2024 WIAA State Football Championships preview

AppletonSportsPage.com

MADISON – The 48th annual WIAA State Football Championships will be held Thursday and Friday, Nov. 21-22, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.

Championship games in Divisions 7, 6, 5 and 4 will be played Thursday, with Division 3, 2 and 1 contests set for Friday on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.

All of the games will be televised on the WIAA State Television Networks, which includes WCWF (CW) 14.1 of Green Bay/Appleton.

The finals will also be streamed live on the WIAA State Television Network stations’ websites at no cost or registration on WKOW.com, WAOW.com, WXOW.com and WQOW.com.

Three 2023 champions are back at state, two moving up a division. Edgar returns to defend its Division 7 championship, while last year’s D-6 champ Stratford is in the Division 5 final, and Division 3 titleist Rice Lake will play in the D-2 championship game.

Tickets are available for $11 plus fees per game, or $30 for an all-day pass for Thursday and $25 for an all-day pass for Friday on the GoFan Ticketing App. Click here to buy tickets https://www.wiaawi.org/Tickets#4269710-11-player-football

Notebook courtesy of the WIAA:

DIVISION 1: The final features a rematch of the 2019 championship game, which resulted in a 21-10 Muskego victory. That runner-up finish accounts for the one previous time Bay Port advanced to the final. This fall, they finished second in the North Division of the Fox River Classic Conference standings. Their road to the title game culminated with a 34-27 win over D.C. Everest in the state semifinals. The Pirates averaged 36.6 points per game during the regular season and are averaging 46.5 points per game in the playoffs. That 2019 championship game victory gave Muskego back-to-back titles after winning its first state title in 2018. This will be the Warriors’ fourth experience in the championship game. Their first resulted in a runner-up finish in 1994. They finished fourth in the Classic Eight Conference this season. The Warriors defeated Mukwonago 16-14 in the semifinal to continue their quest for the program’s third championship. If the Warriors proceed to win the title, their 10-4 record would represent the most losses by a Division 1 champion in the history of the tournament.

DIVISION 2: Defending Division 3 champion Rice Lake moves up a bracket to advance to the title game in Division 2 this season. The Warriors are making their ninth trip to the state final and its third in the past four seasons. The Warriors have won three state titles, including Division 3 championships in 1979, 2017 and last season. Their five runner-up finishes occurred in 1980, 1982, 2004, 2014 and 2021. They tied for second place in the Big Rivers Conference this fall. The Warriors advance to the title game by defeating West De Pere in their semifinal game, 31-24. Rice Lake averaged 36.7 points per game during the regular season and 35.5 points during the playoffs. Slinger will experience the championship game for the third time, and for the first time since back-to-back Division 3 appearances in 1997 and 1998. The Owls finished runners-up in 1997 and won the crown in 1998. This season, they are the champions of the North Shore Conference. Their return to the final for the first time in 26 years comes by virtue of a 35-28 victory over defending D-2 champion Lake Geneva Badger in the semifinals. Their average scoring margin of victory during the regular season this season was 39-14.

DIVISION 3: The game is a rematch between the two teams that battled for the titles in 2015 and 2016. Waukesha Catholic Memorial is appearing in the title game for the fifth time in the last six championship finals, not including the COVID-19 year when a championship game was not conducted. It will be the 10th time the Crusaders advance to the championship final overall. They are in pursuit of the program’s sixth championship. The Crusaders won the Division 4 title in 2019 and 2021 after moving down a division from Division 3, where they won state titles in 2012, 2016 and 2018. In addition, the Crusaders were runners-up in Division 2 in 2001, in Division 3 in 2010 and 2015, and in Division 4 in 2022. Before joining the WIAA, the Crusaders won WISAA titles in 1979, 1989, 1993 and 1996. They were also runners-up six times. This season, they tied for first place in the Parkland Conference standings with Wauwatosa East. They advance to the championship game after a 31-14 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran in the State semifinal. The Crusaders are outscoring their opponents by an average 34-13 points per game this year. Green Bay Notre Dame is making its fifth appearance in the state final and its first since back-to-back experiences vs. Catholic Memorial in 2015 and 2016 championship games, winning the title in 2015 and finishing runner-up in 2016. The Tritons also won the title in 2003. Their first experience in the title game resulted in a runner-up finish in 2000. They are the champions in the South Division of Fox River Classic Conference this season and advance to the final following a 41-21 win over La Crosse Logan in the semifinals. Prior to joining the WIAA, the Tritons played in four Division 1 title games of the now defunct WISAA organization. They won a title in 1992 and finished runner-up in 1995, 1997 and 1998.

