Season starts with a wild opening night

Thursday night couldn't have provided much more drama than it did for the kickoff to the 2016 football season.

The big game of the night coming in, Arrowhead and Homestead, delivered with a competitive 25-18 victory for the Warhawks, very likely the last installment of the rivalry. Steven L. Tietz captures the scene, prominently featuring ex-Homestead coordinator and current Arrowhead coach Fritz Rauch.

It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Whitefish Bay, and maybe it still will be. But the Blue Dukes gave Brookfield Central all it could handle in an insane 50-43 overtime battle that ended with a big defensive play and featured back-and-forth offense over nearly four hours of football. Andrew Gruman provided the detail.

It's hard to believe a 45-40 game, in which the winning team had to stuff one last drive with 2 minutes left, was merely the undercard to two other games on a Thursday night. Greendale won its opener over a talented Menomonie team thanks to some fireworks of its own.

Brookfield East found itself at the other extreme in a game completely devoid of drama. Returning All-Suburban Player of the Year Sam Santiago-Lloyd barely played in the second quarter, and the Spartans staged a 55-0 win over Milwaukee Pius with some eye-popping numbers.

Outside the area, Greenfield met Hudson somewhere in the middle, playing a game at Middleton. Hudson won 41-27 in an abbreviated game that was shortened by lightning that pounded the Madison area. We could also be in for some of that bad weather tonight in Milwaukee.