FOOTBALL

Edgar earns No. 1 seed to lead local qualifiers for WIAA football playoffs

Tim Johnson
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Edgar running back Kaleb Hafferman looks for running room during the Wildcats win over Stratford in 2017. The two Marawood Conference programs renew a rivalry Friday at Tiger Stadium.

WAUSAU - Two local defending WIAA state champion football teams will start on their home field this week in an attempt to make a return trip to Camp Randall Stadium.

Edgar received a top seed in its grouping for the Division 7 postseason, while Amherst is seeded second in Division 5. The two teams are among the 25 local programs which qualified for the WIAA postseason and the seedings were released Saturday. 

Antigo (Divison 3) and Iola-Scandinavia (Division 6) also received top seeds for their respective groupings. 

Level 1 games for all seven divisions will be held Friday across the state with championship games being held November 16-17 in Madison. 

 

 

The CloverWood Conference leads the local qualifiers with five teams. The Great Northern and Marawood both had four, and the Central Wisconsin Conference-Large and Small Divisions combined for six qualifiers. 

Three Valley Football Association teams are in the playoff field, two from the Cloverbelt and one from the South Central. 

Here is a look at where local teams are seeded for the postseason.

Division 1

Stevens Point Area Senior High (5-4) and Wisconsin Rapids (6-3) are seeded fifth and sixth, respectively, in Group A and both will open the postseason on the road. SPASH heads to Hudson while Rapids travels to Neenah. 

Bay Port received the top seed in the group. 

Division 2

Marshfield (6-3) is back in the postseason for the first time in four seasons and earned a fifth seed in Group A. The Tigers travel to Holmen on Friday and Menomonie earned the top seed in the group. 

Division 3

Antigo (8-1) is the top seed in a Group A field which includes four teams from the Great Northern Conference. The Red Robins won the GNC title and host No. 8 Medford (3-6) in a playoff opener. 

Mosinee (5-4) and Merrill (4-5) are seeded sixth and seventh, respectively, and both open the postseason on the road. Mosinee travels to Onalaska while Merrill heads to Rice Lake. 

Division 4

Nekoosa (3-6) is seeded eighth and travels to top-seed Osceola in Group A. 

Division 5

Amherst (8-1) is the two-time defending state champions, and hosts Colby (6-3) in an opening-round matchup in the loaded Group B. 

Stanley-Boyd (9-0) is the top seed and host No. 8 Wittenberg-Birnamwood (6-3), while Spencer/Columbus Catholic (8-1) is seeded third and hosts Oconto. 

Stratford (7-2) is seeded fifth and travels to Bonduel for an opening-round matchup. 

Division 6

Iola-Scandinavia (7-2) received the top seed in Group B and hosts Mishicot to open the playoffs.

Marathon (6-3) is seeded second and hosts Niagara/Goodman/Pembine while Auburndale (5-4) is seeded sixth and travels to Crandon. 

Division 7

Edgar (9-0) won the Division 7 title as the fourth seed last year but tops the eight-team Group B field and hosts Athens in an opening-round game. Fifth-seeded Assumption (6-3) heads to Pittsville (8-1).

Loyal (7-2) is seeded second in a Group A field which features three CloverWood teams. The Greyhounds host conference foe Owen-Withee (3-6) in an opening-round game. Abbotsford (7-2), which fell to Loyal in the CloverWood title game on Friday, is seeded third and hosts Frederic. 

Clear Lake is the No. 1 seed in the group. 

Almond-Bancroft (7-2) is seeded fourth in Group  and hosts Hilbert/Stockbridge. Tri-County is seeded seventh and travels to Fall River. Wild Rose earned the top seed in the group.