Focus on prep football

AREA RANKINGS

School (record)

1. Catholic Memorial (9-0) 1 (last week)

2. Homestead (8-1) 3

3. Lake Geneva Badger (9-0) 4

4. Brookfield Central (8-1) 2

5. Marquette (7-2) 5

6. Franklin (8-1) 7

7. Wilmot (8-1) 8

8. Oconomowoc (8-1) 9

9. Milwaukee King (9-0) 10

10. Pewaukee (8-1) -

Sports Poll: Do too many teams make the WIAA football playoffs?

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense

Jakup Sinani, Oak Creek: The Knights’ playoff chances were on life support until the senior quarterback sparked a fourth-quarter comeback from 14 points down at Kenosha Indian Trail on Friday. He threw a touchdown in that final quarter, and after the Knights pulled within a point with a touchdown with 42 seconds left, he hit junior Ryan Harvey-Turner for the two-point conversion that resulted in a 29-28 victory that gave Oak Creek an automatic playoff berth. Sinani finished with a season-high 251 passing yards and two touchdowns on 20 of 34 passing. He also ran for 33 yards on six carries.

WIAA football playoff pairings

Defense

Michael Bruner, Homestead: The 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior linebacker helped the Highlanders complete an undefeated season in the North Shore Conference on Friday with a 47-18 victory over Cedarburg on the road. Brunner was an impact performer on defense as well as special teams. He finished with eight tackles, three for a loss, knocked down two passes and forced and recovered a fumble. He also blocked a punt and an extra-point attempt.

Specialist

Patrick English, Marquette: West Allis Hale had just taken a 9-7 lead when it kicked off to the 6-foot, 175-pound senior, who returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdowns to give the Hilltoppers the lead for good. Marquette went on to win, 49-16, and thanks to Brookfield Central’s loss to Menomonee Falls, clinched a share of the Greater Metro title. English finished with 129 yards on kickoff returns and made four tackles and broke up a pass from his spot at defensive back.

TEAMS OF THE WEEK

Menomonee Falls: Falls earned a return trip to the playoffs after a one-year absence by rallying from 10 points down in the second half to beat previously undefeated Brookfield Central, 21-17. Senior Cameron Jemison had a hand in the team’s final two touchdowns. He threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Julius Davis with 5½ minutes left in the third quarter and caught a 58-yard touchdown from senior quarterback Arick Gleissner with 9 minutes, 38 seconds left in the game. Davis finished with a season-high 30 carries and 146 yards. Senior lineman Matt Henningsen led the defense with nine tackles, five solo, two tackles for a loss, one sack and a fumble recovery.

Pewaukee: The Pirates used a dominant ground game to defeat defending champion Greenfield and win the overall Woodland title, 37-29, Thursday. Pewaukee ran for 329 yards and had two 100-yard rushers: junior Seth Bickett (20 for 133) and senior Brandon Berg (19 for 125). Berg score three touchdowns in the second half when the Pirates led by as many as 16 points. Berg, junior defensive back David Young, junior linebacker Steele Beatty and senior defensive lineman Blaze Beltran had seven tackles each.