High school football Week 8: Top matchups, coaches' comments and predictions

The second-to-last week of the high school football regular season is here, and wins are crucial for teams still chasing a spot in the playoffs.

Freedom, Kaukauna, Kimberly, Menasha, Neenah , Seymour, Winneconne and Wrightstown have secured playoff berths . Two more teams — Appleton North and Little Chute — can guarantee spots with one more conference win.

Here’s a look at the Week 8 games, including coaches’ comments, predictions and the complete schedule.

Last week’s prediction record: 3-2.

Season prediction record: 24-12.

MUST-SEE GAMES

Appleton East (2-5, 0-5) at Appleton North (4-3, 3-2)

The teams: The Lightning leads the all-time city rivalry 23-6 and has won nine in a row against the Patriots, including a 42-18 victory last season. Appleton East has lost five in a row, but three of those games were decided in the fourth quarter. Alex Thompson ran for 90 yards on nine carries in last week’s 21-6 loss to Oshkosh West. Birk Kozlowicz led the defense with 12 tackles. Appleton North fell to Kaukauna 13-10 in overtime last week and has lost two in a row. Bobby Salm and Ben Wenzel led the defense with 12 tackles apiece.

Appleton East coach Mark Krommenacker: “We have another difficult test this Friday at North. They are very big and physical. When we were the more physical team in the first two weeks of the season, we were able to finish games. We’ll work hard on getting back to that this week. Our defense has been playing well and keeping us in games. We’ve had the ball with a chance to win in three out of our five conference games. Our offense has moved the ball in those games but has struggled to finish drives. Most of the time it’s self-inflicted errors in those games, so I look forward to doing everything possible to improve that this week.”

Appleton North coach Rob Salm: “This will be a challenging game for us against East. Their staff does a nice job of playing to their kids’ strengths and always prepares a good game plan against us. We know we’ll get a great effort against us and need to be at our best to prepare for the different looks defensively and offensively. We are proud of our effort last Friday and have some positives to build off but must keep to the goal of getting better every day. We embrace the challenge.”

Prediction: Appleton North 24, Appleton East 7.

Neenah (5-2, 4-1) at Fond du Lac (2-5, 2-3)

The teams: Fond du Lac leads the all-time series 24-19, but Neenah has won the last three meetings, including 14-7 last season. The Rockets handed Kimberly its first loss of the season last week, winning 29-28 for their third win in a row overall. Grant Dean ran for 147 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown. Luke Jung caught two touchdown passes and also led the defense with eight tackles. The Cardinals started the season with five consecutive losses but have won two in a row, including 21-0 over Hortonville last week. Mason Henschel rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown. Rhett Hlavacka led the defense with eight tackles.

Neenah coach Steve Jung: “We play a Fond du Lac team that plays one of the most difficult schedules in the state and they are one of the best two-win teams in the state. Last year they went 4-5 in the regular season and made it to Level 3 of the playoffs. They need to win to get into the playoffs, so this is really a playoff game for them. We still have a chance at a conference title, so we have a lot to play for as well. We are coming off a huge win against Kimberly, so our challenge is to stay focused and have a great practice week. This will be a great game.”

Fond du Lac coach Sam Plucker: “Neenah just beat the No. 1 team in the state. They are an extremely talented and well-coached football team.”

Prediction: Neenah 28, Fond du Lac 14.

Winneconne (7-0, 5-0) at Fox Valley Lutheran (4-3, 2-3), Thursday

The teams: The Foxes and Wolves meet for the fourth season in a row. FVL has won the previous three meetings, including 35-26 last year. Winneconne was held to its lowest point total of the season last week, but still beat Waupaca 27-11. Brody Schaffer ran for 136 yards and three touchdowns. Hudson Samolinski had eight tackles, including a sack, to lead the defense. The Foxes have lost three of the last four, including a 50-44 defeat against New London last week. Lucas Papendorf passed for 401 yards and three touchdowns with all three TDs going to David Schumacher, who caught 10 passes for 223 yards. Jack Schlueter led the FVL defense with 17 total tackles.

Winneconne coach Nate Ryf: “Excited to play a very talented FVL team late in the year. We need to take care of the ball on offense and try to take away the big-play ability of FVL. That will be a challenge.”

Prediction: Winneconne 38, Fox Valley Lutheran 35.

Kaukauna (6-1, 5-0) at Kimberly (5-1, 4-1)

The teams: Kimberly leads the all-time series 37-35-1 and had won 19 in a row against the Ghosts until Kaukauna won last season 14-13, its first victory over the Papermakers since 2003. Kaukauna beat Appleton North 13-10 in overtime last week. Aiden Reardon ran for 194 yards and Kyle Kress scored twice. Isaac Maas led the defense with seven tackles and an interception. Kimberly lost to Neenah, 29-28, last week. Carter Howard caught five passes for 107 yards and a touchdown, and Brady Bell ran for 115 yards and a touchdown for Kimberly. Braedon Ellefson led the defense with seven tackles.

Kaukauna coach Matt Binsfeld: “At the beginning of the year, we hoped this game would be a big one and we got our wish. We will have to match their intensity early on and keep it close in the second half. It should be an exciting game.”

Kimberly coach Chad Michalkiewicz: “Kaukauna comes in sitting atop the FVA standings, and they have a very good football team. Both programs have been very successful in recent years. They are a neighboring community, and it is our homecoming. It should be a great high school football environment for the players on both teams to play in.”

Prediction: Kaukauna 22, Kimberly 21.

Luxemburg-Casco (4-3, 4-1) at Little Chute (4-3, 3-2), Thursday

The teams: The Spartans have won four of the last five meetings with the Mustangs, including two wins last season. Luxemburg-Casco has won three in a row, including a 47-13 victory over Two Rivers last week. Cameron Dorner ran for 155 yards and three touchdowns. Little Chute shut out Sheboygan Falls, 23-0. Brock Gardner rushed for 109 yards for the Mustangs. He also had eight tackles on defense to share team-high honors with Kaden Hoffman.

Luxemburg-Casco coach Neil Seering: “I think Little Chute is an excellent team and has one of the best defensive units in the area. We will need to play our best game of the year to have a chance.”

Little Chute coach Ted Evers: “I have a lot of respect for the program that has been built at Luxemburg-Casco. The Spartans are very well-coached and always have a lot of talent. If we are going to beat Luxemburg-Casco, we are going to have to continue to play good defense and get some explosive plays on offense. Turnovers will be a key statistic on Thursday.”

Prediction: Little Chute 28, Luxemburg-Casco 20.

Vote for the top athlete: Choose from football, girls tennis and girls cross-country nominees for Cellcom Post-Crescent high school athlete of the week.

OTHER GAMES

Thursday’s games

Wrightstown (6-1, 4-1) at Denmark (0-7, 0-5)

Sheboygan Falls (1-6, 1-4) at Freedom (7-0, 5-0)

New London (2-5, 2-3) at Seymour (6-1, 4-1)

Xavier (4-3, 2-3) at Two Rivers (1-6, 1-4)

Friday’s games

St. Mary Catholic (1-6, 0-5) at Brillion (4-3, 2-3)

Clintonville (2-5, 1-4) at Crivitz (6-1, 4-1)

Appleton West (2-5, 1-4) at De Pere (4-3, 3-2)

Manitowoc Lutheran (3-4, 3-2) at Hilbert (3-4, 2-3)

Chilton (2-5, 2-3) at Kohler/Lutheran/Christian (2-5, 2-3)

Weyauwega-Fremont (3-4, 2-3) at Loyal/Greenwood (1-6, 0-5)

Coleman (7-0, 5-0) at Manawa (1-6, 1-4)

Sheboygan South (1-6, 1-4) at Menasha (4-3, 4-1)

Hortonville (1-6, 1-4) at Oshkosh West (2-5, 1-4)

Crandon (2-5, 2-3) at Shiocton (2-5, 2-3)

Saturday’s game

Waupaca (2-5, 2-3) at Shawano (1-6, 0-5), 1 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: High school football Week 8: Top matchups, coaches' comments and predictions