BRODHEAD - The Brodhead-Juda and Black Hawk football teams are both on a roll heading into the Level 2 playoffs.
Brodhead-Juda knocked off Platteville 55-20 in a WIAA Division 4 first-round game last week and the Warriors beat Rio 35-7 in Division 7. The Cardinals (8-2) now face No. 1 seed Racine St. Catherine's (9-1), and the Warriors (8-2) play Burlington Catholic Central. Catholic Central was the Division 7 state runner-up last year, and the Hilltoppers have won two of the last three state championships.
"We know that is who we have to beat to advance in the playoffs," Black Hawk coach Cory Milz said. "They are the premier team in Division 7. They are the Waunakee of Division 7. It's not a surprise to us. We have been scouting and watching them all year. We welcome the challenge of trying to knock them off."
Division 4
Racine St. Catherine's won the Midwest Classic Conference. The Angels are led by quarterback Cary Thomas who has passed for 1,726 yards and 16 touchdowns. He is completing 55 percent of his passes. The Angels also have a formidable running game with Sean Madden who has rushed for 1,052 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Angels have three players who have caught 17 or more passes, led by Teddy Ruetz (19 receptions for 320 yards and five touchdowns). Shey Smith also has five touchdown catches for the Angels.
"We will have our hands full with all of their receivers," Brodhead-Juda coach Jim Matthys said. "They are good athletes who also play basketball. It will be a similar style to what we faced last week against Platteville, but different formations. They do a little bit better job of mixing up the run and pass."
Racine St. Catherine's is giving up just 9.6 points per game and has posted five shutouts this season. The Level 2 playoff game will pit the Angels' stingy defense against a high powered Cardinals' offense that is averaging 38.9 points and 318 rushing yards per game.
"Their offense gets a lot of the headlines, but their defense is one of their strengths," Matthys said.
Brodhead-Juda senior Jesse DeLorme is coming off a game where he rushed for 129 yards and scored five touchdowns in a win over Platteville. DeLorme has rushed for 1,253 yards and has scored 21 touchdowns this season. Senior Jaron Harding also rushed for 190 yards against the Hillmen. Senior Trenton Jordan (645 yards, 5 TDs) and Harding (595 rushing yards, 8 TDs) give the Cardinals a balanced backfield.
"Everyone will want to stop Jesse," Matthys said. "We have to have someone else to go to. One of the things we have learned the last three years is we need to have other guys to be better in the playoffs."
Brodhead-Juda senior quarterback David Earleywine has passed for 894 yards and 10 touchdowns, while completing 60 percent of his passes.
"I don't think David's statistics will blow you away," Matthys said. "The one thing David does is he is a good game manager. He runs our play action game well and carries out the fakes well."
The Cardinals' defense is giving up 16.6 points per game. DeLorme has a team-high 66 tackles to lead the Cardinals on defense. Fellow senior Joey Jordan has 55 tackles and junior Hunter Colden has 44. The Cardinals' defense has forced 14 turnovers this year including 11 interceptions. Harding and Jordan each have three interceptions.
Division 7
Black Hawk is familiar with Catholic Central. The Hilltoppers beat the Warriors in a first-round playoff game 40-6 last year. The focal point of the Hilltoppers' offense is senior quarterback Carson Meinholz who has racked up 2,119 total yards (1,005 yards rushing, 13 TDs and 1,114 passing yards).
The Hilltoppers use multiple formations including the I-formation a spread shotgun formation and two backs out of the shotgun.
"They have everything an offense can have," Milz said. "They have a lot of bootlegs and roll outs. They have the skilled players to pull it off."
Catholic Central's 6-4 record can be misleading since they play in a strong Midwest Athletic Conference which includes Racine St. Catherine's and Kenosha St. Joseph's.
In the Hilltoppers' 45-12 win over Randolph last week, Rayce Wadsworth rushed for 127 yards and scored two touchdowns. Wadsworth is a big-play running back averaging 10 yards per carry. Grant Alderman (797 rushing yards) also is a playmaker for the Hilltoppers.
"Randolph was a little shell-shocked because of their speed," Milz said.
In Black Hawk's win over Rio last week, senior Jace Johnsrud rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns and senior Michael Walker ran for 114 yards and three touchdowns. Johnsrud (954 rushing yards and eight touchdowns) is closing in on a 1,000-yard season.
Black Hawk junior quarterback Kyle Walters has stepped up and made some plays after Merik Meythaler fractured his tibia. Walters has passed for 184 yards and four touchdowns in the three games that he has started.
Milz wants to stack the box to shut down the Hilltoppers' running game.
"The key to beating them is not giving up the big play," he said. "We have to take their running game away. There is some risk in over-coaching. We don't want them to become robots. I hope they are not thinking too much so they can react."
