NOW Football Poll

Updated Nov. 2. Final.

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Editor's note: Statistics are based on those provided to the Journal Sentinel.

Updated: Oct. 20

Points

1. Ian McKechnie, Eisenhower, 135 points

2. Chris Smith, Brown Deer, 132

3. Tyler Faber, Eisenhower, 96

4. Sean Graham, Whitnall, 90

5. Luke Maldonado, So. Milwaukee, 84

5. Cole Myhra, Menomonee Falls, 84

7. Steve Vogl, New Berlin West, 72

8. Sam Oliden, So. Milwaukee, 66

9. Luke Drumel, Greendale, 60

9. Brian Kroll, Whitefish Bay, 60

9. Luke Pryzbylka, Muskego, 60

9. Ernie Valente, Greendale, 60

Rushing yards

1. Chris Smith, Brown Deer, 1,273 yards

2. Sean Graham, Whitnall, 1,235

3. Luke Drumel, Greendale, 924

4. Cole Myhra, Menomonee Falls, 852

5. Steve Vogl, New Berlin West, 868

6. Keyon Lawson, St. Francis, 805

7. Tyler Faber, Eisenhower, 782

8. Bryan Bronaugh, Homestead, 767

9. Luke Pryzbylka, Muskego, 734

Luke Maldonado, So. Milwaukee, 646

Receiving yards

1. Ben Schaefer, Whitnall, 34 catches-612 yards

2. Brady Oates, Franklin, 27-611

3. Ian McKechnie, Eisenhower, 29-542

4. Mike Westrich, West Allis Central, 38-523

Paul Davis, Whitefish Bay, 33-522

6. Andrew Brees, Greendale, 26-453

7. Matt Widule, Menomonee Falls, 17-419

7. Coy Smith, Homestead, 19-419

9. Chad Mathwig, New Berlin West, 26-418

10. Bobby Grim, Whitnall, 15-404

Passing yards

1. Joel Stave, Whitnall, 1,887 yards

2. Lance Baretz, Franklin, 1,500

3. Ryan Barwick, West Allis Central, 1,389

4. Cal Ehrke, Whitefish Bay, 1,163

5. Dominique Bledsoe, New Berlin West, 1,2066

6. Sam Oliden, So. Milwaukee, 1,063

7. Ethan Harris, Wauwatosa East, 938

8. Ernie Valente, Greendale, 923

9. Brett Youngbeck, Brown Deer, 920

10. Brian York, Eisenhower, 887

Passing touchdowns

1. Lance Baretz, Franklin, 15 touchdowns

1. Brian York, Eisenhower, 15

3. Joel Stave, Whitnall, 14

4. Ryan Barwick, West Allis Central, 13

5. Cal Ehrke, Whitefish Bay, 11

6. Sam Oliden, So. Milwaukee, 10

6. Dominique Bledsoe, New Berlin West, 10

6. Brett Youngbeck, Brown Deer, 10

9. Max Poeske, Menomonee Falls, 9

9. Ethan Harris, Wauwatosa East, 9

NOW sports writer David Cotey analyzes each of the 24 NOW football teams' chances of making the postseason. Updates, with looks ahead and back, will take place each week through the final week of the regular season. Disagree with what Dave thinks? Sound off in our forum!

Updated: Oct. 21

Already qualified (10)

• Whitnall (7-2, 6-2) put up a fight but could not end Pewaukee's 19-game Woodland Conference winning streak Wednesday. Still, the Falcons could make some noise in the Division 2 playoffs.
• Brown Deer (7-2, 6-2) could not make it back-to-back wins over New Berlin schools, falling to Eisenhower on Wednesday after overwhelming New Berlin West on Friday.
• Menomonee Falls' Greater Metro Conference title hopes were dashed with a lopsided loss to Marquette on Friday, but the Indians (8-1, 6-1) rebounded with a shutout of Brookfield East on Wednesday.
• Greendale (6-2, 5-2) bounced back from its first loss to Whitnall since 1999 by thumping Wauwatosa West on Friday. The Panthers are hoping to host a first-round playoff game and would need to beat Cudahy on Wednesday to be considered.
• Whitefish Bay (5-4, 4-3) is entering the playoffs in ugly fashion. The Blue Dukes lost their final three games of the season, including a unexpected, 28-21 defeat to Milwaukee Lutheran in the finale.
• Defending D1 champion Homestead (9-0, 7-0) got all it could handle from Germantown on Wednesday, but a 21-17 Highlander victory gave Homestead yet another unbeaten regular season.
• New Berlin Eisenhower (8-1, 7-1), ready for its 10th straight playoff appearance, won the Woodland Black Division by one game over Whitnall with a win over Brown Deer on Wednesday coupled with Whitnall's loss to Pewaukee.
• Franklin (6-2, 5-1) was thumped by undefeated Kenosha Bradford, 40-19, at home Thursday, likely ending the Sabers' chances of winning their first Southeast Conference title since 2006. Bradford's UW recruit Melvin Gordon rushed for 257 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries. Franklin's only two losses this season have come to current unbeaten teams, the other being Marquette back in week two.
• New Berlin West (5-4, 5-3) can breath a little easier after its lopsided victory over winless Greenfield on Wednesday. The Vikings scored a whopping 35 of their 56 first-half points in the second quarter en route to a 62-14 blowout. The Vikings are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
• Oak Creek (6-3, 4-3) is back! For the first time since 2005 - the year after Joe Koch resigned - the Knights have picked up the required wins to play in the postseason. Oak Creek beat host Racine Park (5-4, 4-3) on Wednesday behind a pair of touchdowns from Darrol Inniss. Congrats to third-year coach Mike Bartholomew.

