Week 3 Rapid Reaction

Week 3 means the beginning of conference play, as almost every team in the state had a league game this week. No one lost a conference title, but a number of teams took a good first step towards that goal.

Brookfield East won its first two non-conference games, but the Spartans were not challenged against Madison East and Madison West. With no playoffs the last two seasons, B’East took a huge step in that direction with a Week 3 upset victory over Hamilton, the second-ranked team in the Division 1 Bound Wisconsin Coaches Poll. In the 21-13 victory, the Spartans picked off backup quarterback Cody Berlin five times, including at the end to secure the victory.

In another Greater Metro Conference game, Marquette got its first win of the year in impressive fashion, taking down ranked Brookfield Central 49-23.

Last year, the Mississippi Valley Conference had an unprecedented five-way tie at the top of the standings. Four of those teams met up in some fashion to begin league action. Holmen defeated rival Onalaska 19-15 in a matchup of undefeated ranked teams. La Crosse Central dropped its first two games against Waunakee and Ellsworth, but the Riverhawks went into D3 fourth-ranked Reedsburg and came out with a 35-28 win, as Christian Rudrud was too much running and throwing the ball and on defense.

Arrowhead remained undefeated as the D1 top-ranked Warhawks took down D2 #8 Waukesha West 29-6. Elsewhere in the Classic Eight, Muskego dominated in all phases in a 48-7 win against Pewaukee, as both teams were in the top ten of their respective divisions.

Franklin and Racine Case were considered the top two teams in the Southeast Conference this year, and Franklin showed they’re top two, but not two. The Sabers hammered Case 35-7 as junior quarterback Keegan Best threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns.

Hudson stayed unbeaten and confirmed they’ll be in the title mix in the Big Rivers Conference, defeating fellow unbeaten Menomonie 20-8.

The big Capitol Conference showdown turned into a blowout, as Columbus put a running clock on Lodi, 42-7, in a matchup of ranked Division 4 teams.

They needed overtime in a low-scoring affair, but Waunakee was able to hold off Monona Grove in a 14-13 win, blocking an extra point on the Silver Eagles’ possession in the extra period then scoring to win.

For the first time since 2007, Richland Center defeated Lancaster, converting a two-point play in the closing seconds for a 27-26 victory. Fittingly, the last time the Hornets downed the Flying Arrows was 2007, when Bradie Ewing ran for 352 yards in a 29-13 win; Ewing will serve as the honorary captain for the Wisconsin Badgers today.

Wittenberg-Birnamwood rallied from its first loss last week with a nice 34-7 win over D5 #7 Weyauwega-Fremont.

In the 125th incarnation of the Darlington vs. Mineral Point rivalry, Darlington dominated once again, defeating the Pointers 56-0. This is now tied for second for the most-played rivalry in state history, with Darlington leading 94-26-5 all-time.

Edgar took down Auburndale 27-0 in a showdown of top ten Division 6 squads.

Black Hawk/Warren defeated River Ridge 30-22 in an exciting opening Six Rivers Conference game, as the Warriors stay undefeated while River Ridge drops to 1-2.