Slinger head coach Bill Jacklin was candid in his assessment of a No. 5 seed West Bend West team his No. 4 seed Owls defeated, 42-14, to advance in the WIAA Division 2 football playoffs Oct. 24.
“I didn’t want to play them,” Jacklin said. “After we played them in the regular season I was like, ‘Boy, I don’t know if I want to face this team.’ They’re that good.”
The Owls pulled away in the second half, but the game’s inflection point came in a matter of plays right around halftime. As Slinger led 14-0 in the final minute of the first half, West Bend West seemed content facing a third-and-11 from its own 22 to go into half with a two-score deficit.
After winding the game clock down to nearly 30 seconds, Spartans quarterback Collin Grass took the snap and fired a strike down the right sideline to Sean McElroy for a 78-yard touchdown. West Bend West squibbed the second-half opening kickoff and recovered a fumble on the ensuing return, driving down to goal-to-go for a potential game-tying score. The Slinger defense held on a Grass quarterback draw on fourth-and-goal from the Owls’ 1-yard line, preceding a 99-yard drive the other way for Slinger in a back-breaking sequence of drives for the Spartans.
“That one was tough, and then it’s just trying to respond. It’s a talented team, you can’t make mistakes like that against a team like this,” West Bend West fourth-year head coach Taylor Ripplinger said. “They’re well-coached, they’re well-prepared. They got some momentum on their side. They marched it down and it kind of turned things around for them as well.”
Slinger showed its strength of experience down the stretch as senior running back Kobe Hendricks rushed for three scores and 6-foot-6 junior receiver Jude Siikarla hauled in two touchdowns. The scores for Siikarla were both highlight grabs, with the first coming on a running back pass by Ethan Plahmer for a 19-yard catch on a moon ball of a throw. The latter was the put away score as Siikarla made a juggling sideline grab at the goal line for a 32-yard touchdown on a more conventional fourth quarter passing play off the hand of quarterback Jeffrey Ford.
Slinger had two 90-plus-yard scoring drives, with the other being a first-half drive that started from its own 9.
“They’re peaking right now, so they’re doing everything right,” Jacklin said of his offense. “They’ve been in every situation. We have four guys on our line that have like 20-plus starts (each), so they’ve seen about everything you can see. I’m really proud of our offensive line.”
The loss brought to an end a breakout season that led to West Bend West’s first playoff appearance in 15 years. Coach Ripplinger made sure to reflect in his postgame remarks on a senior group that had been with him since he took the reins of the program.
“They really started this thing. We talked about doing things the right way, and they played for each other. That was the coolest thing about it,” Ripplinger said.
The Spartans coach added the playoff appearance was another stepping stone toward deeper postseason runs and competing with Slinger and Homestead for North Shore Conference titles.
“Close to a .500 playoff team last year and didn’t make it in. This year, we make it in. Now next year it’s we got to get in and we got to make some noise,” Ripplinger said. “We just need to keep pushing one step at a time and grow.”
“I was in the same boat 14, 13 years ago. Playoff football is different. It is hard to prepare your kids and even your coaches mentally for it, but that’s a dangerous football team,” Jacklin said of Ripplinger and the Spartans.
The win for Slinger sets up a heavyweight fight of the reigning D2 state champions at the home of the reigning D3 state champions from Green Bay Notre Dame. The latter advanced on a 77-32 win over Greenfield in which junior running back Kingston Allen rushed 21 times for 477 yards and eight touchdowns for the third-best individual rushing performance in state history. Reedsburg senior Will Mikonowicz rushed for 498 yards and eight touchdowns on 30 carries in a 49-24 D3 playoff win over Waterford on Oct. 24, bumping Allen’s performance to third as both trail Wautoma running back Nathaniel Loging’s 2014 total of 524 yards on 31 attempts in the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association state record book.
Coach Jacklin was not yet aware of the stats when asked for his early scouting report on Notre Dame, but his insight was nonetheless prescient.
“They’re big and they have a really fast back,” Jacklin said. “We’re gonna worry about that tomorrow and see what we can do.”
Pewaukee, Nicolet and Whitefish Bay swing round one upsets
Along with some largely chalk finishes by seeding across the state, there were some notable upsets by seeding as well, including two winners from the same conference.
In D3, No. 6 seed Pewaukee picked up a 31-10 victory over No. 3 seed Sauk Prairie led by senior running back Omar Cherrington’s 193 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. Sophomore quarterback Brooks Dobberstein picked up a pair of touchdowns through the air as well, finding seniors Liam Rhoades (5 catches, 59 yards) and Semaji Petzold (3 catches, 54 yards) for a score each.
In the first of two North Shore upsets Oct. 24, No. 7 seed Nicolet beat No. 2 seed Holmen, 23-13. Junior running back Conner McKenna rushed 22 times for 160 yards and a touchdown. A pair of seniors also played big roles in the upset for the Knights. Senior receiver Carter Zuithoff caught two passes for 66 yards and a touchdown, while fellow senior defensive back/wide receiver Cooper Harris recovered two Holmen fumbles.
