By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor
BROWN COUNTY – Four area high school football teams – Bay Port, De Pere, Notre Dame Academy and Pulaski – advanced to Level 2 in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) playoffs with Level 1 victories Oct. 22.
Level 2 games are Friday, Oct. 29, at the higher-seeded team’s home field.
No. 6 Marquette University @ No. 2 Bay Port (Division 1)
The Pirates (9-1) are the No. 9-ranked team in Division 1 and coming off a 56-14 thumping of Manitowoc Lincoln in Level 1.
In that game, running back Tevyn Montgomery scored four touchdowns, while quarterback Cole Bensen Bensen was 8-of-11 passing for 241 yards with two touchdowns.
Montgomery and Blake Buchinger rushed for 102 and 80 yards, respectively.
Wide receiver Sam Barry caught four balls for 146 yards.
Marquette (4-6) lost six of its first seven games this season but comes into the Level 2 game on a three-game winning streak.
Members of the Greater Metro Milwaukee Conference with Sussex-Hamilton and Germantown, the Rams finished 4-3 in conference play.
Marquette is coming off a 38-7 Level 1 victory over Milwaukee Marshall.
The Rams are pass-happy with quarterback Luke Novotny, who is 132-of-220 passing for 1,950 yards with 23 touchdowns.
Novotny’s favorite target is wide receiver Frankie Collopy, who has caught 65 balls for 995 yards with 14 touchdowns.
Wide receiver Nick Ferge has added 44 receptions for 813 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Running back Andrew Gengler has rushed for 914 yards on 166 carries with nine scores.
No. 4 Hartford @ No. 1 De Pere (Division 2)
Winners of the Fox River Classic Conference-North Division (FRCC), De Pere (9-1) is the No. 3-ranked Division 2 team in the state.
Despite four turnovers, the Redbirds routed Beaver Dam in Level 1, 36-0.
Linebacker Caleb Rinard returned an interception 90 yards for a score.
Rinard added another interception, as did defensive back Jack Jorgensen.
Quarterback Gabe Herman was 9-of-13 passing for 148 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Members of the North Shore Conference, Hartford (7-3) is coming off a 14-13 victory over Kaukauna in Level 1.
The run-heavy Orioles are led by running back AJ Pepin’s 1,293 yards.
Pepin has scored 14 touchdowns, while running back Noah Deibert has added 746 yards rushing on 136 carries with 13 scores.
Quarterback Austin Kutz is 51-of-88 passing for 736 yards with four touchdowns.
No. 6 Notre Dame @ No. 2 Menasha (Division 3)
The Tritons (6-4) traveled to Appleton in Level 1 and posted a 39-14 victory over Fox Valley Lutheran.
In that game, running back Daniel Hornacek rushed for 348 yards on 43 carries with four touchdowns.
Menasha (8-2), winners of the FRCC-South Division, beat Shawano in Level 1, 41-26.
The Bluejays, winners of five straight, beat the Tritons in Week 6 during the regular season, 43-21.
In that Sept. 24 game, Menasha scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to pull away.
Quarterback AJ Korth rushed for 229 yards with three scores in the victory.
The dual-threat Korth leads the Bluejays on the ground with 1,302 yards rushing with 19 touchdowns.
He has also completed 63-of-124 passes for 1,158 yards with 16 touchdowns.
Running back Davontre Smith has 1,247 yards rushing on 123 carries with 19 touchdowns.
No. 7 Slinger @ No. 3 Pulaski (Division 2)
Pulaski (8-2), the No. 9-ranked Division 2 team in the state, is coming off a 23-14 victory over West De Pere in Level 1.
Trailing 14-7 at halftime, the Red Raiders pitched a shutout defensively in the second half to help secure the win.
Pulaski rushed for 200 yards on 39 carries using its single-wing offense.
Slinger (5-4), members of the North Shore Conference, pulled off a 24-3 upset over No. 2 Cedarburg in Level 1.
Cedarburg had beaten Slinger earlier in the season during Week 6, 28-13.
Trailing 3-0 late in the second quarter during the Level 2 game, the Owls scored in the last minute of the half to jump ahead 7-3 at the break.
Slinger then scored 17 more points in the second half.
Quarterback Tanner Hora has completed half of his passes (32-of-64) for 606 yards with six touchdowns on the season.
Running back Avery Kurth has rushed 181 times for 1,166 yards with 14 touchdowns.
Sports Editor’s note: To see the results of the games, visit GoPressTimes.com.