Week 1 of the Wisconsin high school football season is here and we are putting the spotlight on the biggest games.
Seventeen of the 20 teams featured, headlined by defending Division 1 state champion Arrowhead, were included in the MaxPreps Wisconsin Preseason Top 25.
Five of the 10 games feature a team that advanced to a state championship game last season.
Week 1 games to watch
No. 7 Bay Port at No. 23 Middleton Thursday, 7 p.m. – Watch Live NFHS Network Bay Port has played in the Division 1 state championship game in each of the past two seasons, winning the title in 2024. The Pirates return considerable depth on both sides of the ball but must replace two of their top offensive players: quarterback Matt Stevens and running back Brady Moon. Middleton will also enter the season with new starters at quarterback and running back after Joey Passaglia and Elijah Jackson graduated.
No. 4 Mukwonago at No. 18 Appleton NorthThursday, 7 p.m. Mukwonago returns quarterback George Molitor (1,649 passing yards, 16 touchdowns), leading receiver Max Baehman (437 receiving yards, seven touchdowns) and second-leading rusher Jerrell Anderson (740 rushing yards, nine touchdowns) from last year's team, which lost to Waunakee in Level 2 of the WIAA playoffs. Appleton North, meanwhile, lost two of its top players to graduation: quarterback Grant Hardy and WFCA all-state linebacker Ben Wenzel.
No. 8 Hamilton at No. 9 Kimberly Thursday, 7 p.m. Hamilton suffered two losses to eventual Division 1 state champion Arrowhead last season, including one in a sectional final. The Chargers are led up front by twins
Hunter Mallinger and
Reece Mallinger, both Wisconsin commits, while quarterback
Cole Erdmann and running back
Brayden Schroeder headline the skill-position group. Kimberly will build its offense around playmaker Maddux Hermus and tight end Jake Mau after losing most of its starters to graduation.
No. 15 West De Pere at No. 25 Sun Prairie East Thursday, 7 p.m. – Tickets via GoFanWest De Pere, which moves up to Division 1 this season, claimed the Division 2 state championship last year. The Phantoms return two Division I commits on the offensive line:
David Provost (Northern Illinois) and
Sam Schmidt (Western Michigan). However, they must fill several key positions, including quarterback, after Patrick Greisen departed for South Dakota. Greisen finished his prep career as one of the most prolific passers in Wisconsin history. Sun Prairie East will build around dual-threat quarterback Braylon Peterson.
Marquette at No. 1 ArrowheadFriday, 7 p.m. Arrowhead, the defending WIAA Division 1 state champion, is the top-ranked team in the MaxPreps Wisconsin preseason Top 25. The Warhawks return a talented group led by quarterback
Nolan Hanson, a Drake commit who threw for nearly 2,000 yards last season. Running backs
Jebari Craig and
Devin Nettles each rushed for more than 700 yards and combined for 17 touchdowns. Marquette will lean on returning quarterback Ben Schroeder, a 2,000-yard passer, after losing Tommy Novotny, the program's all-time leading rusher, to graduation.
No. 6 Waunakee at No. 2 MuskegoFriday, 7 p.m. Muskego, a Division 1 state semifinalist last season, returns most of its offense, led by quarterback Joey Shaw (887 passing yards, 14 touchdowns) and running backs Bryson Hoeffler (1,051 rushing yards, nine touchdowns) and Aiden Perlberg (381 rushing yards, six touchdowns). Waunakee also advanced to the Division 1 state semifinals last season, losing a close game to eventual state champion Arrowhead. The Warriors return several starters on both sides of the ball but lost several skill-position players to graduation, including quarterback Cole Krause. Waunakee will build around running back
Eli Drangstveit (853 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns).
No. 3 Franklin at No. 19 Racine CaseFriday, 7 p.m.
Franklin advanced to a Division 1 sectional final last season, falling to Bay Port, the eventual state runner-up. Sabers quarterback
Keegan Best threw for 1,600 yards and 12 touchdowns. Other returning standouts on offense include running back
Dillon Herling (772 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns) and wide receiver
Gavin Schiek (491 receiving yards, four touchdowns). Racine Case will rely on its defense, led by linebacker
Erik Ynnocencio and cornerback Amarie King (five interceptions), to set the tone early in the season after losing several key offensive players to graduation.
No. 5 Notre Dame Academy at No. 13 NeenahFriday, 7 p.m.
Notre Dame advanced to the Division 2 state championship game last season, losing 28-14 to West De Pere. Running back
Kingston Allen, the reigning MaxPreps Wisconsin Player of the Year, set state records by rushing for 3,436 yards and 57 touchdowns. Allen is joined by two other Division I commits: two-way lineman
Richie Flanigan (Notre Dame) and tight end
Joey Massey (Iowa State). Neenah has a playmaker of its own in dual-threat quarterback
Ashton Vanbeek, who rushed for 1,416 yards and 18 touchdowns and passed for 828 yards and nine touchdowns. His top two targets,
Cooper Sieck (307 receiving yards, two touchdowns) and
Matthias Charles (306 receiving yards, four touchdowns), also return.
Mount Horeb/Barneveld at No. 10 Grafton Friday, 7 p.m. Grafton, which moves up to Division 2 this season, claimed last year's Division 3 state championship. The Black Hawks return more than half of their starters on offense, including running back Jack Nelson, who rushed for nearly 2,000 yards last season. Tight end Hank Doyle, a Division I prospect, is expected to take on a larger role. Mount Horeb/Barneveld will lean on four returning offensive linemen, led by Northern Illinois commit
Evan Leibfried, to set the tone up front after losing several talented skill-position players to graduation.
No. 11 Homestead at Germantown Friday, 7 p.m. – Tickets via GoFanHomestead advanced to the Division 2 state semifinals last season, losing 35-34 to eventual state champion West De Pere. The Highlanders return experience on both sides of the ball. Dual-threat quarterback Lee Zortman rushed for 976 yards and 15 touchdowns and passed for 674 yards and eight touchdowns. Rylan Miller will take on a larger role after rushing for 556 yards and five touchdowns last season. Germantown faces a tall task replacing Vinny Inga, who led the team in passing and rushing. The Warhawks' strength is their offensive line, led by Wisconsin commit Cole Reiter.
