WIAA Football Pairings
The WIAA announced Monday evening the football playoff field for divisions 3-7. Divisions 1-2 will be announced Tuesday after a judge decides a pending lawsuit against the governing body of Wisconsin's high school sports about the eligibility of a school.
Area schools that will be playing later this week:
- Division 4: Brodhead-Juda (7-2) vs. Platteville (8-1).
- Division 5: Darlington (7-2) vs. Cambridge (7-2).
- Division 6: Pecatonica-Argyle (4-5) at Kickapoo-La Farge (5-4).
- Division 7: Black Hawk (7-2) vs. Rio (7-2) at Portage.
Days and times of games have not been released. The pairings are tentative and subject to change. 
MONROE - The WIAA football playoff field is tentatively set for divisions 3-7, as announced by the state's governing body of high school sports.
Monroe failed to crack the field in Division 3. Brodhead-Juda (7-2) earned the No. 4 seed and will host Platteville (8-1) in the first round of the Division 4 playoffs. Platteville was a top-10 team all season, and both schools are tied for 10th in the AP's Medium Division, and Brodhead is 15th in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll in Division 4. Platteville is third in the same poll.
Darlington (7-2) bounced back after suffering losses to both Platteville and Brodhead-Juda in weeks 1 and 2, winning its final seven games and the SWAL Conference title. The Redbirds will host Cambridge (7-2), which defeated New Glarus-Monticello in Week 9 to earn a postseason berth. Darlington is ranked 10th in the Coaches Poll and 11th in the AP Small Division poll.
Pecatonica-Argyle (4-5) squeaked into the Division 6 postseason thanks to a 4-4 conference record. The Vikings will travel to Kickapoo-La Farge (5-4) for the first round.
In Division 7, Black Hawk had a season of mixed success. A dominating start, plus sometimes sloppy play led to a 7-2 overall record. However, key injuries in the second half of the season has altered the team's identity. The Warriors play Rio (7-2) on the road at Portage.
For the eighth straight season, though, Monroe will be without a playoff team.
The Cheesemakers (3-6, 3-3 Badger South) lost a tiebreaker to Milwaukee South based on the winning percentage of opponents beaten in conference play. It would have marked Monroe's first playoff appearance since 2003. The Cheesemakers are also 25 years removed from its first of five state titles that ranged from 1986-1994.
"I did my homework Friday night," Monroe coach Curt Miller said after Friday's 29-14 win over Oregon. "I knew we'd be either the 225th or 226th team."
There are 224 teams that make the playoff field.
"Our coaching staff and the kids pretty much knew we weren't getting in. But we're still proud of the year we had," Miller said. "I got a great email from a coaching friend of mine, Dick Glendenning, and he said, 'Nice job hanging onto a season that could have been a disaster.'"
Monroe started the year 0-4 with losses to Mount Horeb, Waunakee, DeForest and Monona Grove. Each school is in the playoff field this year, as well as last year. In fact, all four schools are ranked in the state in either the AP or Coaches Poll, with Waunakee No. 1 in both.
"In that stretch between DeForest and Waunakee, we allowed over 100 points and had just two first downs. A lot of kids, parents and coaching staffs would have just put in the towel," Miller said. "But we stuck to our goals and finished with the best conference record this school has had in eight years. It's a testament to our seniors and our players who stuck it out and continued to play hard."
Shorewood-Messmer, a co-op of Milwaukee area schools that would slide into the Division 1 field, filed a lawsuit declaring it should be eligible, despite being imposed a four-year ban in 2007 for leaving the Woodland Conference.
Shorewood-Messmer (4-4, 4-2 Midwest Classic) has a winning conference record and would otherwise be eligible for its first playoff appearance in team history. The school's new conference is littered with teams whose enrollment reaches from 181-418, except for Shorewood-Messmer, which has 1,301 students.
"From what I read or could gather, the judge will likely leave it to the WIAA to have the final say. It will all fall back on the WIAA," Miller said. "It's a little tough to take that a team of 1,300 enrollment in a conference that they are 3-5 times bigger than everyone else could be declared as deserving to make the field instead of another team that plays stronger competition.
