Gridiron Club Focus Oct. 27, 2009 Aspirations for state championships begin tonight for 224 Wisconsin high school football teams and the Antigo Red Robins are in that huge mix.
While it is great news that Antigo has qualified for the playoffs for the second straight year, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association hasn't been kind to the Red Robins in scheduling the pairings. Coach John Lund's gridders are in LaCrosse tonight, 174 miles from home, to meet Central High School.
And that's not all. AHS is placed in perhaps the strongest Division 2 section in the state. Five of the eight teams have a combined 39-6 record. They include the two LaCrosse schools, Central and Logan, Great Northern Conference champion Merrill and Wisconsin Valley Conference runnerup Marshfield, all 8-1, and perennial power Menomonie, which is 7-2.
If the Robins survive at LaCrosse, they will face Marshfield or Logan Saturday.
Antigo and LaCrosse Central have met just once on the gridiron and that also was a playoff contest in 1992. The Robins put up a tough battle in that second round game before suffering a 21-14 defeat.
Antigo's record heading into the playoffs is rather confusing. Although the Red Robins have actually lost four games, the WIAA credits the Robins with only three defeats. They were awarded a forfeit win over Northland Pines because the Eagles dropped out of the Great Northern Conference. Although AHS lost to Escanaba, Mich., 24-21, on the night it was scheduled to play Pines, the loss does not count on the record. As a result, Antigo heads into the playoffs with a 6-3 record, not 5-4.
Merrill, which handed Antigo its only conference loss, 28-14, back on Sept. 19, draws an easier first round assignment, hosting 3-6 Tomah tonight. But the Bluejays would likely get Menomonie in Level 2.
Two other Great Northern teams, Lakeland and Mosinee, are also in the playoffs but they will be competing in Division 3. The Thunderbirds, which lost a 35-21 decision to Antigo Thursday night, travel to Osceola, while Mosinee, a 43-19 victim of the Robins, will play at Waupaca.
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After an opening game 10-0 shutout loss to Wausau West, the Antigo offense has been very productive. In eight regular season games, the Red Robins have amassed 276 points and 178 of them have come during their current four-game winning streak. That's an average of over 44 points a contest and reserves have seen considerable action in the blowout wins.
Antigo's backfield has combined for 174 points and 2,466 rushing yards during the regular season. Keagan Marten leads the Robins in scoring with 54 points on nine touchdowns and in rushing with 799 yards on 109 carries. Nico Fulsom ranks second in both categories with eight TDs for 48 points and 768 yards in just 77 attempts. Quarterback Skylar Cameron has 42 points and 372 rushing yards while Kolten Marten has 30 points and gained 527 yards on the ground.
Ryan Pikka has connected on 32 of 37 extra point attempts to rank fourth in scoring.
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