These Appleton area high school football teams have one last chance to qualify for the WIAA postseason
Seven teams in the Post-Crescent coverage area still have a chance of making the WIAA high school football playoffs entering the final week of the regular season.
Here's a breakdown of those teams that have already qualified for the postseason and those who are on the verge.
They're in: These 11 teams have punched their ticket to the playoffs and are looking to finish strong in the final week to increase their chance at a better seed: Appleton North (6-2 overall, 4-2 Fox Valley Association); Fox Valley Lutheran (5-3, 4-2 North Eastern Conference); Hortonville (5-3, 4-2 Valley Football Association); Kaukauna (7-1, 5-1 FVA); Kimberly (6-1, 5-1 FVA); Menasha (6-2, 5-1 FRCC-South); Neenah (6-2, 4-2 FVA); Weyauwega-Fremont (6-2, 4-2 Central Wisconsin Conference-Large); Winneconne (5-3, 4-2 Bay); Wrightstown (7-1, 5-1 NEC); Xavier (7-1, 6-0 Bay).
Need one more conference win: There's only one team in the area that can assure itself a spot in the postseason with a conference win and that's Clintonville (3-7 including forfeits, 3-3 Northwoods). The Truckers play at Tomahawk (5-5 including forfeits, 2-4), which would be on the playoff bubble with a win.
Become playoff eligible with one more win: The following six teams can become playoff eligible with a win. That means they will be on the bubble to make the postseason but not assured a spot.
Brillion (3-5, 2-4 Eastern Wisconsin Conference): The Lions are coming off a tough 16-15 loss to Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian. They host Valders (1-7, 1-5).
Chilton (3-5, 2-4 EWC): Tigers beat Roncalli 27-7 last Friday and have a matchup with undefeated Two Rivers (8-0, 6-0) this week.
Freedom (4-4, 2-4 NEC): The Irish have won two consecutive games, beating Little Chute (27-6) and Denmark (40-7). They have a difficult matchup this week at Fox Valley Lutheran.
Little Chute (4-4, 2-4): The Mustangs are in a bit of a funk, having lost four consecutive games. They get a favorable matchup this week in hosting Denmark (1-7, 0-6).
Seymour (2-6, 2-4 Bay): Thunder had a nice 34-0 win at Waupaca last Friday and host Shawano (2-6, 2-4), which is also looking to become playoff eligible.
Waupaca (2-6, 2-4 Bay): The road is difficult for the Comets, who suffered a 34-0 loss to Seymour last week and play at Bay Conference title runner-up Winneconne on Friday.
Hortonville's Fischer hits 1,000 digs
Hortonville junior libero Molly Fischer went past 1,000 career digs during the Polar Bears' 3-0 victory over Oshkosh North on Oct. 3. She had 18 digs against the Spartans.
Fischer has 366 digs for the season and 1,030 for her career.
Lightning boys volleyball closes in on FVA title
Appleton North swept Neenah 3-0 last week to close in on the Fox Valley Association title. North, the defending FVA champion, hosts Notre Dame/Bay Port on Tuesday and Appleton West on Oct. 16.
North (29-4) is ranked fourth in the latest Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
Prep football, volleyball rankings: Kaukauna new No. 1 in Post-Crescent high school football rankings; Xavier leads the way in girls volleyball
Vote for the top athlete: Tennis, golf, volleyball and football standouts nominated: Vote for Cellcom Post-Crescent high school athlete of the week
St. Mary Catholic, Xavier lead area schools in boys soccer poll
The St. Mary Catholic and Xavier boys soccer teams are in the top five of the Division 4 rankings by the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association this week.
SMC (14-1) and Xavier (18-2) are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
Division 1: 1, Brookfield East (14-0-1); 2, Homestead (14-0-1); 3, Marquette (8-4-1); 4, Hudson (13-1-2); 5, Hartland Arrowhead (13-0-4); 6, Middleton (12-4-1); 7, De Pere (12-2-3); 8, Sun Prairie West (11-4-1); 9, Green Bay Preble (11-1-3); 10, Eau Claire Memorial (8-2-4).
Division 2: 1, Wauwatosa East (10-2-2); 2, Westosha Central (10-0-1); 3, Waukesha West (10-2-3); 4, New Richmond (14-1-3); 5, Nicolet (13-2-2); 6, Elkhorn (13-2-1); 7, Tomah (12-0-1); 8, DeForest (9-1-5); 9, Pewaukee (11-1-3); 10, West De Pere (12-2-2).
Division 3: 1, Notre Dame (14-2-2); 2, New Berlin Eisenhower (11-2-3); 3, Edgerton (12-0-3); 4, Big Foot/Williams Bay (12-1-1); 5, Milwaukee Pius XI (11-4-2); 6, Shorewood (9-5-2); 7, Wisconsin Dells (16-1-1); 8, Sugar River (13-2-1); 9, Edgewood (8-1-4); 10, Somerset (18-0-0).
Division 4: 1, Oostburg (12-2-2); 2, St. Mary Catholic (14-1-0); 3, Xavier (18-2-0); 4, Winnebago Lutheran (12-3-2); 5, Sheboygan Christian/Lutheran (10-5-2); 6, The Prairie School (9-3-2); 7, Lake Country Lutheran (11-4-1); 8, Kiel (11-2-4); 9, Sturgeon Bay (10-4-4); 10, Central Wisconsin Christian (9-3-2).
Brian Butch featured on 920 Sports podcast
Two-time Associated Press state player of the year and former Appleton West standout Brian Butch will be featured on this week's 920 Sports podcast. Butch, a former Wisconsin Badgers basketball star, was a recent Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee. The podcast is available for download on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play.
Fox Valley Lutheran girls volleyball on Varsity Roundtable
The Fox Valley Lutheran girls volleyball team will be this week's guests on Varsity Roundtable, the only online high school sports talk show in the state. Annalise Patchett, Emma Nilson and Keira Jahner will join host Ricardo Arguello to talk about the great season they've been having and the upcoming postseason. The show is at 7 p.m. Wednesday and can be seen on postcrescent.com or on USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's YouTube page.
Kimberly vs. Appleton North livestream game of the week
The Fox Valley Association clash between the Kimberly and Appleton North football teams is the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin livestream game of the week. Kimberly is 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the FVA with North 6-2 and 4-2. You can watch the game live starting at 6:45 p.m. Friday on postcrescent.com or on USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's YouTube channel.
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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton area high school football teams still chasing playoff berths
