Power 25: May 26

May 27, 2019
By Steve Nielsen & Andy Sroka
Wisconsin Staff

The WIAA playoffs are here after a final week of the regular season didn’t alter the Power 25 much. There’s just one new team in, which kicked one team off, in today’s update. Otherwise, the rankings look a lot like they did at the start of last week. Let’s dive in.

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CREAM OF THE CROP

The top-ranked Craig Cougars (20-2) will head into the playoffs as the state’s No. 1 team for the third week in a row. They split their two-game series with Madison Memorial last week, though it meant little, considering that they had already clinched a Big Eight title by this point – tough to knock them for that. As a No. 1 seed, Craig earns a bye past the first round of the Division-1 playoffs and will host the winner of Tuesday’s Janesville Parker-Mukwonago match-up.
West De Pere (24-2) has had a strong spring and finishes the regular season No. 2 in the state. The Phantoms won both of their games last week, against Green Bay Southwest and Seymour, to end the season on a 14-game win streak. After a first-round bye in the Division-2 postseason, they’ll be hosting Freedom on Tuesday.
Kimberly (21-2) wraps up their season ranked as high as they’ve been this spring on the Power 25, at No. 3 in the state. The Papermakers won all four of their games last week, including Tuesday’s huge tilt against ranked Hortonville, 10-0. They’ll play next on Thursday against the winner of tomorrow’s clash between Pulaski and Appleton North.
After splitting a doubleheader with Neenah over the weekend, Burlington (20-5) slips a single spot to No. 4 on the Power 25. The Demons remain one of the strongest teams on the D-1 bracket despite their four losses in May. With a one-two punch of Trent Turzenski and Trey Krause, their title hopes are in good hands. They’ll play next on Thursday against either Badger or Westosha Central – both fellow Southern Lakes opponents that they’ve swept already this season.
Whitefish Bay (24-2) has put together a special season and they’re cruising entering the postseason, riding a 19-game win streak as they open up the Division-2 playoffs with a home game against Shorewood on Tuesday, a team they beat 10-0 back on April 20.
Webster (24-0), the overwhelming Division-4 title favorites, finished up the regular season undefeated, no-hitting Mondovi in their final game last Tuesday. They’ll play Shell Lake on Tuesday, a program they defeated 8-0 back on April 29. They’re No. 8 in the state and are among the top squads, pound for pound, in the entire state.

TRENDING UP

We expected to see Waupun (21-2) back in tip-top shape come the postseason, after suffering some uncharacteristic losses in back-to-back weeks, and they did just that. The Warriors used last week to prime themselves to protect their D-2 title, with wins over Laconia and a sound Beloit Turner squad, ranked No. 15 in the state at the time. We’ll see Waupun next on Tuesday, when they take on Plymouth in their first game of the playoffs.
De Pere (17-6) picked up two wins last week, including an enormous end-of-season meeting with a Green Bay Preble team ranked No. 5 at the time. They’re a No. 4 seed in the D-1 playoffs and will play on Thursday against either Appleton West or Green Bay Southwest.
After debuting on the Power 25 for the first time this season on last week’s update, Eau Claire North (19-4) is up to No. 18 after a 3-0 week, which includes a two-game sweep of Chippewa Falls. The Huskies are up seven spots as a result and are a No. 2 seed in the D-1 tournament, and will meet the winner of the Superior-D.C. Everett game on Thursday.

DOWN BUT NOT OUT

Had Franklin (19-7) won its final two games of the season, against conference opponents Tremper and Oak Creek, they would have finished tied atop the Southeast earning a share of the conference title with Bradford. It didn’t shake out that way, however, as the Sabers dropped their final two contests finishing the season in third. The loss last Tuesday snapped a 10-game win streak, so Franklin will look to restart it on Thursday against either West Allis Hale or South Milwaukee.
Beloit Turner (19-2) lost their lone game last week in a meeting of D-2 powerhouses, against Waupun. In fact, they’ve been on the losing end of their last two games against traditional D-2 powers, going back to their May 18 loss to ranked Catholic Memorial. Turner plays on Tuesday against Edgerton in their first game of the playoffs.
Hortonville (15-8) snapped a three-game skid on Thursday with a win over Oshkosh West and backed it up with another win over Menasha on Friday. The wins kept the Polar Bears hanging on to the Power 25, at No. 24, after suffering losses to Appleton North and ranked Kimberly earlier in the week.

NEWCOMER

Holmen (18-6) has been teetering on the edge of the Power 25 for, seemingly, all season. Finally, in the last week of the regular season, the Vikings break through to earn the final spot on the rankings. They’ve won their last five games and have a quality resume entering the postseason, with wins over ranked teams Eau Claire North (1-1) and Sun Prairie, as well notable wins over the likes of Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire Memorial, and Tomah. They’ll play on Thursday against the winner of Hudson and Marshfield.

Out

Sussex Hamilton (16-8) was dealt losses to Burlington and Homestead last week, sandwiched in between wins over South Milwaukee and Brookfield Central, but it wasn’t enough for them to keep their place on the Power 25. It hasn’t been a kind May for Hamilton, having lost six times this month, and they’ll head to the D-1 playoffs as a No. 3 seed, welcoming the winner of Waukesha North-Waukesha West on Thursday.

OTHER NOTES

Despite a 3-1 week, Green Bay Preble (21-3) slipped to No. 7 on the Power 25 after suffering a lopsided 15-5 loss to ranked De Pere on Tuesday. It was their only loss of the month and it ended a 15-game win streak that actually began with a win over those Redbirds back on April 26. The Hornets open their D-1 chase on Thursday against either Appleton East or Kaukauna.
The D-2 playoff scene is one of the most exciting parts of this 2019 season and the form that Union Grove (22-3) is just adds to it. The Broncos have won 11 straight and are 20-1 over the last five weeks. They wrapped up the regular season with wins over Brookfield East and Kenosha Tremper, two strong D-1 programs. Ranked No. 11 in the state, Union Grove is well within the mix of teams with sincere D-2 title hopes.
Bradford (19-6) are the Southeast Conference champs after a three-game sweep of Racine Case to close the regular season. The Red Devils just edged out Oak Creek and Franklin for the top spot and are the No. 12-ranked team in the state as a result.
Mineral Point (22-0) finishes the regular season undefeated after a 3-0 week last week. The Pointers ran away with the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League, taking the conference by 5.5 games. They’re on opposite sides of the D-4 bracket as Webster, which, projecting far down the road, could make for an epic title game should we reach that point.