The playbook: Looking ahead to Week 2 games
We survived the lightning delays of Week 1, and now comes what we hope is a more traditional second week of the 2016 football season. Some contests to keep an eye on:
Mukwonago at Oak Creek (Thursday). One of the more impressive wins in the first week of the season belonged to Mukwonago, when it topped one of the Southeast Conference favorites, Franklin, in the opener. Now, MHS plays the other one with a battle against Oak Creek, with the cameras watching as part of the Thursday Night Lights series, broadcast locally on Channel 24.
Hartford at Brookfield Central (Thursday). This certainly got an uptick in interest when Central needed overtime to down Whitefish Bay in a shootout and Hartford handled Cedarburg for a 28-0 lead at half (a game that was declared final when it was not resumed after lightning delay). This game could be a pretty special one, and it marks the Lancers' second straight Thursday battle to open the year.
Germantown at Catholic Memorial. The Warhawks will look to bounce back from a slow start against Kenosha Indian Trail last week, a game that was also called midway through with the Hawks ahead, 21-7. Memorial handled Riverside last week, but this is the first true test of the season.
Messmer/Shorewood at Nicolet. The Knights defeated Waukesha South last week for the program's first win since 2012, and it stands to reason that Nicolet could win this game as well and find itself in an amazing spot -- at 2-0.
Hudson at Arrowhead. The perennial northern power Hudson gave Arrowhead a serious scare last year when AHS made the long voyage north. This time, Hudson is traveling to Milwaukee for the rematch.
Wisconsin Lutheran at Pewaukee. The Pirates will get a true litmus test against a Wisco team looking to get back into the top tier of the Wisconsin Little Ten after drifting off the title pace a bit behind the likes of Oconomowoc, Slinger, Hartford and Watertown.
Sussex Hamilton at Cedarburg. The Chargers looked great to open the year against South Milwaukee while the Bulldogs did not fare well against Hartford.