MONROE — The WIAA announced the football playoff field and matchups Oct. 19. Five area teams will participate in the postseason between division 3-7.

Division 3

Monroe (5-4) drew a 7-seed in the southwest quadrant and travels to Onalaska (8-1) Oct. 25. The Cheesemakers return to the postseason after a one-year absence, making it three times in four seasons under head coach Toby Golembiewski.

The rushing attack is Monroe’s forte, as the Cheesemakers have amassed 2,540 yards on the ground — an average of 5.6 yards per carry and 282.2 yards per game. Junior Trevor Rodebaugh leads the team — and the Badger South — with 1,170 yards on the ground this season (130 per game) and has 12 touchdowns. Senior Nick Bansley is second on the team (and in the conference) with 885 yards rushing, and has scored 14 TDs. Bansley is averaging 7.1 yards per carry and 98.3 yards per game. Tyler Matley is the third member of the three-headed-monster rushing attack. Matley is averaging 5.2 yards per carry and 460 yards and three touchdowns.

Quarterback Max Golembiewski has thrown for 691 yards and seven touchdowns this year. His main target has been big man JT Seagreaves, who has 15 catches for 323 yards.

The Hilltoppers went unbeaten in the Mississippi Valley Conference this season. Onalaska outscored opponents 212-36 on the season and owns a six-game winning streak. The only loss for the Hilltoppers was a nonconference game against Lake Mills.

Onalaska senior quarterback Austin Larson is 84 of 143 passing this season for 1,538 yards and 20 TDs. He’s thrown just three interceptions on the season. As a junior a season ago, Larson threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 27 touchdowns, leading his team to Level 2 of the playoffs.

Nathan Lubinksy is the Hilltoppers’ leading rusher, averaging 6.5 yards per carry and 137 yards per game. After 191 carries this year, Lubinsky has 1,233 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. Larson is the team’s second-leading rusher with 205 yards and five TDs on 51 carries.

Onalaska had two favorite targets through the air. Landon Peterson has 30 catches for 634 yards and 11 TDs this year, and teammate Hank Olsen has 27 hauls for 423 yards and four scores. Ten different receivers have caught passes this year for the Hilltoppers, seven of which have caught touchdown passes.

Perhaps the biggest key for the Hilltoppers is how quickly they start on offense. Onalaska has outscored opponents 76-17 in the first quarter and 95-37 in the second quarter. Onalaska averages a 19-6 halftime advantage.

The pod of eight teams in the southwest bracket include teams from the Badger North, Badger South and Mississippi Valley conference. Top-seeded DeForest (9-0) won the Badger North and dropped from Division 2 after a series of upsets from around the state. Fourth-seeded Reedsburg (7-2) and sixth-seeded Sauk Prairie (6-3) also made the field from the Badger North. Sauk Prairie defeated Monroe by a point in the Week 1 opener. Stoughton (7-2) finished as co-champs of the Badger South and earned the No. 3 seed. McFarland (6-3) finished second in the Rock Valley and placed as the 8-seed, while Sparta (7-2), out of the Mississippi Valley is the No. 5 seed.

Should Monroe upset Onalaska in the Level 1-opener, the Cheesemakers would play a road game against the winner of Stoughton and Sauk Prairie. 

Division 4

Brodhead-Juda (4-5) returns to the postseason this fall and will play at River Valley (8-1).

The Cardinals finished tied with Big Foot at 4-5 in the Rock Valley. Seven of the 10 teams in the Rock Valley made the postseason.

Brodhead-Juda is led by twins Dalton and Nick Naramore, who have combined for over 1,100 yards and 17 touchdowns on the season. Cade Walker has thrown for over 600 yards, and Cole Hoesly has 158 passing yards and a passing TD over the final three weeks.

River Valley (8-1) won the Southwest Conference, going unbeaten in league play. Brodhead-Juda is moving to the Southwest Conference in 2020, which means the two teams will be in the same league in the foreseeable future.

Division 5

New Glarus-Monticello has a road game in Level 1. The Glarner Knights (5-4) travel to Prairie du Chien (8-1), which finished second in the Southwest Conference. Both schools will be in the SWC in 2020 after the upcoming WIAA state-wide realignment goes through.

NGM finished second in the Capitol South this fall. Darris Schuett and Mason Martinson have split time at quarterback for the Knights. Schuett has 967 passing yards, 12 TDs and 7 INTs in 124 passing attempts. Martinson has thrown the ball 132 times for 939 yards, 9 TDs and 6 INTs. Both have completion percentages above 50%.

