Week 6 of the high school football season is loaded with great matchups that will ultimately play a huge role in who wins conference championships at the end of the regular season.
Here’s a look at five must-see games, with comments from the coaches, our predicted winners and the rest of the schedule. All games are at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26.
Last week’s prediction record: 3-1.
Season prediction record: 15-10.
MUST-SEE GAMES
Appleton North (4-1) at Neenah (4-1)
The teams: The Lightning leads the all-time series 16-11 but the Rockets have won the last three meetings, including a 25-14 victory last season. Both teams are 3-0 in the Fox Valley Association. North defeated Hortonville 26-14 last week. Anthony Reischl ran for 87 yards and a touchdown, including a 61-yard run. Ben Wenzel led the defense with 12 tackles (10 solo). Neenah narrowly avoided an upset with a 28-24 victory against winless Oshkosh West. Ashton VanBeek ran for 166 yards and four touchdowns and added 97 passing yards. Jonah Rittner led the Rockets defense with 11 tackles (7 solo).
Appleton North coach Rob Salm: “We’re looking forward to another competitive matchup with Neenah this week. Over the past few seasons, our games have gone down to the wire and I expect nothing less this time around. Coach (Steve) Jung and his staff do an outstanding job. His teams are always well-prepared, disciplined and aggressive on both sides of the ball. Their quarterback is a real playmaker, and their offensive line and defensive front set the tone with their physical style of play.”
Neenah coach Steve Jung: “North is very physical and fast defensively and does not give up big plays. Offensively we need to dominate the line of scrimmage, value the ball and grind out first downs. Defensively we need to keep their offense in check by not allowing the big plays. We will need to play disciplined and physical football for four quarters.”
Prediction: Neenah 17, Appleton North 14.
Menasha (3-2) at Green Bay Notre Dame (5-0)
The teams: The Tritons lead the all-time series 4-3 and have beaten the Bluejays the last three meetings, including 28-21 last season. Menasha is 2-1 in the Fox River Classic Conference-South after a 62-8 win over Green Bay East. Paul Schmolinske passed for 180 yards and four touchdowns. Keonte Thigpen ran for 137 yards and two TDs. Jackson Rubbert led the Menasha defense with eight tackles. Notre Dame is 3-0 in the FRCC-South — tied with Oshkosh North — after a 42-7 win over Manitowoc Lincoln. Max Peirce passed for 149 yards and two touchdowns for the Tritons.
Menasha coach Jeramie Korth: “Notre Dame is always a big, fast and well-disciplined team. We have had several great games with them in the time we have been in the same conference. We are looking for a great week of practice and having the opportunity to play them in a big game. To be successful, we will need to be nearly perfect in all three phases of the game. This is what you play for — these games.”
Prediction: Notre Dame 28, Menasha 20.
Brillion (4-1) at Manitowoc Roncalli (4-1)
The teams: Brillion leads the all-time series 11-7 and had won five in a row before Roncalli won 28-27 last season. This game is for first place in the Eastern Wisconsin Conference with both teams 3-0. The Lions are coming off a 35-8 victory over Kohler/Lutheran/Christian. Brenner Nett ran for 92 yards and a touchdown. Joseph Shimek added two passing touchdowns. Heath Cousin and Landon Mathes led the defense with five tackles apiece. Roncalli beat New Holstein 32-17 last week. Sawyer Vandrisse ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns for the Jets. He also had 6.5 tackles on defense.
Brillion coach Tanner Behnke: “We are excited for the opportunity ahead of us on Friday night. Roncalli is a well-coached team with quality players on both sides of the ball. We look forward to the game, which will be hard-fought by both teams.”
Roncalli coach Paul Kinsella: “Coach Behnke has his players well-disciplined and playing great football. We hope we can match their intensity. Our kids have been working hard because they know what Brillion will bring to the field on Friday. It should be a great game.”
Prediction: Brillion 28, Roncalli 27.
Fox Valley Lutheran (4-1) at Seymour (4-1)
The teams: The Thunder leads the series 3-2 but the Foxes have won the last two meetings, including 25-24 last season. FVL is 2-1 in the Bay Conference after losing for the first time last week, 28-17 at Freedom. Amani Dahlke and Jacoby Dobberstein caught touchdown passes for the Foxes. Austin Kufner led the defense with six tackles. Seymour rolled past Waupaca 34-14 last week for its fourth win in a row and is 3-0 in the Bay Conference, tied with Winneconne for first place. Xavier Salzman had three touchdown runs, including 62 and 57 yards, against the Comets.
Fox Valley Lutheran coach Seth Jaeger: “This week’s matchup against Seymour has the potential for another exciting game like last year. Our players are ready for a reset after last week. Seymour is a very good team with a lot of returning key guys that carry a bulk of the load on both offense and defense. It has been a good week of practice for us and the guys have been very excited about the next opportunity the season presents to us.”
Prediction: Seymour 27, Fox Valley Lutheran 22.
Little Chute (4-1) at Wrightstown (4-1)
The teams: Wrightstown leads the all-time series 8-6 and has won the last two meetings, including 10-7 last season. Little Chute is tied atop the North Eastern Conference with Luxemburg-Casco with 3-0 records. The Mustangs beat Denmark 42-7 last week. Reece Joten ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns and Charlie VandenHeuvel added 103 yards and two TDs. Joten had six tackles for the defense, which has allowed only 40 points in five games. The Tigers are 2-1 in the conference and beat Two Rivers 29-19 last week. Brody Wilson ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Daniel Buntin and Isaac Hendricks each had six tackles for the Tigers on defense.
Little Chute Mark Krommenacker: “I’m proud of our guys for how we responded last week after the game didn’t start off how we wanted it to. We made some adjustments after the first drive and the defense was stout after the first series. Our practices the last few weeks have been very intentional and the guys have been focused on what’s important, when it’s easy to be distracted or go through the motions. Wrightstown is good at running the football and we’ve got some similarities, so this could be a physical and quick game. The most disciplined team will win.”
Wrightstown coach Steve Klister: “Little Chute is one of the best teams in our conference. They have size up front on both sides of the ball. They are athletic at the skill positions. We will have to play our best game of the year to be successful.”
Prediction: Little Chute 22, Wrightstown 12.
Week 6 high school football schedule in the Appleton area
Friday, Sept. 26
Fond du Lac (2-3) at Appleton East (2-3), New Holstein (3-2) at Chilton (2-3), Northland Pines (3-2) at Clintonville (0-5), Manawa (1-4) at Crandon (1-4), Freedom (4-1) at Denmark (2-3), Appleton West (3-2) at Green Bay Preble (2-3), Brookfield Academy (2-3) at Hilbert (4-1), Kimberly (4-1) at Hortonville (0-5), Oshkosh West (0-5) at Kaukauna (2-3), Weyauwega-Fremont (3-2) at Marathon (2-3), Waupaca (0-5) at New London (1-4), Kohler/Lutheran/Christian (1-4) at St. Mary Catholic (3-2), Crivitz (4-1) at Shiocton (1-4), Xavier (1-4) at Winneconne (5-0).
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton-area high school football Week 6 top matchups, what the coaches say and predictions
Reporting by Mike Sherry, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
