MONROE — The WIAA released its postseason seeds in a live show on Saturday, Oct. 19, where Monroe and Darlington received 2-seeds.
Both teams have been promoted a division — 2 and 5, respectively — due to the WIAA’s new Competitive Balance rule. The proposal was approved in April 2023 and is now taking effect in the 2024-25 school year. If a team has accumulated six or more points — determined by depth of a postseason run — in a three-year period, it will be bumped up a division the next season.
Monroe and Darlington are just two of the 15 teams affected by this rule change, including Aquinas, Catholic Memorial, Stratford, Waunakee, Rice Lake, Kettle Moraine, Columbus, Kimberly, Franklin, Mayville, Regis, Saint Mary’s Springs and Reedsville. Of the seven appeals that got sent in, none of them were approved, meaning 13 teams were promoted a division. Kimberly and Franklin, already Division 1 teams, could not be promoted.
Now in Division 2, Monroe received a 2-seed and will host 7-seed Elkhorn. The Cheesemakers (7-2, 7-0 Rock Valley Conference) are four-time RVC champions. Their two losses came to Lodi, a Division 4 team, and Mount Horeb-Barneveld, the second-ranked team in Division 3. The Elks (4-5, 3-4 Southern Lakes) were middle of the pack in their conference. Both Monroe and Elkhorn defeated Delavan-Darien by a two-score margin or more.
New to Division 5, Darlington received a 2-seed and will host 7-seed Richland Center. The Redbirds (8-2, 6-1 SWAL) had been ranked in the top 10 in Division 5 per the WisSports.net (WSN) Coaches Poll every week leading up to Oct. 15. Darlington ceded the league title to Cuba City, ranked No. 4 in Division 6, and also lost to Prairie du Chien, the third-ranked team in Division 5. The Hornets (4-5, 3-4 SWC) ended their season on a three-game winning streak with a 56-28 victory over Brodhead-Juda to be considered for playoffs. Richland Center also lost to Prairie du Chien, 47-15, in Week 3. The winner of this game faces the winner of 5-seed New Glarus at 3-seed Milwaukee Academy of Science.
Winning its final regular-season game against River Valley 36-20, New Glarus clinched a spot in playoffs and received a 5-seed. The Knights (6-3, 4-3 SWC) fell to Prairie du Chien, Lancaster and Brodhead-Juda. But, NG’s signature win of the season was against Platteville (5-4, 5-2 SWC), a Division 4 team. Third-seeded Milwaukee Academy of Science (9-1, 7-0 Midwest Classic-Large) are conference champions with just one non-conference loss to Grafton, ranked No. 3 in Division 3. The Novas have been ranked in the last four WSN Coaches Polls.
In Division 6, Belleville earned an 8-seed and will travel to 1-seed Cambridge. The Wildcats (4-6, 4-3 SWAL) have wins against the bottom teams in the league, including a forfeit against Abundant Life-St. Ambrose. On the flip side, the Bluejays (9-0, 7-0 Eastern Suburban) are conference champions. Quarterback Matthew Buckman has over 2,000 passing yards and receiver Kiefer Parish has just over 1,000 receiving yards.
In Division 7, Black Hawk-Warren was given a 6-seed and will travel to 3-seed Potosi-Cassville. The Warriors (7-2, 6-1 Six Rivers) dropped their season-opening game against Division 5 Southwestern-East Dubuque, 28-20. They then went on a 7-game winning streak — scoring no fewer than 26 points in each contest — before running into SR champion Potosi-Cassville (9-0, 7-0) in Week 9, falling 27-18. The Chieftains are five-time defending champions and have been ranked No. 1 in every WSN Coaches Poll since Week 2. They were ranked No. 2 in Week 1. BHW has also been ranked all season, finishing at No. 3.
Brodhead-Juda, Parkview-Albany, Pecatonica-Argyle and Monticello did not have winning conference records to automatically qualify for playoffs, nor did they have a strength of schedule to be considered.
