The WFCA All-Star Games serve as a fundraiser for Children's Wisconsin and their work to provide medical care for those in need
The 2024 WFCA All-Star Games were held Friday and Saturday at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh. Full stats and recaps are posted below.
The WFCA All-Star Games serve as a fundraiser for the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. This year's coaches and players raised more than $345,000.
The 2024 WFCA Eight-Player All-Star Game showcased everything that is great about this week, and everything that is great about the growing sport of eight-player football. It was back-and-forth the whole way, with seven lead changes, the final one coming with just 30 seconds remaining when Denzel Sutton (Thorp) caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from T.J. Lamb (Almond-Bancroft) to secure a 36-34 win for the North squad over the South.
It was an exclamation point on an exciting game that featured big performances from both Lamb and Sutton, as well as Logan Hanson (Thorp). Lamb completed 20-of-30 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns. Sutton caught nine passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns, adding 25 rushing yards and 15 passing yards as well. Hanson carried it 18 times for 120 yards, scoring two touchdowns on the ground to go with a receiving score.
Lamb and Sutton hooked up for the game's first score as well, with Sutton hauling in a 31-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter to put the North up 8-0. the South team answered quickly, with Jared Kaufman (Three Lakes) hitting Tyler Janikowski (Three Lakes) for what was the first of two touchdown connections between the former teammates.
Kaufman added a short rushing touchdown early in the second quarter, and the teams took turns getting into the end zone the rest of the way, as the game was never separated by more than one score. The South team took a late lead when Kaufman found William Kelley (Florence) with 3:50 remaining, but the North rallied for the touchdown in the final minute, and Sutton sealed things with an interception on a desperation heave on the game's final play.
Tyler Janikowski caught nine passes for the South team, accounting for 182 yards with two scores. Kelley and Griffin Steffel (Green Bay NEW Lutheran) also caught touchdowns. Kaufman finished 19-of-28 passing for 280 yards and four touchdowns, adding a short rushing score as well. William Kelley led the team in rushing with 39 yards.
Luke Lawton (Flambeau) of the North team led all tacklers with 11, while Nels Anderson (Luck) had 1.5 sacks and Denzel Sutton recorded an interception. Bailey Schepp (Oakfield) and Jedi Gbaja-Biamila (Green Bay NEW Lutheran) tied for the most tackles for the South team with 8, as Gbaja-Biamila recorded 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery. Both Tyler Janikowski and Jared Kaufman had interceptions on defense for the South.
The South team got out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, but the North responded in a big way, scoring 31 unanswered points en route to a 31-0 victory in the WFCA Small School All-Star Game held at UW-Oshkosh.
Carter Leibham (Lake Country Lutheran) opened the scoring, catching an eight-yard touchdown pass from Gibsen Sporle (Mineral Point) with 8:11 left in the first quarter. The South would tack on another score when Carter Schwartz (Horicon/Hustisford) found Gunner Boegli (Brodhead/Juda) from 23 yards out later in the period.
However, after 111 yards of offense in the first quarter, South would be limited to just 120 yards the rest of the way, as the North defense stiffened. In the second half alone, the North squad intrecepted three passes, one returned for a 32-yard touchdown by Teegan Streit (Edgar), and recovered a fumble.
The North's offense was spurred by a balanced rushing attack that accounted for 197 yards on 43 attempts. Demetrius Bergmann (Pepin/Alma) had a big play midway through the second quarter, finally getting the North on the board on a 67-yard touchdown run.
A.J. Seidler (Xavier) booted a 22-yard field goal later in the half, though the North still trailed 13-10 at the break.
A couple huge plays just over a minute apart changed the tide, as Caymen Gebheim (Somerset) pressured South quarterback Carter Schwartz into a poor throw, which Streit stepped in front of and returned for a touchdown. After a quick three-and-out by the South, the North ran a beautiful play-action fake out of it's Wing-T formation, with Evan Olson (Pepin/Alma) getting behind the defense for a wide open 67-yard touchdown catch from Justin Klinkner (Two Rivers) to make it 24-13 in favor of North.
Chase Matthias (Two Rivers) closed out the scoring with a five-yard touchdown plunge on fourth and one with just 48 seconds remaining.
Demetrius Bergmann led the North team with 77 yards, scoring one touchdown. Matthias was second with 41 yards, while Karter Butt (Edgar) added 37 yards. Cal Smith completed six-of-nine passes for 52 yards, while Klinkner's lone completion was the long touchdown to Olson. Speaking of Olson, he caught two passes for 79 yards.
The South turned to the passing game after falling behind, with Gibsen Sporle throwing for 108 yards and a touchdown. Carter Schwartz added 96 yards and a score.
Gunner Boeglie led the South with 78 receiving yards on five catches, while Randy Moore (Milwaukee Academy of Science) contributed a game-high six catches for 31 yards.
Caymen Gebheim recorded two-and-a-half tackles for loss with a sack, while Brady Lehnherr (Aquinas), Teegan Streit, and Wyatt Hamersma (Berlin) recorded interceptions. Jadon Lewis (Living Word Lutheran) had a fumble recovery, 1.5 tackles for loss, and half a sack for the South.
The South Large All-Star Team claimed redemption after a four-year losing streak in the game, downing the North team 48-14 in the WFCA Large School All-Star Game at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh. The South won eight consecutive times from 2011 to 2018, but had not claimed victory since, getting running-clocked in last year's game.
After stopping North's opening possession, the South marched quickly down the field, scoring when Tyler Hatcher (Sussex Hamilton) raced in for a 19-yard touchdown. They'd tack on another touchdown later in the first quarter when Joseph Koch (Menomonee Falls) hauled in a 42-yard touchdown from Kasey Helgeson (Mount Horeb/Barneveld) to make it 14-0.
The North squad was able to get on the board early in the second quarter, as Ben Fristch (Port Washington) made a nice catch on a 15-yarder from Adam Skifton (Onalaska). The South answered, with Koch scoring on an 11-yard touchdown run with just under four minutes remaining in the first half.
The second half belonged to the South team, who got an early touchdown from Owen Leitel (West Allis Hale) on a 12-yard run, as Leitel added another short touchdown later in the third to push the South advantage to 34-7.
The North team wouldn't go away, with Skifton finding Amon Konopacki (Stevens Point) for a 14-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the North team would add two more touchdowns (a two-yard run by Koch and a 15-yard pass from Hatcher to Michael Valitchka (Verona) to push the final scores to 48-14.
Helgeson was a perfect 12-for-12 with 139 yards and a score, while Hatcher completed 11-of-17 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. Owen Leitel rushed for a team-high 54 yards with two touchdowns, while Joseph Koch added 44 yards and two scores. Nick Kihn was the top receiver for the South team, catching five passes for 74 yards.
Adam Skfiton completed 15-of-21 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns for the South, while Finnley Doriot (Kaukauna) was 8-for-13 passing for 68 yards. Jonah Severson was the top rusher for the South, going for 27 yards on seven carries. Ryan Ferguson (Germantown) added six catches for 73 yards, with Ben Fritsch caught six passes as well for 66 yards.
Cole Savola (Waunakee) had a team-high nine tackles for the South team, while Paul Kim (Janesville Parker) had a pair of interceptions in the game. Ben Smith (Hortonville) led the North team with seven tackles. Charlie Schuster (Pulaski) had a nice game, recording two tackles for loss.
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