Sports

Small town, small team, big time dreams. For as long as he could remember Cody Blicharz has wanted to be a football player. “I started playing flag football in sixth grade and then tackle football,” said Blicharz, a senior running back and defensive back on the Wisconsin Heights’ eight-man football team.

Changes are coming to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association football playoffs this fall. The WIAA’s Board of Control approved recommendations by the fall coaches’ advisory committees, including a plan that replaces the 11-player and 8-player football playoff qualifying and seeding system.

DEFOREST — This time, it was low scoring. But the outcome was the same: a loss. Sauk Prairie sophomore Max Schroeder fell to Reedsburg’s Braiden Hale-Toomey for the second time this year at Saturday’s Badger Conference boys wrestling tournament, suffering a 2-0 defeat in the finals at 106 pounds.

All that was missing were the helmets and shoulder pads. The boys basketball rematch between Mount Horeb and Sauk Prairie last Friday night was a throwback to the old Badger Conference days of grind it out offense necessitated by a physical, in-your-face brand of defense.

The WIAA girls basketball postseason seeds will be announced on Sunday. And Wisconsin Heights has put itself in position for a solid seed during the upcoming playoffs. The Vanguards split a pair of games last week and are now 10-8 overall and 2-5 in the Capitol South Conference.

It was a tough week for Wisconsin Heights’ boys basketball team. Belleville defeated the Vanguards, 72-42, on Feb. 3. Cambridge then toppled Heights, 91-62, on Feb. 7. Heights is now 6-11 overall and 1-5 in the Capitol South Conference. Here’s a recap of the Vanguards’ week:

The gymnastics sectionals are more than two weeks away. But Sauk Prairie got a pretty idea of what its sectional will be like on Feb. 8. The Eagles went to the Dodgeville Invite, a meet that included seven of the eight teams that will be in their sectional. And Sauk Prairie had to leave feeling awfully good about what lies ahead.

The Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights boys swimming team finished second at the Badger Small Conference championships held Feb. 8 at Jack Young Middle School in Baraboo. 

Sauk Prairie’s girls basketball team was extremely busy last week, playing three games in five nights. The Eagles also fared quite well, winning two of those contests. Sauk Prairie rolled past Lake Mills, 53-18, on Feb. 4. The Eagles crushed Portage, 70-28, on Feb. 7. Sauk Prairie was then edged by DeForest, 56-47, on Feb. 8.

The postseason path for Sauk Prairie’s co-op hockey team will be a tough one.