A No. 8 seed had beaten a No. 1 in the first round five times in the last two years, and Whitefish Bay made it six in the last three with a 31-7 blowout of New Berlin West. The Blue Dukes picked off Vikings quarterback Logan Zylka twice and held a potent New Berlin West running game to 21 yards for the game in a defensive showcase. Whitefish Bay joined 2024’s Belleville (def. Cambridge in D6) and 2023’s Chippewa Falls (def. Hudson in D1), De Pere (def. Milwaukee Marshall in D1), Germantown (def. Milwaukee Rufus King in D2), Mayville (def. Winnebago Lutheran in D5) as the sixth team in the last three years to pull a No. 8 over No. 1 upset.
Here is a recap of scores for the 48 area playoff participants and next opponents for the 21 area teams that advanced to the second round.
Milwaukee-area first-round playoff scoreboard
Division 1
No. 4 Mukwonago def. No. 5 Oconomowoc, 24-0. Next: at No. 1 Waunakee.
No. 1 Arrowhead def. No. 8 Wausau West, 56-12. Next: vs. No. 4 Brookfield East.
No. 4 Brookfield East def. No. 5 D.C. Everest, 19-13. Next: at No. 1 Arrowhead.
No. 2 Sussex Hamilton def. No. 7 Marquette, 58-32. Next: vs. No. 3 Kimberly.
No. 1 Muskego def. No. 8 Madison West, 64-16. Next: vs. No. 4 Racine Case.
No. 4 Racine Case def. No. 5 Kenosha Bradford, 34-6. Next: at No. 1 Muskego.
No. 3 Middleton def. No. 6 Milwaukee Hamilton/Audubon, 63-8.
No. 2 Badger def. No. 7 Oak Creek, 42-7.
No. 1 Franklin def. No. 8 Milwaukee Riverside, 65-6. Next: vs. No. 5 Verona.
No. 5 Verona def. No. 4 Milwaukee Pulaski, 51-8. Next: at No. 1 Franklin.
No. 2 Milwaukee Reagan def. No. 7 Milwaukee Bradley Tech, 62-0. Next: vs. No. 3 Bay Port.
Division 2
No. 1 Notre Dame def. No. 8 Greenfield, 77-32. Next: vs. No. 4 Slinger.
No. 4 Slinger def. No. 5 West Bend West, 42-14. Next: at No. 1 Notre Dame.
No. 6 Wauwatosa East def. No. 3 Milwaukee King, 22-13. Next: at No. 2 Rice Lake.
No. 1 West De Pere def. No. 8 Hartford, 70-33.
No. 3 Union Grove def. No. 6 Waukesha West, 15-10.
No. 7 Nicolet def. No. 2 Holmen, 23-13. Next: at No. 3 Union Grove.
No. 1 Homestead def. No. 8 Menomonee Falls, 51-14. Next: vs. No. 4 Elkhorn.
No. 4 Elkhorn def. No. 5 Milwaukee Bay View, 58-6. Next: at No. 1 Homestead.
No. 3 Germantown def. No. 6 Wauwatosa West, 36-6. Next: at No. 2 Monona Grove.
No. 2 Monona Grove def. No. 7 Brookfield Central, 39-8. Next: vs. No. 3 Germantown.
Division 3
No. 1 Grafton def. No. 8 Medford, 49-14. Next: vs. No. 4 Merrill.
No. 1 Catholic Memorial def. No. 8 Jefferson, 55-7. Next: vs. No. 4 La Crosse Logan.
No. 4 La Crosse Logan def. No. 5 Wisconsin Lutheran, 42-19. Next: at No. 1 Catholic Memorial.
No. 6 Burlington def. No. 3 New Berlin Eisenhower, 26-14.
No. 6 Pewaukee def. No. 3 Sauk Prairie, 31-10. Next: at No. 2 Onalaska.
No. 8 Whitefish Bay def. No. 1 New Berlin West, 31-7. Next: at No. 5 Port Washington.
No. 5 Port Washington def. No. 4 Milwaukee Washington/Fuller, 50-8. Next: vs. No. 8 Whitefish Bay.
No. 3 Martin Luther def. No. 6 Pius XI Catholic, 36-0. Next: at No. 2 Whitnall.
No. 2 Whitnall def. No. 7 McFarland, 42-0. Next: vs. No. 3 Martin Luther.
Division 4
No. 1 Winneconne def. No. 8 Milwaukee North, 71-0.
No. 1 Columbus def. No. 8 Brown Deer, 60-15.
No. 1 Racine St. Catherine’s def. No. 8 Saint Francis, 47-0.
Division 5
No. 1 Lake Country Lutheran def. No. 8 Kiel, 42-6. Next: vs. No. 5 Wittenberg-Birnamwood.
No. 5 Wittenberg-Birnamwood def. No. 4 Brookfield Academy, 42-12. Next: at Lake Country Lutheran.
No. 2 Racine Lutheran def. No. 7 Milwaukee Academy of Science, 36-8.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Slinger defeats West Bend West to highlight first-round football playoff takeaways
Reporting by Zac Bellman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
