Biggest Cross-Town Rivals: Who’s Better in 2020?

Sports, and competition in general, reach their peak when rivalries develop. No rivalry is as strong as the one between teams that call the same city and community home. Wisconsin is full of these types of rivalries and it leads to some of the best games every season. Today, I want to dive into those cross- town rivalries and figure out who looks like they are setup to have the better season and head to head matchup in 2020. Our first cross- town rivalry takes us to southeastern Wisconsin. Let’s take a look! <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Kenosha Indian Trail vs Kenosha Bradford</strong></span> <strong>Last 5 Years Head to Head: </strong>Indian Trail leads 4-1. Don’t let that lopsided record fool you as three of the four Indian Trail victories were by 2 possessions or less. So, these games have been very competitive year after year making it one of the must see matchups of each teams’ season every year. <strong>Conference Finishes: </strong>Indian Trail has finished ahead of Bradford three out of the last five years. Besides the 2019 season, the difference in conference record has never been larger than 2 games. So, even when they aren’t playing this rivalry comes through. Every year it comes down to the final few weeks of the conference season to see how things are going to finish. <strong>Returning Impact Players:</strong> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 231px;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center; height: 21px;"><strong>Kenosha Indian Trail</strong></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center; height: 21px;"><strong>Kenosha Bradford</strong></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30737" first="Clayton" last="Bishop"], DB</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Tavy Crump, WR/DB</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30764" first="Raymone" last="Jones"], WR/DB</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30767" first="Brock" last="Lampe"], LB</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30762" first="Kameron" last="Lee"], WR</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Ethan Pergande, LB</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30774" first="Argjent" last="Ismaili"], QB</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Nathaniel Barker IV, LB</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31333" first="Stefon" last="Mitchell"], DB</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Nate Olson, QB</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30753" first="Riley" last="Kennow"], OL</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Damarion Williams, WR</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Gavin Powell, OL</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Aidan Funk, OL</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Luis Delvale- Vera, OL</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Gabriel Smith-Carothers, DB</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Mason Kochenberger, OL</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31365" first="Quinton" last="Henry Jr."], WR</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Dreu Steinmetz, OL</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Sanai Quinn, DB</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <strong>Season Predictions: </strong>This will definitely be a rough prediction as we wait for schedules to be finalized during this shortened season, but since they are in the same conference they should have very similar schedules. With that said, I’m making my prediction off of a six game schedule and their head to head matchup. Head To Head Game Prediction= Indian Trail: 28 Bradford: 18 Season Records= Indian Trail: 5-1 Bradford: 3-3 I believe that with the amount of senior leadership and experience on the Indian Trail team, this team is setup to make a run at an undefeated season. That won’t be easy with a schedule that looks like it will have Franklin and Bradford on it. This is going to be a fun team to watch. It should be high flying on offense with a defense that will be able to pin it’s ears back and rush the passer as teams attempt to keep up with the scoring. Bradford is an up and coming team. They have a young backfield and QB combination that looks like it could develop into a real threat on the ground and in the air. Their strength is their defense. They have a ton of playmakers on that side of the ball and it is also why I predict the trend of 2 possession or less games vs Indian Trail to continue. The 3-3 might be a bit conservative, but Bradford doesn’t have a cakewalk for a schedule. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Brookfield Central vs Brookfield East</strong></span> <strong>Last 5 Years Head To Head: </strong>Central currently holds a 5-0 record over the last five years against East during their regular season matchups. However, that isn’t the whole story. They also played each other in the playoffs each of the past five seasons and Brookfield East has the edge their with a 3-2 record. Three of the five regular season matchups ended up as two possession games or less, including two games that were only one possession games. East has consistently been able to hang around with Central during the regular season and once they get to the postseason it becomes an impressively even match between two powerhouses. <strong>Conference Finishes: </strong>The conference battle between these two have been one of the most intense battles in the state for the last five years. Each of the last five years, besides in 2018, the winner of their matchup decided who would win or have a share of the conference championship that season. This adds even more fuel for their yearly matchup. I’m thinking this is going to be a game I need to get out to see! <strong>Returning Impact Players:</strong> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 372px;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center; height: 21px;"><strong>Brookfield Central</strong></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center; height: 21px;"><strong>Brookfield East</strong></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 39px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30819" first="Cam" last="Devine"], RB/LB</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31314" first="Brady" last="Frey"], DL</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 39px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30731" first="Hayden" last="Nelson"], DL</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30845" first="Ryan" last="Bromberg"], DL</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 39px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31236" first="Jack" last="Tinnen"], DB</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30803" first="Harrison" last="Kielar"], DL</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 