Brodhead-Juda knocked off Platteville 55-20 in a WIAA Division 4 first-round game last week and the Warriors beat Rio 35-7 in Division 7. The Cardinals (8-2) now face No. 1 seed Racine St. Catherine's (9-1), and the Warriors (8-2) play Burlington Catholic Central. Catholic Central was the Division 7 state runner-up last year, and the Hilltoppers have won two of the last three state championships.
"We know that is who we have to beat to advance in the playoffs," Black Hawk coach Cory Milz said. "They are the premier team in Division 7. They are the Waunakee of Division 7. It's not a surprise to us. We have been scouting and watching them all year. We welcome the challenge of trying to knock them off."
Division 4
Racine St. Catherine's won the Midwest Classic Conference. The Angels are led by quarterback Cary Thomas who has passed for 1,726 yards and 16 touchdowns. He is completing 55 percent of his passes. The Angels also have a formidable running game with Sean Madden who has rushed for 1,052 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Angels have three players who have caught 17 or more passes, led by Teddy Ruetz (19 receptions for 320 yards and five touchdowns). Shey Smith also has five touchdown catches for the Angels.
"We will have our hands full with all of their receivers," Brodhead-Juda coach Jim Matthys said. "They are good athletes who also play basketball. It will be a similar style to what we faced last week against Platteville, but different formations. They do a little bit better job of mixing up the run and pass."
Racine St. Catherine's is giving up just 9.6 points per game and has posted five shutouts this season. The Level 2 playoff game will pit the Angels' stingy defense against a high powered Cardinals' offense that is averaging 38.9 points and 318 rushing yards per game.
"Their offense gets a lot of the headlines, but their defense is one of their strengths," Matthys said.
Brodhead-Juda senior Jesse DeLorme is coming off a game where he rushed for 129 yards and scored five touchdowns in a win over Platteville. DeLorme has rushed for 1,253 yards and has scored 21 touchdowns this season. Senior Jaron Harding also rushed for 190 yards against the Hillmen. Senior Trenton Jordan (645 yards, 5 TDs) and Harding (595 rushing yards, 8 TDs) give the Cardinals a balanced backfield.
"Everyone will want to stop Jesse," Matthys said. "We have to have someone else to go to. One of the things we have learned the last three years is we need to have other guys to be better in the playoffs."
Brodhead-Juda senior quarterback David Earleywine has passed for 894 yards and 10 touchdowns, while completing 60 percent of his passes.
"I don't think David's statistics will blow you away," Matthys said. "The one thing David does is he is a good game manager. He runs our play action game well and carries out the fakes well."
The Cardinals' defense is giving up 16.6 points per game. DeLorme has a team-high 66 tackles to lead the Cardinals on defense. Fellow senior Joey Jordan has 55 tackles and junior Hunter Colden has 44. The Cardinals' defense has forced 14 turnovers this year including 11 interceptions. Harding and Jordan each have three interceptions.
Division 7
Black Hawk is familiar with Catholic Central. The Hilltoppers beat the Warriors in a first-round playoff game 40-6 last year. The focal point of the Hilltoppers' offense is senior quarterback Carson Meinholz who has racked up 2,119 total yards (1,005 yards rushing, 13 TDs and 1,114 passing yards).
The Hilltoppers use multiple formations including the I-formation a spread shotgun formation and two backs out of the shotgun.
"They have everything an offense can have," Milz said. "They have a lot of bootlegs and roll outs. They have the skilled players to pull it off."
Catholic Central's 6-4 record can be misleading since they play in a strong Midwest Athletic Conference which includes Racine St. Catherine's and Kenosha St. Joseph's.
In the Hilltoppers' 45-12 win over Randolph last week, Rayce Wadsworth rushed for 127 yards and scored two touchdowns. Wadsworth is a big-play running back averaging 10 yards per carry. Grant Alderman (797 rushing yards) also is a playmaker for the Hilltoppers.
"Randolph was a little shell-shocked because of their speed," Milz said.
In Black Hawk's win over Rio last week, senior Jace Johnsrud rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns and senior Michael Walker ran for 114 yards and three touchdowns. Johnsrud (954 rushing yards and eight touchdowns) is closing in on a 1,000-yard season.
Black Hawk junior quarterback Kyle Walters has stepped up and made some plays after Merik Meythaler fractured his tibia. Walters has passed for 184 yards and four touchdowns in the three games that he has started.
Milz wants to stack the box to shut down the Hilltoppers' running game.
"The key to beating them is not giving up the big play," he said. "We have to take their running game away. There is some risk in over-coaching. We don't want them to become robots. I hope they are not thinking too much so they can react."
