FB PLAYOFFS: Focus on Seth Wilson as Holmen opens at Superior

UW prospect has 1,602 yards, 25 TDs rushing this season

Expect to see a whole lot of Seth Wilson tonight.

OK, that’s no surprise to anyone, especially Holmen High School football team’s opponents.

Tonight, however, to open the WIAA Division 2 playoffs, the Vikings are in a rematch with a Week 2 opponent in which Wilson went off for 269 yards.

Went off, in a 35-30 loss.

Tonight, on the road, things might be different, if the seventh-seeded Vikings (6-3) play even just a little cleaner than that first matchup against Superior (6-3), which is seeded second in the Division 2 region. Listen live on AM 1410 WIZM.

“More times he carries the ball, probably the better it is for us,” Holmen coach Travis Kowalski said. “But most teams we play, the go in with game plans trying to stop him. He’s done a good job this year of making people miss and making plays.”

Despite the opponents’ defensive mindset, Wilson, a University of Wisconsin recruit, has 1,602 yards and 25 rushing touchdowns this season on 186 carries.

That Week 2 matchup with Superior is a deceiving game for many reasons.

First, it was at Holmen. Second, Superior was up 35-12 well into the fourth quarter.

Third, the Vikings had four turnovers, committed 13 penalties and failed to convert an extra point or two-point conversion the entire game.

Fourth, Wilson was a monster. The 6-foot, 200-pound back had 269 yards and three touchdowns – two of the three fourth-quarter TDs – on 31 carries.

Looking at those factors, it seems likely that, if Holmen can shore up even half those mistakes, it should be a lot more competitive. Of course, the Vikings do have the long bus trip to make this time.

Holmen is looking to get out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

That year, the second-seeded Vikings lost in double-overtime to the eventual state runners-up Oshkosh North in the Division 2 quarterfinals. 

OTHER GAMES
DIVISION 3
No. 5 Logan at No. 4 Hayward/Lac Courte Oreilles, on AM 580 WKTY
No. 7 Sparta at No. 2 Onalaska

DIVISION 4
No. 6 Nekoosa at No. 3 West Salem 
No. 7 Amery at No. 2 G-E-T

DIVISION 5
No. 5 New Glarus/Monticello at No. 4 Arcadia

No. 7 Westby at No. 2 Lancaster

DIVISION 6
No. 8 C-FC at No. 1 Grantsburg

No. 6 Melrose-Mindoro at No. 3 Chetek-Weyerhaeser
DIVISION 7
No. 8 McDonell Central at No. 1 Bangor