Connor Siegenthaler leads the team with 521 rushing yards and 5 TDs. Four players have over 100 yards rushing this season, with Martinson second with 240 yards in six games. Nathan Streiff is the leader receiver for NGM, with 983 receiving yards on 59 catches and 8 TDs. Siegenthaler has 28 catches for 323 yards and three TDs and Josh Wieser has 12 receptions for 160 yards and 3 TDs. Schuett has five TD catches in just seven hauls for a combined 118 yards, and Martinson also has 110 yards catching on 10 receptions.

Prairie du Chien was second in the SWC. The Blackhawks outscored opponents 220-100 on the season, and led at halftime by an average of nine points.

Dylan Coleman has thrown every pass this year for PDC, completing 51.4% of his passes for 1,238 yards, 13 TDs and 6 INTs. Tyler Hannah leads the team in rushing with 514 yards, while Traeton Saint has 410 yards on the ground. Mason Kramer is the top receiving threat with 34 catches for 620 yards and 8 TDs. Ben Riter is the No. 2 receiver on the team with 25 receptions for 408 yards and 5 TDs.

Division 6

Darlington (6-3) draws Benton-Scales Mound-Shullsburg (7-1) in the first round. The two Lafayette County team have spent much of the season ranked in Division 6 in the weekly Wisconsin Football Coaches Association polls. Headed into Week 9, Darlington was 10th and BSSM was sixth.

The Redbirds finished fourth in the SWAL. In the second year under head coach Travis Winkers, Darlington has found its offensive niche in the ground game. The Redbirds have 2,165 yards rushing on the season, average 5.6 yards per carry and 240.6 yards per game.

Braden Davis has 764 passing yards with 11 TDs and 8 INTs as QB for Darlington. Wyat Bredeson leads the team with 586 rushing yards, while Davis and Easton Evenstad each have over 400 yards rushing the season. Carter Lancaster is the team’s top receiver, with 18 catches for 403 yards and five TDs.

BSSM had a bye in Week 9, but finished the season with just one loss — to unbeaten and D7 defending champion Black Hawk-Warren.

Perhaps the biggest stretch of numbers for BSSM has been first-half domination. The co-op has outscored opponents 82-6 in the first quarter this year, and lead by an average of 19-8 at halftime.

Will Lawrence is the leading rusher for BSSM with 694 yards and six scores on the season. Kaelan Shetler has 514 rushing yards and eight scores, while Brandon Hoppman has 489 yards and 9 TDs. The co-op has rushed for over 2,000 yards as a team.

Chandler Kelly has thrown 50 passes for BSSM this year, completing 26 for 421 yards and 4 TDs.

Division 7

Top-ranked and unbeaten Black Hawk-Warren (9-0) will continue its quest for a second straight state title with a home game against Cashton (5-4) in Level 1.

Despite adding Warren into the co-op, the two schools still finished with an enrollment total so low they stayed in Division 7.

The Warriors swept the Six Rivers slate this year and make their presence known right away in the first quarter. Black Hawk-Warren has allowed just three touchdowns in the first three quarters combined all year. The co-op has outscored opponents by nearly 24 points in the first half this season. 

Offensively, the Warriors use their big men up front, dominating the line of scrimmage and allowing their backs to make plays. Black Hawk-Warren has 3,006 yards rushing this season, with an average of 7.9 yards per carry and 37 rushing touchdowns. 

Defensively, the Warriors are even more stout, allowing less than 1,000 yards of offense. In fact, the co-op has allowed less than 500 yards both through the air (462) and on the ground (465) this fall.

Cayden Milz is the team leader in rushing with 1,130 yards on 121 carries (9.3 ypc) with 12 scores. Cody Blosch (627 yds) and Jaylen Rufenacht (598 yds) also bring home run power, averaging over 8 yards per carry. Rufenacht has 12 rushing scores this season, while Blosch, Lucas Milz and QB Ethan Williams have four touchdown rushes.

Williams is 32 of 60 passing for 594 yards and seven touchdowns with just two interceptions. Rufenacht is the leading receiver with 11 catches for 242 yards and three touchdowns, while Brady Hagen has 131 yards receiving and two scores.

Cashton finished third in the weak Scenic Bluffs and lost 53-0 to Bangor (No. 2, 9-0) in Week 9. 

The Eagles lost a nonconference game to Luther, and had conference losses to Ithaca, Hillsboro and Bangor. All five wins for Cashton were by one score, while two of the four losses were by one score.