Rosholt, Amherst, A-B looking for berths
With its 21-19 win over Wausau West Saturday, the Stevens Point Area Senior High football team clinched a berth in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association playoffs.
The Panthers improved to 5-1 in the Wisconsin Valley Conference in the victory and qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Five conference wins guarantees a postseason appearance.
"I'm very happy because this point is elusive as you well know," SPASH coach Jerry Fitzgerald said. "Plus we're very fortunate to get away from there with the win."
Under the present format, we would've been in the playoffs 19 of the 26 years we've been here.
SPASH deviated from its running game to top the Warriors. Ross Adamczak passed for 235 yards and three touchdowns and the Panthers held off a late West comeback attempt. His three scoring strikes were to Gabe Bauer (51 yards), Adam Pezewski (54 yards) and Casey Taggatz (65 yards).
WVC leading rusher Cory Flisakowski broke the 1,000 yard mark after running for 153 yards on 22 carries.
Marshfield, who beat SPASH two weeks ago, is the only other conference school to clinch a berth. D.C. Everest needs one more win, and Wisconsin Rapids and Wausau East each need two victories to guarantee a playoff spot.
The Panthers host Wisconsin Rapids Friday, and then close out the regular season against Bemidji (Minn.) at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Thursday, Oct. 14, and at Rhinelander, Thursday, Oct. 21.
"We need to get healthy. We feel like we've got this heavyweight team in Wisconsin Rapids coming up this weekend," Fitzgerald said.
"Everything is sort of coming into place exactly the way we'd like it. I think Everest is capable of knocking Marshfield off so we need to take care of Rapids for the possibility of a three-way tie in the conference."
The first round of games, or Level 1, of the WIAA Playoffs will take place Tuesday, Oct. 26. The state championship game for Division 1 is Friday, November 19 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, at 2 p.m.
SPASH's highest football finish was in 1977, when the Panthers lost 19-14 to Madison West in the championship game.
Rosholt is also in the race for a playoff spot. With their 44-0 rout of Almond-Bancroft last Friday, the Hornets improved to 3-1 in the Central Wisconsin Conference Small Division and can clinch a spot in the postseason with two more wins.
Rosholt has three games left in the regular season: Friday at home against Port Edwards; at Plainfield Tri-County, Friday, Oct. 15; and at home against Wild Rose, Thursday, Oct. 21.
With its loss to the Hornets, A-B dropped to 2-2 in the conference. In order to secure an automatic berth, the Eagles must win their final three games. A-B hosts conference leader Iola-Scandinavia (4-0) Friday, then travels to Port Edwards Friday, Oct. 15. The Eagles close out their season at home against Tigerton.
In the CWC Large School Division, Amherst (2-4) needs three victories in three games to clinch a spot.
After losing to conference leader Bonduel (4-0), 27-0, Friday, the Falcons will face Menominee Indian at home Friday at 4 p.m. Amherst closes out the regular season with road games at Weyauwega-Fremont (Friday, Oct. 15) and Manawa (Thursday, Oct. 21).
Teams with four and three conference wins can also be considered for the playoffs. According to the WIAA, teams with records of 4-3, 4-2, 4-1 or 3-2 in conference games will get consideration under the selection criteria. Schools that are either 4-4 or 3-3 in conference games may still receive playoff consideration, but only if the number of schools that qualify under the first step (above .500 in conference games) is less than 192 teams.
Level 1 playoff games for Divisions 3-6 are also Tuesday, Oct. 26. The championship games for those divisions are Thursday, Nov. 18 at Camp Randall Stadium.