39px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31077" first="Anthony" last="Whitlow"], DL</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31029" first="Tyler" last="Rhode"], OL</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 39px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31221" first="Ethan" last="Boxley"], OL/DL</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31056" first="Michael" last="Wiesmueller"], OL</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 39px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31316" first="Michael" last="Hankinson"], DB</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31084" first="Andrew" last="Holtz"], LB</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 39px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31024" first="Conner" last="Diestelhorst"], OL</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31113" first="Jordan" last="Reneau"], RB</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 39px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31117" first="Clyde" last="Tinnen"], LB</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">Anthony Alberts, WR</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 39px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">Barinder Monatta, OL</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 39px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30859" first="Hayden" last="Doyle"], DB</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <strong>Season Predictions:</strong> Head to Head Prediction= Brookfield Central: 21 Brookfield East: 14 Season Records= Central: 6-0 East: 5-1 I believe that this year is going to be no different than the past. The head to head matchup is going to decide who wins the conference championship because these two teams have two of the most talented teams in the conference. Central gets the pick of winning the matchup and conference because I believe they return the most talent on both side of the trenches between the two and will be able to dictate the game more through that. East is not going to go quietly though. They could get the regular season win that has eluded them the last few years, but to do that they will have to win in the trenches and overpower Central’s talent in those areas. If they can take care of the QB position during this crazy offseason after the graduation of Sam McGath they have the pieces to have a strong season. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>West Bend East vs West Bend West</strong></span> <strong>Last 5 Years Head To Head: </strong>West Bend East leads series 4-1 over last five years. West Bend East has definitely been the dominant team in this series as of lately. They have 80% of the wins over the last five years and only one of the wins was within one possession. However, in high school things change quickly and when you add in the rivalry of being from the same town it increases the odds of an upset victory. <strong>Conference Finishes:</strong> The conference races between these two teams have been much closer than their record would suggest. East finished ahead of West each year, but during three of the last five seasons there was no more than a two game difference between their final records. So, their matchups have a pretty significant in the result of how they finish the season in the conference standings year after year. <strong>Returning Impact Players:</strong> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><strong>West Bend East</strong></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><strong>West Bend West</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30874" first="Dawson" last="Rondorf"], QB</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Landon Dott, QB</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Brady Schmidt, RB</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Keegan Tennies, WR/RB</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Caden Gish, WR</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Spencer Hiatt, WR/DB</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Jacob Lavanway, LB</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Curtis Holbrook, LB</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Evan Roell, DB/WR</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Ethan Hiatt, DL</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <strong>Season Predictions:</strong> Head to Head Prediction= West Bend East: 35 West Bend West: 20 Season Records= West Bend East: 3-3 West Bend West: 2-4 East looks like they will be fielding some talented and experienced skill positions. They have the advantage of having a running back and QB to lean on instead of just relying on just the run game or just the pass game. This makes them a dangerous team. Those athletes should be able to help carry the way to a .500 record in 2020 and a victory over their rival. West is a team that looks like they might be a year away. They are lucky enough to have a senior QB leading their offense and talent on multiple levels of their defense to make plays. The team’s best skill players look like incoming juniors Keegan Tennies and Spencer Hiatt. While juniors, both palyers have plenty of varsity experience to look back on. <strong style="font-size: 1rem;">Wauwatosa East vs Wauwatosa West</strong> <strong>Last 5 Years Head To Head: </strong>West leads the series over the previous five years 5-0. This has been a one sided outcome over the past five years. Four of them have been by more than two possessions. However, never underestimate the power of a rivalry and what it brings out in the most competitive people. East has some good talent to lead them into their matchup this season. <strong>Conference Finishes: </strong>Wauwatosa East and West have only been in the same conference since 2017. It has been a tight race over the last three years. They have finished within one or two games of each other each year. I expect to see a similar outcome after this season in the Greater Metro conference. <strong>Returning Impact Players:</strong> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 126px;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;"><strong>Wauwatosa East</strong></td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;"><strong>Wauwatosa West</strong></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30729" first="Marcus" last="Mbow"], OL</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31055" first="Alec" last="White"], LB</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Thomas Harper, QB</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30771" first="Logan" last="Ertl"], LB</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Aiden Dodge, WR</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Avery Dixon, QB</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Maurice Rockette, DB</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Kolby