End of the regular season is already here; Raiders and Pirates are at home
WEEK 9 FOOTBALL
Hard to believe but the high school football regular season comes to an end this weekend in Wisconsin. For those making the post-season, brackets will be announced Saturday at 10 a.m. during a live program aired on Bally Sports Wisconsin and will be posted online at wiaawi.org shortly after that.
The Medford Raiders mathematically still could earn a share of the Great Northern Conference championship, but their focus Friday will be on fixing the things that need fixing and regaining momentum heading into the playoffs when they host the Antigo Red Robins Friday at 7 p.m.
Now 5-1 in the GNC and 6-2 overall after their 42-28 week-eight loss at Mosinee, Medford faces an Antigo team that is out of playoff contention at 1-5, 2-6. The Red Robins lost all hope of a playoff berth with a 26-21 home loss to Ashland last week.
Antigo’s lone conference win was a 26-14 victory over their fierce rivals from Rhinelander on Sept. 15. The Robins kept playoff-bound Lakeland scoreless for a half before falling 20-0 on Sept. 23. They’ll rely on their ground game, led by backs Mason Gray and Alex Knapkavage.
Medford head coach Ted Wilson expects the Robins, under the direction of head coach Tom Schofield, to come out and play hard in their GNC finale for 2022.
The Raiders have won their last four matchups with the Red Robins, including last year’s 40-0 win on Antigo’s home field.
“We have to make sure we’re not looking by anybody, just like every other time out. It’s week to week,” Wilson said. “You don’t want to roll in with a bad taste in your mouth. We want to roll in (to the playoffs) on a positive note. It could be our last home game. It might not be, but it definitely could be. We want to put our best foot forward for the home crowd and hopefully go out there, get better and play well.”
Mosinee (6-0, 6-1-1) looks to wrap up the outright GNC title in its Friday game at Merrill (4-2, 5-3). The Blue Jays are playoff-bound following their 32-8 win at Rhinelander last week.
After seeing their hopes of a Central Wisconsin East Conference cochampionship burst with Thorp’s miracle 97-yard two-minute drill in a 31-30 loss Friday, Gilman looks to get back on track Friday when it hosts Athens in the battle for third place in the final conference standings.
The teams come in with identical 2-2 league records and 5-2 overall marks. The notable difference is Gilman gave Owen-Withee (30-14) and Thorp (31-30) contested battles. Athens did not, falling 56-0 to the Blackhawks and 70-0 to the Cardinals. The Blue Jays are coming off a 38-20 win at Greenwood Friday.
Senior big man Aiden Janke is a player to watch as a capable runner and receiver. He could line up at tight end or in the backfield on any given play. Janke at defensive end and senior Kyler Ellenbecker at linebacker are also the team’s leading tacklers. Ellenbecker is also Athens’ quarterback. He had a monster game in a Sept. 23 74-36 win over Alma Center Lincoln with 36 carries for 462 yards and four touchdowns.
The 16-team, eight-player tournament field will also be announced during Saturday’s live program.
The Rib Lake-Prentice Hawks are scheduled to visit Lakeland Conference foe Unity in a non-conference matchup. There was some doubt early in the week as to whether that game would be played as injuries have taken a toll on Rib Lake-Prentice, especially on the lines.
But, as of Wednesday, the plan was to move forward with the game.
The teams met Sept. 2 in conference play and Unity led 35-0 after one quarter when thunderstorms halted the game. The Eagles went on to finish second in the Lakeland Conference standings at 5-1 and are 6-2 overall. They ran over playoffbound Ladysmith this past Friday 51-30. Unity ran 50 times for 378 yards in the win, including 210 yards from quarterback Brody Allen.
