Updated: Nov. 12

The state championship games are upon us, beginning Thursday.

WIAA state championship games

• Arrowhead (12-0) will appear in its ninth Division 1 state championship game, looking for its fourth title after surging in the second half for a 43-20 win against a powerful Hudson team. Waiting for Arrowhead will be Sun Prairie (12-0), an undefeated squad from Madison's Big Eight Conference.  Pictured: Jackson Abresch
  
   
   
• Homestead (11-1) hasn't been a member of the Division 2 field since 1991, but the Highlanders apparently don't mind the change in scenery. Headed to their fifth state title game and looking for a fourth title, the Highlanders defeated Marshfield handily and will now take on a Waunakee team with a state-record 49-game winning streak and three straight state titles in its back pocket. Pictured: Shaquille Cole.
  
  
  

• Catholic Memorial (10-2) has paved an impressive road to the Division 3 state title game, knocking out a pair of undefeated teams (Pewaukee, Wisconsin Lutheran) before topping a Mount Horeb/Barneveld team whose only loss was a 13-10 nail-biter against the aforementioned Waunakee. With a 35-7 blowout victory over the Vikings on Saturday, CMH must now do battle with unbeaten Waupaca (12-0) in its third title-game appearance.  Pictured: Pat White.

Eliminated:

• Whitefish Bay (10-2). A heartbreaking loss to powerhouse Waunakee, 35-28 in overtime, in Level 4 of the Division 2 playoffs solidified what we already suspected, that Bay is one of the state's very best football teams. The three-time state champ Warriors got the best of Bay this time around, but it was a tremendous run for Jim Tietjen's crew.
   
• Brookfield East (10-1) . The Greater Metro Conference champs for the first time in decades celebrated a tremendous season, with exciting outcomes galore. Quarterback Zach Damico will return next year as East looks to capitalize on its run.
   
• Lake Country Lutheran (10-1). The Lightning are running out of forward steps their program can take, with an undefeated season all the way to Level 3 before fellow unbeaten Randolph got in the way. The program has quickly evolved into a state powerhouse at the Division 7 level.
   
• Oak Creek (9-1). The Knights enjoyed a tremendous season that came attached with a Southeast Conference title, but conference foe Kenosha Bradford shocked them with a touchdown bomb in the final seconds.
   
• Pewaukee (9-1). Pewaukee went undefeated through the regular season for the third time in school history and emerged from a tougher Woodland with a league title before Catholic Memorial ended the impressive season in Level 2 of the D3 playoffs. Pictured: T.J. Watt
   
• Germantown (7-3). It's hard to fault the Warhawks for falling short against the OTHER Warhawks, Arrowhead, though I'm not sure the 47-7 blowout was expected. Germantown took third in the North Shore Conference.
   
• Menomonee Falls (7-3). A season of exceeded expectations ended at the hands of Kimberly, where Falls held the Papermakers to just a 3-0 lead at halftime but ultimately fell apart against the state behemoth.
   
• Sussex Hamilton (7-3). The Chargers suffered their three losses by a combined 11 points, including a gut-wrenching setback against Verona in Level 2 with a fumble inside the 10-yard line in the final seconds derailing an attempt to tie. The Chargers were tremendous and will be wondering "What if?" for a while.
   
• Franklin (7-3). The Sabers continued to rack up yards and impress this season, but losses to Oak Creek in the regular season and Badger in the second round of the playoffs kept Franklin from reaching some of its annual goals. Still, another fine campaign from coach Louis Brown and his staff. Pictured: Sean McGuire.
   
• Messmer/Shorewood (7-2). The Messwood program is officially a title contender in the Midwest Classic, but the school has a large enrollment in a sea of small teams, and the squad couldn't match up with powerful Whitefish Bay in Level 1 of the playoffs.
   
• Brookfield Central (6-4). The Lancers may not have been as imposing as expected, but this was still easily a playoff team that flexed its muscles in the first round against South Milwaukee before Bay was able to hold Central down in Level 2.
   
• Greendale (6-4). The Panthers played their best football when it counted, avenging a regular-season loss against Wauwatosa West with a resounding Level 1 win, then giving Brookfield East all it could handle in the second round. Watch out for this young team in 2013.
   
• Oconomowoc (6-3). With its best team under fourth-year coach Ryan McMillen, the Raccoons still showed well against Verona in the first round before falling, 23-13.
   
• St. John's Northwestern Military Academy (6-3). Dominic Pfister and Eric Imel enjoyed breakout seasons, but a first-round draw against Big Foot was unkind in Division 4. Pictured: Pfister.
   
• Waukesha West (5-5). After upsetting No. 2 seed Waterford in the first round, the Wolverines took a big lead on Watertown in the second round before the Goslings' passing attack hit high gear. Perhaps a rebuilding year for the Wolverines, and still, they proved to be dangerous.
   
• Mukwonago (5-4) . The close-to-.500 record belies an impressive turnaround performance under a new coaching staff, with two of those losses coming on last-second allowances, one against mighty Arrowhead and one in the playoffs against Madison West.
   
• Muskego (5-4). Needing some late-season dramatics just to get into the playoffs, Muskego made the most of it by taking Badger to the absolute wire before falling just short of a first-round upset. Badger went on to upset Franklin, so it was a notable feat.
   
• South Milwaukee (5-4). The Rockets worked their way into the playoffs with some nice work in the Woodland Conference but didn't have the horses to hang with Brookfield Central of the Greater Metro Conference in Level 1.
   
• Whitnall (5-4). First-year coach Jeff Wallack guided his team to some excellent showings, and quarterback Zach Sutton was one of the best weapons in the area, but top seed Wisconsin Lutheran had too much in Level 1.
   
• Brown Deer (5-4). The Falcons brought a lot back from last year and returned to the playoffs as expected, even if it didn't roll to the Woodland East title as presumed. It still grabbed a share of the crown before falling to Catholic Memorial in the first round. Pictured: Tray Palmer.
   
• New Berlin West (4-5). The Vikings, who will absolutely be a threat in 2013, put together an excellent second half of the season before falling to Pewaukee in the opening round of the playoffs.
   
• Martin Luther (4-4). The Spartans won the games they needed to in the newly-created Metro Classic to qualify for the playoffs before meeting Laconia and falling in Level 1.
   
• Brookfield Academy (4-4). Academy was fun to watch with its offensive aresenal, but Level 1 opponent Brillion showed why its one of the favorites to win the Division 5 state title.