All signs point to 'yes' (1):

• South Milwaukee (4-3, 3-3) owns the third-longest playoff drought in the NOW area, which is tied for the state's 14th-longest. The Rockets have not played a postseason game since 1998 but a switch to the Woodland Conference (out of the Southeast) has put the Rockets one win away from qualifying. It all comes down to the season finale against St. Thomas More (2-6, 2-5) at St. Francis on Thursday.  The Rockets, however, have not won a road game this season.

Eliminated/ineligible (13):

• To make the playoffs, West Allis Hale (3-6, 3-4) had to do something no team had come close to doing all fall: beat Marquette. It didn't happen; the Huskies lost, 42-7, ending their three-year playoff streak.
• After reaching the playoffs in 11 of 12 years from 1996-2007, Germantown (5-4, 3-4) was eliminated for the second straight season, but not before putting up a fight with defending D1 champion Homestead in the finale.
• Brookfield Central (5-4, 3-4) will not play a postseason game for the first time since 2005 after losing to Hamilton, 14-7, in a must-win game Wednesday. Injuries derailed what was supposed to be a solid campaign by the Lancers.
• West Allis Central (5-4, 3-4) will have to wait another year for a playoff run. The Bulldogs, who have not played in the postseason since 2004, were eliminated with Friday's loss to Brookfield Central but rebounded for a blowout victory over Wauwatosa East on Wednesday.
• Brookfield East (3-6, 1-6) won its first league game in nearly two seasons earlier this month. That is something to build on.
• Wauwatosa East (0-9, 0-7), Shorewood/Messmer (0-9) and Greenfield (0-9, 0-8) finished as the NOW-area's only winless teams. Muskego (1-8, 1-6) avoided that club when it ended a 14-game losing streak with a 30-6 win over Racine Case on Wednesday.
• Nicolet (1-8, 0-7) and St. Francis (1-8, 0-8) could not pick up a win in their respective conferences.
• Cudahy (1-7, 1-6) beat St. Francis, 21-14, Friday for its first league win.
• Wauwatosa West (4-5, 3-5) was eliminated with a blowout loss to Greendale on Friday.

Whitefish Bay's Cal Ehrke almost single-handedly brought the injury-riddled Blue Dukes (5-3) back against powerhouse Cedarburg (7-1) Friday as he threw for 331 yards with five touchdown passes and no interceptions in a 51-32 loss. Ehrke completed 16 of 25 passes for the Blue Dukes, who fell behind 27-0. He got them to within 34-19 in the third quarter.

Who's hot heading into the final weeks of the season? What do you think of our playoff rankings? Let us know in our football forum!

From the forum

"No one beats Marquette this year in any bracket, in any playoff, on any field."

- Submitted by Mike

Lake Country Sports Director JR Radcliffe takes a shot at populating the Division 1, 2 and 3 football brackets.

Updated Oct. 19

 Division 1

POD A

(1) Bay Port (7-0, 8-0) vs. Appleton East (4-4, 4-4)
(4) Middleton (6-2, 6-2) vs. Wisconsin Rapids (3-1, 3-5)
(3) Hudson (5-1, 7-1) vs. Verona (6-2, 6-2)
(2) Stevens Point (4-0, 7-1) vs. Chippewa Falls (3-3, 4-4)

POD B
(1) Marquette (6-0, 8-0) vs. Oak Creek (3-3, 5-3)
(4) Milwaukee Riverside (6-1, 7-1) vs. Racine Park (4-2, 5-3)
(3) Janesville Parker (6-2, 6-2) vs. Kenosha Tremper (4-2, 5-3)
(2) Kenosha Bradford (6-0, 8-0) vs. Milwaukee Hamilton (6-1, 6-2)

