2019 High School Football Week 1 Recap

Week 1 of high school football in the Madison area is in the books. Here's a look at some of the opening contests, including big games for senior quarterbacks, a back-and-forth thriller between Madison Memorial and Sun Prairie, and broadcast coverage of two games over the course of two nights.

In the Big 8, the premiere match-up of the night was the clash between defending co-Big 8 champions Madison Memorial and Sun Prairie at Ashley Field. A wild back-and-forth game was decided in the final minutes, when Jason Ceniti ran a quarterback sneak in from a yard out to give the Spartans the decisive scoring in the game. Memorial won for the second straight year to open the season with a fourth-quarter touchdown over Sun Prairie, as the Spartans beat the Cardinals 28-25.

Meanwhile, Verona had little trouble in dispatching Janesville Parker 41-7 behind four touchdowns passing from Adam Bekx, while Wisconsin recruit Jackson Acker returned the second half's opening kickoff for a score while adding a rushing touchdown. Middleton took care of Madison East 35-15 after leading 28-0 at halftime. At Mansfield Stadium, Ben Probst threw five touchdowns for La Follette as the Lancers defeated Madison West 35-13. Ken DuBose won his debut as head coach of Beloit Memorial as the Purple Knights held off Janesville Craig 16-13.

The Badger North won the crossover battle with the Badger South, taking five of the eight contests. One of those games was our Shoe Box Game of the Week on The Big 1070, as Waunakee trampled Monona Grove 54-6. You can read full details here:

Another high-profile crossover match-up was Watertown versus Mount Horeb/Barneveld, featuring a battle between two top senior quarterbacks, Ethan Pauly and Ethan Post. Pauly's Watertown Goslings got the better of Post's MH/B Vikings, 39-20. Reedsburg took care of Oregon 20-6, while DeForest clobbered Edgewood 47-0. Stoughton fended off Beaver Dam 34-13. A trio of coaches making their debuts took home victories on Friday night: Sauk Prairie's Clay Iverson led the Eagles to a 21-20 win over Monroe; Milton's Rodney Wedig saw his Red Hawks dismantle Baraboo 55-15; and Portage's Shane Haak, in his first-ever varsity head coaching game, oversaw a dominating 32-0 win over Fort Atkinson by the Warriors.

In a clash of the top two teams in the Rock Valley Conference last year, Edgerton took down McFarland 28-7. Also, Evansville snapped a long losing streak with a 47-21 win over Brodhead/Juda.

In Capitol Conference non-conference action, the biggest match-up of the week was Lake Mills hosting powerhouse Menomonie. After leading at halftime, the L-Cats succumbed to the depth of a power program 34-10, which you can read about here:

There were plenty of other big games across southern Wisconsin, and you can see the full scoreboard at WisSports.net by clicking here.

The Big 1070's Shoe Box Game of the Week in Week 2 will be a contest between Big 8 contenders Verona and Middleton at Otto Breitenbach Stadium. Coverage begins at 6:45pm on Friday night.

You can get a statewide rundown of scores from week one, as well as a preview of week two, on our Football Friday Night show, which you can listen to here: