Sports : Friday, 11/11/16

Level Four of the WIAA Playoffs tonight. In Division 6, Saint Mary’s Springs faces off against Darlington with a trip to the State Championship game in Madison next Thursday on the line. This is the fourth consecutive year the teams will meet in the playoffs, with Springs winning the last two in Madison.

The Ledger’s defense has performed well all season, allowing just 77.7yards passing per game and 86.2 yards rushing. Head Coach Bob Hyland says the defense has been able to control the line of scrimmage and they have good speed on defense, so when teams are able to get past the defensive line, the linebackers and secondary can close the gap quickly and make the tackle

The Ledgers face a strong runner in Darlington’s Hunter Johnson. Johnson has rushed for 2009 yards and 40 touchdowns on the season, averaging just under 15 yards a carry. His brother, Trevor is also a 1,000 yard rusher, who averages 18 yards per carry. Coach Hyland says Darlington does what they do very well and they have good size and speed as a team.

Senior Luke Loewe of the Fond du Lac Boys Basketball team signed his national Letter of Intent Thursday afternoon to play Division 1 basketball at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Loewe thanked God and his family and said it’s a great feeling to sign with William & Mary and he already feels like a part of the program.

Fond du Lac Head Coach Mark Ziebell said that he’s happy to see this day for Loewe and that Luke is someone who has done things the right way, what you preach in terms of hard work, dedication, commitment and being good both on & off the court.

The Badger Men’s Basketball Team opens their regular season tonight at home against Central Arkansas. Other in-state teams in action: Marquette plays Vanderbilt in the Veterans Classic at Annapolis, Maryland and UW-Milwaukee plays host to MSOE.

Badger basketball players Ethan Happ, Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes have all been named to the Naismith Trophy watch list. Only four schools in the country had three nominees named to the 50 player watch list, including Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The Naismith Award recognizes the best individual in men’s college basketball each season. The mid-season list of 30 for the 2017 trophy will be announced February 9th.

NBA: Bucks fall to New Orleans 112-106 at the Bradley Center. Jabari Parker with 33 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee. The Bucks host Memphis Saturday night.

NFL: Packers travel to Tennessee to play the Titans on Sunday.The Packers 4-4 record has them feeling a sense of urgency, defensive back Morgan Burnett says they have to deal with each game as it comes on a week-to-week basis and not look too far ahead or behind them.

Thursday Night Football: The Ravens pulled away from the Browns in the second half for a 28-7 win. Joe Flacco threw for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win. Cleveland drops to 0-10 on the season with the loss.

College FootbalL: Badgers host Illinois for Homecoming on Saturday. 12:30 pregame, 2:30 kickoff on KFIZ.