DIVISION 4: Baldwin-Woodville is back in the state finals for the first time in 30 years and for the fifth time overall. The Blackhawks have won two championships. They earned the titles in Division 4 in 1987 and 1992. Their two runner-up finishes were in Division 3 in 1981 and in Division 4 in 1994. The Blackhawks cruised to a 40-16 victory over Winneconne in the semifinal. They are the champions in the Middle Border Conference this season. Baldwin-Woodville features a prolific offense averaging over 45 points a game this season, including 47 points per game in four playoff games. Racine St. Catherine’s is making its second appearance in the title game. The Angels’ only other experience resulted in a state championship in 2018. Their return to Camp Randall comes by virtue of a 12-6 win over former three-time Division 5 defending champion La Crosse Aquinas in their semifinal matchup. The Angels are the champions in the Metro Classic Conference this fall. Racine St. Catherine’s stout defense has only allowed 65 points heading into action Thursday, yielding just 6.5 point per game. The most points surrendered by the Angels this season was the 14 yielded to Mount Horeb/Barneveld at the sectional level.

DIVISION 5: Last year’s runner-up Wrightstown is pursuing its fourth championship in the Tigers’ fifth state championship game appearance. They won titles in each of its two Division 4 experiences in 2006 and 2011. The Tigers also captured the Division 5 championship in 1998. They defeated Northwestern 47-16 in the semifinal to advance to the title game. The Tigers finished runner-up in the North Eastern Conference this year. They have outscored their four playoff opponents by a combined average of 30 points per game. Two-time defending Division 6 champion Stratford moves up a division to return to the championship game for the 12th time in pursuit of its membership-leading 10th state title. The Tigers are the only program in state history to win six straight titles, all coming in Division 6 from 2003-08. They also won the Division 5 crown in 1986. Stratford recorded runner-up finishes in Division 5 in 2018 and 2019. This season, Stratford won the title in the Large Division of the Central Wisconsin Conference. The Tigers edged Prairie du Chien 26-25 in the state semifinal to advance to the championship final. They outscored their opponents by an average of 42-10 during the regular season.

DIVISION 6: The game features a pair of programs making their first-ever trek to Camp Randall for the state championship game. Grantsburg began preparing for its inaugural appearance at state after its 34-29 triumph over Bonduel in the semifinal. The Pirates are the champions of the Lakeland Conference this season. They scored an average of 40 points per game during the regular season and 35.5 points per game during the playoffs. Lomira trounced Belleville 36-0 in its state semifinal game to advance to the final. The Lions finished in a three-way tie atop the standings in the Wisconsin Flyway Conference with St. Mary’s Springs and Mayville. They have outscored opponents by a combined average of 35-10 per game through 13 games this season.

DIVISION 7: Defending champion Edgar will play in the state title game for the 15th time, which leads all other member schools. The Wildcats have won eight championships. They won the Division 7 crown in 2016 and last season; Division 6 championships in 2009 and 2010; Division 5 titles in 1992, 1999 and 2001; and a Division 4 gold trophy in 1979. In addition, the Wildcats have runner-up finishes in 1991, 1998, 2000, 2008, 2018 and 2019. They were the champions in the Marawood/Central Wisconsin Conference this fall. The Wildcats edged Boyceville 21-20 in their semifinal for the chance to earn their ninth title. The only loss of the season was to Stratford, which is playing for the Division 5 title this week. They have outscored opponents by a combined point total of 451-104 in 13 games this year. Potosi/Cassville will make its first appearance in the State final as a co-op program. Before the co-op Cassville advanced to the championship game four times. The Comets won the Division 6 title in 1982, and they finished runners-up in Division 5 in 1980 and in Division 6 in 1987 and 1993. Potosi, as a stand-alone program, advanced to the championship final once in the program’s history. The Chieftains finished runner-up in Division 7 in 2012. This year, the co-op program is the champion of the Six Rivers Conference. It defeated Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic 26-15 in the state semifinal to move forward in its quest to win the championship. Potosi/Cassville outscored opponents by an average of 41-10 during the regular season and by an average of 27.5-6.2 in the playoffs. An interesting note, the co-op does not have a mascot or nickname.

2024 WIAA State Football Championships
Nov. 21-22, at Camp Randall Stadium, Madison
Thursday, Nov. 21
Division 7: Edgar (12-1) vs. Potosi/Cassville (13-0), 10 a.m.
Division 6: Grantsburg (12-1) vs. Lomira (11-2), 1 p.m.
Division 5: Stratford (13-0) vs. Wrightstown (12-1), 4 p.m.
Division 4: Baldwin-Woodville (12-1) vs. Racine St. Catherine’s (13-0), 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 22
Division 3: Waukesha Catholic Memorial (11-2) vs. Green Bay Notre Dame (13-0), 10 a.m.
Division 2: Rice Lake (11-2) vs. Slinger (13-0), 1 p.m.
Division 1: Bay Port (11-2) vs. Muskego (9-4), 4 p.m.