POD C
(1) Homestead (6-0, 8-0) vs. Milwaukee Vincent (6-1, 6-1)
(4) Menomonee Falls (5-1, 7-1) vs. Milwaukee King (6-1, 6-2)
(3) Manitowoc (6-1, 7-1) vs. Oshkosh West (4-4, 4-4)
(2) Appleton North (8-0, 8-0) vs. Fond du Lac (5-3, 5-3)

POD D
(1) Waukesha West (6-0, 8-0) vs. Kettle Moraine (3-3, 4-4)
(4) Oconomowoc (5-1, 5-3) vs. Madison West (4-4, 4-4)
(3) Sun Prairie (6-2, 6-2) vs. Hartford (4-2, 4-4)
(2) Madison Memorial (6-2, 6-2) vs. Arrowhead (5-1, 6-1)

Division 2

POD A
(1) Merrill (5-0, 7-1) vs. Pulaski (4-3, 4-4)
(4) Marshfield (3-1, 7-1) vs. Ashwaubenon (5-2, 6-2)
(3) Antigo (3-1, 4-4) vs. Green Bay Southwest (5-3, 6-2)
(2) Kimberly (7-1, 7-1) vs. DePere (4-3, 5-3)

POD B
(1) Bradley Tech (7-0, 7-1) vs. Brookfield Central (3-3, 5-3)
(4) West Bend West (4-2, 4-4) vs. Menasha (5-3, 5-3)
(3) Sussex Hamilton (4-2, 6-2) vs. Germantown (3-3, 5-3)
(2) Cedarburg (5-1, 7-1) vs. Oshkosh North (5-3, 5-3)

POD C
(1) Waterford (6-0, 8-0) vs. Greendale (5-2, 6-2)
(4) Franklin (5-1, 6-2) vs. Burlington (3-3, 4-4)
(3) Milton (4-1, 6-2) vs. Lake Geneva Badger (4-2, 6-3)
(2) Whitnall (6-1, 7-1) vs. Bay View (4-3, 4-3)

POD D
(1) LaCrosse Logan (4-1, 7-1) vs. Holmen (3-2, 3-5)
(4) Waunakee (4-1, 7-1)  vs. Oregon (3-2, 6-2)
(3) Menomonie (5-1, 6-2) vs. DeForest (4-1, 6-2)
(2) LaCrosse Central (4-1, 7-1) vs. Tomah (3-2, 3-5)

Division 3

POD A
(1) Monona Grove (5-0, 8-0) vs. Mt. Horeb (3-2, 4-4)
(4) Wisconsin Dells (3-1, 3-5) vs. Osceola (4-2, 6-2)
(3) Reedsburg (4-1, 5-3) vs. New Richmond (4-2, 4-4)
(2) McFarland (5-1, 7-1) vs. Madison Edgewood (3-2, 5-3)

POD B
(1) Plymouth (6-0, 7-1) vs. Luxemburg-Casco (4-4, 4-4)
(4) Ashland (5-1, 6-2) vs. Hayward (4-2, 5-3)
(3) Seymour (6-1, 7-1) vs. Lakeland (2-2, 5-3)
(2) Shawano (6-1, 7-1) vs. Notre Dame (5-2, 5-3)

POD C
(1) Wisconsin Lutheran (6-0, 6-2) vs. Milwaukee Lutheran (3-3, 4-4)
(4) Kewaskum (5-1, 7-1) vs. New London (5-2, 6-2)
(3) Brown Deer (6-1, 7-1) vs. Slinger (3-3, 4-4)
(2) West De Pere (6-1, 7-1)  vs. Whitefish Bay (4-2, 5-3)

POD D
(1) Pewaukee (7-0, 8-0) vs. Union Grove (4-2, 5-3)
(4) Catholic Memorial (5-1, 6-2) vs. Delavan-Darien (3-3, 4-4)
(3) Waupaca (7-1, 7-1) vs. Whitewater (4-2, 5-3)
(2) New Berlin Eisenhower (6-1, 7-1) vs. New Berlin West (4-3, 4-4)

The most recent years teams in the NOW coverage area have played in the WIAA state playoffs:

2008: Brookfield Central, Franklin, Greendale, Homestead, New Berlin Eisenhower, St. Francis, West Allis Hale, Whitefish Bay, Whitnall

2007: Brown Deer, Cudahy, Germantown, Wauwatosa East

2006: Muskego, New Berlin West, Wauwatosa West

2005: Menomonee Falls, Oak Creek

2004: West Allis Central

2003: Brookfield East

2002: Greenfield

1998: South Milwaukee

1989: Nicolet

1981: Shorewood/Messmer