Boesel, WR</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Nehemiah Brown, DB</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31099" first="Jake" last="Nemitz"], OL</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <strong>Season Predictions:</strong> Head to Head Prediction= Wauwatosa West: 20 Wauwatosa East: 14 Season Prediction= Wauwatosa West: 3-3 Wauwatosa East: 2-4 Wauwatosa West brings back one of the better LB tandems in the state in [player_tooltip player_id="31055" first="Alec" last="White"] and [player_tooltip player_id="30771" first="Logan" last="Ertl"]. Both will be key leaders along with returning QB Avery Dixon. Having the amount of leadership and experience returning should make West a very competitive team in their conference and a team that looks ready for a .500 record or better. It is because of the amount of top end talent and experience that I believe, while close and competitive, West will pull off the victory against East. Wauwatosa East returns one of the best players in the state in linemna [player_tooltip player_id="30729" first="Marcus" last="Mbow"]. Add in the fact that their young QB in Harper has a lot more experience under his belt and another year of development plus he returns several pass catchers from last year and you get a team that looks to be on a positive trajectory. They do have some very tough tests this season if they play a lot of their conference. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Wausau East vs Wausau West</strong></span> <strong>Last 5 Years Head to Head: </strong>Wausau West leads the series over the last 5 years 4-1. It hasn’t been a bunch of blowout victories for West, though. Two of West’s four victories have been by two possessions or less. It doesn’t matter how good either team has been before the game. The majority of the time these two teams play each other very close and competitively. <strong>Conference Finishes: </strong>These two teams have been able to maintain their rivalry while they have not been in the same conference since 2017. During the 2015 and 2016 seasons they did share a conference West did finish significantly better than East. That may have led to East going to an independent conference starting in 2017. <strong>Returning Impact Players:</strong> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><strong>Wausau East</strong></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><strong>Wausau West</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Matt Heinrich Jr., QB</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30957" first="Garrett" last="Richardt"], QB</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Jarvis Cobbs, OL</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Colton Geurink, RB</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Sam Moses, DB</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Wesley Schneider, LB</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Ethan Forbes, OL</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Ean Marciniak, TE</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Jack Ohrmundt, RB</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Chue Yang, LB</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <strong>Season Predictions:</strong> Head to Head Prediction= Wausau West: 35 Wausau East: 21 Season Prediction= Wausau West: 2-4 Wausau East: 2-4 I believe that West has the edge in top level talent when it comes to these two teams. That is what led me to the selection of them to win the rivalry game, but they also play in a very tough conference. This led to me holding them down a bit in the win column. I can see them getting a game or two more in wins, but it is not going to be easy. East will enter 2020 with a some important positives. They will have a returning QB to lead them and an offensive line with experienced pieces as well as an RB who is ready to step into a full time role. Like their cross-town rival, East won’t have an easy schedule to work through. It is a lower level than West, but it doesn’t lack talent. That has led to the 2-4 record. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Waukesha North vs<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> Waukesha South</span></strong></span> <strong>Last 5 Years Head to Head: </strong>Waukesha North have an unblemished 5-0 record vs Waukesha South over the last 5 seasons. North looks equipped to continue that run this season, but over the next few seasons that could start to shift in South’s favor as they have a ton of young and athletic talent on the roster. <strong>Conference Finishes: </strong>The conference finishes between these two have been very close over the last five seasons. During four of the last five seasons the two teams finished one right after the other. So, their yearly matchup has had a huge impact in who finishes ahead of who in the conference race. That adds even more importance to their games. <strong>Returning Impact Players:</strong> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><strong>Waukesha North</strong></td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;"><strong>Waukesha South</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31040" first="Jack" last="Klussendorf"], LB</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Lajarrion Griffin, RB/DL</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="30991" first="Clayton" last="Schwalbe"], TE</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31010" first="Ezequiel" last="Diaz"], WR/DB</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Javeonta Brown, DB</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Jordan McNello, QB</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31142" first="Nick" last="Perez"], DB/QB</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Sebastian Jefferson, WR/DB</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31143" first="Elijah" last="Givings"], DB</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">[player_tooltip player_id="31289" first="Quincy" last="Thomas"], WR</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <strong>Season Predictions:</strong> Head to Head Prediction= Waukesha North: 35 Waukesha South: 21 Season Predictions= Waukesha North: 3-3 Waukesha South: 1-5 These two teams don’t get any easy matchups in what looks like the hardest conference in the state. North should be able to hold up against the competition and handle South in their game. The college talent they have leading their team in Schwalbe, Klussendorf, Perez, Brown, and Givings will make them a tough beat for several teams. Waukesha South is a team that is rebuilding and may be ready to make the jump to being competitive in the near future. They have a lot of athleticism on the offense with several gifted receivers and a QB in McNello who can threaten a defense with his arm and his legs. Their Hudl is filled with young talent that is ready to develop and impact games in the near future.