South Central 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: Berlin won the South Central Conference last year, as the Indians were a perfect 7-0 in league play. Waupun was second, followed by Ripon, though none of the South Central qualifiers won a playoff game.

2025 Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference

2026 PREVIEW:

Predicted Order of Finish:

1) Berlin
2) Waupun
3) Wisconsin Dells
4) Nekoosa
5) Ripon
6) Wautoma
7) Adams-Friendship
8) Mauston

Players to Watch:

Julian Busse, DB, Berlin: Busse is the only returning player for Berlin to earn First or Second Team All-Conference recognition last year, receiving Second Team laurels as a defensive back.

Hendrix Dawson, DL, Wisconsin Dells: Dawson is a First Team All-Conference defensive lineman who has a number of D1 offers, including Wisconsin.

Antonio Gomez, WR, Wisconsin Dells: Gomez caught 42 passes for 768 yards and nine touchdowns last year as a First Team All-Conference receiver.

Owen Kloosterboer, WR/DL, Waupun: Kloosterboer is the rare receiver on offense and defensive lineman on defense, recording more than 500 yards receiving last year while leading the team with 101 tackles. He was Second Team All-Conference on both sides of the ball.

Fin Krcmar, WR, Nekoosa: Krcmar was one of the top receivers in the South Central last year, catching 27 passes for 537 yards and 10 touchdowns, adding 200 yards on the ground.

Marshel Woyak, WR/DB, Wautoma: Woyak was First Team All-Conference on defense and Honorable Mention on offense.

2026 Team Previews

1) Berlin has made a very successful transition to the South Central Conference, winning the league title the last two seasons. Last year, they’d finish 8-2 overall after a Level 1 home playoff loss to West Salem. “We graduated a phenomenal senior class,” said head coach Joe Stellmacher, a former Wisconsin Badger football player. “We will have many holes to fill, especially at quarterback and on the offensive and defensive lines. We do have some experience on defense with six returning starters.” The Indians have become a very consistent program under Stellmacher’s guidance, and remain the favorite in the league they’ve dominated the past two seasons. While the defense does return six starters, there are only three regulars back on the offensive side of the ball.

2) Waupun won the first six games of the year, qualifying for the playoffs last year after a second place finish in the South Central. It marked just the sixth postseason appearance in program history. The Warriors featured a dynamic offensive group last year, and the main components of that group have moved on, including 3000-yard passer Chase Beahm, 1300-yard receiver Logan Prall, and 1000-yard rusher Grahm Gopalan. “We are bringing back four out five of our offensive linemen,” said head coach Adrian Harmsen. “The cohesiveness of our linemen group is going to be a big plus for us as we head into this season.” The Warriors have 15 letterwinners returning for 2025, including six starters on offense and five on defense.

3) Wisconsin Dells was able to put up a decent number of points last year, but giving up too many against the better teams on the schedule left the Chiefs on the outside looking in at the playoffs, finishing 3-6 overall. “We will bring a lot of seniors with game experience from last year, which includes four of five offensive lineman and two All-Conference wide receivers,” said head coach Mike Janke. “We will look to build off of experience last year to continue forward. Numbers for the program will stay consistent with years past which can cause depth problems if injuries arise.” The Chiefs bring back seven starters on offense, including First Team All-Conference receiver Antonio Gomez, but have to replace starting quarterback Lex Reittinger and 1000-yard rusher Kashton Stoddard. Hendrix Dawson is a key defender, one of three starters back on that side of the ball, with interest from a host of college programs as a junior.

4) Nekoosa won three of the final four games, but dropping the first five meant the Papermakers wouldn’t make the postseason. “Will be young but experienced, with only five seniors this year,” said head coach Derek Baker, who welcomes back seven starters on offense and seven on defense. “Still young with many sophomores and juniors and a couple freshman that may play, but those same sophomores and juniors played last year so should grow substantially.” Versatile receiver Fin Krcmar is one of the key playmakers coming back for the Papermakers.

5) Ripon put together a nice 2025 campaign, finishing third in the South Central standings and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The Tigers relied heavily on running back Eric Cumber, who carried the ball 317 times for 2,651 yards and 33 touchdowns, and his graduation leaves a significant hole in the offensive production. Also, head coach Andrew Selgrad left for Horicon/Hustisford in the offseason, with Justin Stigler taking over.

6) Wautoma finished 2-8 after an extra game loss to Shawano. The Hornets opened the conference schedule with wins over Mauston and Nekoosa, but that was it. The team is searching for its first playoff appearance since 2022 behind a strong returning senior class, though it’s a relatively small junior class for head coach Chris Hinz. The team brings back seven starters on offense, including All-Conference receiver Marshel Woyak plus fourth year quarterback Peyton Pica. Six regulars return on the defensive side of the ball.

7) Adams-Friendship went 2-7 overall last year, winning two games in conference play to go with a couple close losses during the season. Richard Case takes over for Nick Stormoen as the team’s head coach this fall. “Our strength is in the size and athleticism of the players in skill positions,” said Case. Cody Ratz is back as a dual-threat quarterback, while the team also looks forward to the return of receiver Caleb Decorah, who was injured early in the year and missed the remainder of the season.

8) Mauston did not win a game last year, as the Golden Eagles scored in double figures just once, with a season high of 12 points. They allowed at least 34 points in all but one game. It was a young group, with only seven seniors on the roster last year, meaning a lot of younger guys got varsity experience. The Golden Eagles bring back six starters on offense and seven on defense, but will still have a relatively small senior group once again according to head coach Nick Whalen.