions on offense,” said Lehman. “Offense and defensive lines will be young and undersized, but will be counting on them to make an impact. Numbers in the program are down a little, but the players and coaches are excited and anxious to implement some different schemes on both sides of the ball.” The team will be switching to a pro-style attack on offense and a 3-4 on defense, with five starters returning on both sides of the ball.

6) Hillsboro won the first two non-conference games of the year and scored a couple Scenic Bluffs Conference victories as well, but a 4-5 overall record was not quite enough to get the Tigers into the playoffs in the new WIAA qualification system. Longtime head coach Eric Auel stepped down in the off-season, as Jay Larson was hired to take over. Hillsboro was a run-heavy team last season, and spread the ball around quite a bit, with seven different players recording at least 20 carries. Of those, leading rusher Matthew Huffman plus four other players return.

7) Necedah could not find its way to victory last year, with a 20-18 loss to New Lisbon the only competitive game on the schedule. “With the head coach being in his second year and growing numbers of player on the team the outlook for the first time in couple seasons is looking positive with the hope and actual ability to win games and be competitive this season,” said head coach Sebastian Smith. “Our strength will be that we are coachable and hungry with a large group of 10th graders on the team. This is a positive and a weakness as they will make up lots of our team but will still lack the playing experience and strength that some of the top teams in the conference have. We should be explosive as we are a fast team. Physicality will come but be a weakness to start.” The Cardinals have five starters back on both offense and defense, with 16 letterwinners returning. Eli Horak will be a four-year starter at quarterback.

8) New Lisbon went 1-8 last year, with the only win a 20-18 decision over Necedah. The Rockets played two quarterbacks quite a bit last year, and both are back this season – Grady Barknecht and Colby Pfaff. Leading rusher Jude Keltner also returns, as he also finished second on the team in receiving.