"If Shorewood is out, Milwaukee South is in. But if Shorewood is in, South is out."
Monroe needed to beat Fort Atkinson in Week 8 to all but guarantee a spot in the field. Instead, Monroe lost that game 23-9.
"If we had beaten Fort and then lost to Oregon, I think we would have knocked off Milwaukee South in that tiebreaker," Miller said. "Instead we came into Week 9 knowing that a win would put us on the bubble."
Monroe failed to crack the field in Division 3. Brodhead-Juda (7-2) earned the No. 4 seed and will host Platteville (8-1) in the first round of the Division 4 playoffs. Platteville was a top-10 team all season, and both schools are tied for 10th in the AP's Medium Division, and Brodhead is 15th in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll in Division 4. Platteville is third in the same poll.
Darlington (7-2) bounced back after suffering losses to both Platteville and Brodhead-Juda in weeks 1 and 2, winning its final seven games and the SWAL Conference title. The Redbirds will host Cambridge (7-2), which defeated New Glarus-Monticello in Week 9 to earn a postseason berth. Darlington is ranked 10th in the Coaches Poll and 11th in the AP Small Division poll.
Pecatonica-Argyle (4-5) squeaked into the Division 6 postseason thanks to a 4-4 conference record. The Vikings will travel to Kickapoo-La Farge (5-4) for the first round.
In Division 7, Black Hawk had a season of mixed success. A dominating start, plus sometimes sloppy play led to a 7-2 overall record. However, key injuries in the second half of the season has altered the team's identity. The Warriors play Rio (7-2) on the road at Portage.
For the eighth straight season, though, Monroe will be without a playoff team.
The Cheesemakers (3-6, 3-3 Badger South) lost a tiebreaker to Milwaukee South based on the winning percentage of opponents beaten in conference play. It would have marked Monroe's first playoff appearance since 2003. The Cheesemakers are also 25 years removed from its first of five state titles that ranged from 1986-1994.
"I did my homework Friday night," Monroe coach Curt Miller said after Friday's 29-14 win over Oregon. "I knew we'd be either the 225th or 226th team."
There are 224 teams that make the playoff field.
"Our coaching staff and the kids pretty much knew we weren't getting in. But we're still proud of the year we had," Miller said. "I got a great email from a coaching friend of mine, Dick Glendenning, and he said, 'Nice job hanging onto a season that could have been a disaster.'"
Monroe started the year 0-4 with losses to Mount Horeb, Waunakee, DeForest and Monona Grove. Each school is in the playoff field this year, as well as last year. In fact, all four schools are ranked in the state in either the AP or Coaches Poll, with Waunakee No. 1 in both.
"In that stretch between DeForest and Waunakee, we allowed over 100 points and had just two first downs. A lot of kids, parents and coaching staffs would have just put in the towel," Miller said. "But we stuck to our goals and finished with the best conference record this school has had in eight years. It's a testament to our seniors and our players who stuck it out and continued to play hard."
Shorewood-Messmer, a co-op of Milwaukee area schools that would slide into the Division 1 field, filed a lawsuit declaring it should be eligible, despite being imposed a four-year ban in 2007 for leaving the Woodland Conference.
Shorewood-Messmer (4-4, 4-2 Midwest Classic) has a winning conference record and would otherwise be eligible for its first playoff appearance in team history. The school's new conference is littered with teams whose enrollment reaches from 181-418, except for Shorewood-Messmer, which has 1,301 students.
"From what I read or could gather, the judge will likely leave it to the WIAA to have the final say. It will all fall back on the WIAA," Miller said. "It's a little tough to take that a team of 1,300 enrollment in a conference that they are 3-5 times bigger than everyone else could be declared as deserving to make the field instead of another team that plays stronger competition.
"If Shorewood is out, Milwaukee South is in. But if Shorewood is in, South is out."
Monroe needed to beat Fort Atkinson in Week 8 to all but guarantee a spot in the field. Instead, Monroe lost that game 23-9.
"If we had beaten Fort and then lost to Oregon, I think we would have knocked off Milwaukee South in that tiebreaker," Miller said. "Instead we came into Week 9 knowing that a win would put us on the bubble."
