Jim Garvey
Running back Draven Peeples of Sun Prairie is a key element of the team’s success.
Hard to believe, but the 2017 high school football season is already past the halfway point, with just four weeks before the first round of the state playoffs begins Oct. 20.
Although there’s still a lot of football left, a handful of Madison-area teams already are in postseason form. Leading the way is undefeated Waunakee, which entered its fifth game of the regular season against Portage on Sept. 15 ranked eighth in the state by MaxPreps.com. The Warriors, propelled by senior running back Javian Dayne (son of former University of Wisconsin and NFL running back Ron Dayne) jumped out to a 50-0 lead in the second quarter over Portage before winning, 64-7. A chip off the old block, the younger Dayne rushed for 133 yards on 16 carries.
Not far below Waunakee in the MaxPreps poll is Sun Prairie. Another senior running back, Draven Peeples, ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries, as the No. 11 Cardinals trounced host Beloit Memorial, 41-6, on Sept. 15.
Sun Prairie and Waunakee, both 5-0, are among the area’s best bets to make it to the Division 1 and Division 2 state championship games, respectively, scheduled for Nov. 17 at Camp Randall Stadium.
Getting there won’t be easy, though; high school football can be full of surprises. The Cardinals, a No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs last season, fell hard to No. 8 seed Madison La Follette, in front of a home crowd in the first round. And Waunakee, another No. 1 seed, didn’t make it past the second round last year, as Monona Grove crushed the Warriors and then went on to the state championship game before losing to Brookfield East by six points.
The Silver Eagles could be back at Camp Randall again this year. At 5-0, they’re led by senior quarterback Alec Ogden, who threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns in a 46-7 win over Fort Atkinson on Sept. 15. He also scurried for a one-yard rushing touchdown.
Keep an eye on Kimberly High School, too. The former Division 2 team from the Fox Valley moved up to Division 1 in 2014 and, as of mid-September, has won 61 straight games (including four consecutive state titles — one at Division 2 and three at Division 1). It’s the longest active winning streak in the country, and the Papermakers can beat any Big Eight Conference team they might meet in the championship game.
