Northwestern ranked No. 2; Superior hosts DCE

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The following is another “Have Fun or Get Out of the Way” column by Don Leighton and Mike Granlund and their alter egos, Lance Boyle and Billy Pirkola, which runs occasionally in The Superior Telegram.

The Wissports football coach’s poll this week has the Northwestern Tigers ranked No. 2 in the WIAA Division 4 rankings. Northwestern reached the final four in last year’s WIAA Division 4 playoffs.

The following is a capsule of some big games in the state and area.

D.C. Everest (0-1)

at Superior (0-1)

Superior High School coach Bob DeMeyer and his young Spartans are willing to take on the best as the powerful Evergreens invade Ole Haugsrud Field. A 36-22 opening game loss to Mequon Homestead may give hope that the Spartans can compete with D.C. Everest. More than wins, Coach DeMeyer is looking for improvement every week.

Amery (1-0)

at Northwestern (1-0)

Amery comes from the Middle Border Conference that features three outstanding teams in Somerset, Baldwin-Woodville and New Richmond. Amery is seeking to join that trio after an 11-8 win over Heart of the North Conference team Barron. Northwestern, coming off of a 27-8 win over Ashland and the favorites of the HON, will have a game to gauge themselves against possible playoff foes. Dennis Scherz’ Tigers had three rushers credited with more than 100 yards each in T.J. Polkoski, Zak Anttila and Kasey Leggate.

Kewaunee (1-0) at

Menomonie, Mich. (1-0)

The top team in Division 4 takes on a bigger school and an out of state foe in the Maroons, not to be confused with Superior’s opponent, Menomonie, Wis. A Tiger win and a (no mascot for Kewaunee) loss could give Northwestern a No. 1 state ranking. (Kewaunee had been the Indians, but is transitioning to a new, more politically correct mascot for next year.)

Kenosha Bradford (1-0) at Stevens Point (1-0)

This game is of interest not just because Stevens Point defeated Superior last week, but it is a battle between the top two ranked teams in the state in Division 1. Kenosha Bradford is No. 1 in the coach’s poll and Stevens Point is No. 2.

Somerset (1-0) at Bloomer (1-0)

Another MBC vs. HON non-conference game. Somerset is the perennial power of the MBC and Bloomer is the team most pick to challenge Northwestern for the HON crown. Somerset returns its 2,000-yard rusher in Eric Walczak, and Bloomer is said to be loaded with talent again. Bloomer opened with a 43-7 win over Colfax.

Frederic (1-0) at Northwood/Solon Spgs (1-0)

The local Evergreens got out of the blocks with an impressive 62-0 win over Cornell, a playoff team last year. With junior running back Josh Malone making five touchdowns in the first half, Coach Jason Fox appears to have a potent offense. The Frederic Vikings are a solid team and are still bothered by that 10-7 loss from two years ago administered by the ’Greens. Frederic opened with a 54-6 win over the Siren Dragons.

Boyleing in the Pirkolator

l Inflation has hit college football as the Big Ten goes to 12 teams next year. The division alignment has been announced and Wisconsin and Minnesota will be in different divisions, although they will continue to play each other in a “rivalry game.” The Badgers, incidentally are nationally ranked with Big Ten “Offensive Player of the Year” John Cla y and many others returning.

l UW-Superior will not field a football team this year, but St. Scholastica looks to have a solid team, Fond du Lac Community College will be on the field and UMD is ranked Nationally in NCAA Division II. Northwestern grad Kiel Fechtelkotter is a key member of the Bulldogs as a starting linebacker.

l In the pros, the Vikings’ 40-year-old Brett Favre keeps on ticking even as many of his teammates are succumbing to injury. The Packers, meanwhile, have a quarterback who continues to get better, as Aaron Rodgers is very highly rated in the fantasy Football leagues.

l Our heart goes out to the family of Danielle Schiff, former Northwestern athlete who was taken from us in a helicopter accident this week in Idaho. She was the sister of Northwestern football captain Sam Schiff and also Jake Schiff, who was a captain of the Tiger football team last year.

A 1994 graduate of Northwestern, she worked as a biologist.

Opinions and/or story ideas can be e-mailed to dleigh1273@aol.com or wgranlund@centurytel.net

Tags: have fun or get out of the way, collections, sports, football, superior, spartans, northwestern, tigers, preps