The Luxemburg-Casco girls basketball season came to an end Thursday night as the Notre Dame Tritons prevailed with a 54-40 victory in a WIAA Division 2 sectional semi-final at Ashwaubenon High School. 

The Spartans struggled offensively and were held to a season-low 14 points in the first half as Notre Dame used a slow, methodical offense to keep the Spartans out-of-sync most of the night. The Spartans trailed by six at halftime and were able to close within two points midway through the second half but the Tritons hit key shots and dominated the offensive boards to pull away late. 

Georgia Gregoire led Notre Dame with 19 points while Charley Apple finished with 15 including some key shots when the Spartans made a run.  Cassie Schiltz led the Spartans with 19 points and finished her career with a school record 1980 points.  Jenna Jorgenson added 13 points, all in the second half, but it was not enough as the Spartans finish the season 20-5. 

Notre Dame (16-9) will now play for the sectional championship and a chance to go to state on Saturday as they will play Beaver Dam in Kaukauna at 1pm.   

Both Phoenix basketball teams picked up wins Thursday night crucial to their seeding in the Horizon League Tournament.

In Indianapolis, defense was the story for the women's team as it won a hard-fought 45-43 game against IUPUI. Avenging a loss from earlier this season, the Phoenix held to the Jaguars to just 20 percent behind the arc and 33 percent overall from the field. The Jaguars defense was even stingier, outrebounding the Phoenix 43-24. Only six points total were scored in the final stanza, with  Jen Wellnitz finishing the night as Green Bay's top scorer with 13 points. 

At the Resch Center in Green Bay, everything went right for the men in its 70-67 victory over Wright State. Sandy Cohen had a game-high 24 points with two others scoring in double figures for the Phoenix. The Phoenix survived an over two-minute scoring drought by playing tough defense on the final play, denying the Raiders' Bill Wambler a clean look at the hoop on the final play. A pair of losses in Michigan clinched a home tournament game for the Phoenix this Tuesday with one more game to go. 

Southern Door has found a new track and field coach. Former Sturgeon Bay assistant track and field coach John Vercauteren announced that he will be taking over the program rich in tradition. Vercauteren cited the Eagles state championship in 1993 and Jim Flanigan Jr.'s all-time Division 2 shot put record holder as past accomplishments he is most excited to follow after.

He released the following statement on Wednesday:

"As track season approaches a lot of people have asked where and what I’ll be coaching. I’m very happy to announce that I’ve accepted the head varsity coaching position at Southern Door High School. I’m extremely excited to coach at a school with a great history, including the Wisconsin Division 2 record in points scored at the state meet in 1993 and the all-time Division 2 Shot Put record holder in Jim Flanigan. I am excited to work with a great staff of seasoned assistant coaches and an administration that supports its coaches. I’d also like to thank all the coaches and athletes at Sturgeon Bay that I’ve worked with in the last 5 years, especially Head Coach Mike LeRoy who I coached with in three conference championship seasons. I look forward to our clashes in the future."

The Southern Door boys basketball program has been far and away the most successful program, boys or girls, over the past five years. The high flying Eagles led by Coach Derik Hawkey will begin their state tournament march Friday night on 102.1 FM WRKU and streamed worldwide at DoorCountyDailyNews.com.

Former head varsity head coach Ben Rikkola will join me, Nick Freimuth, for the call of every postseason Eagles basketball game. The Quietwoods RV Pre-Game SHow will begin at 6:45 PM with tip-off at 7:00 PM. Coach Hawkey will preview their regional matchup with the Keil Raiders. 

After winning their fifth consecutive conference title, Southern Door is the #1 seed in the regionals. If they win Friday night they will host a regional final Saturday night again at 7:00 PM. They will play the winner of #4 Valders and #5 Chilton.

The Milwaukee Bucks squandered a 17 point fourth quarter lead and needed overtime to beat the Kings 141-140. In a game where Giannis Antetokounmpo played only 24 minutes, Milwaukee earned their ninth straight road victory. It was game two of a five-game West Coast trip.

Eric Bledsoe filled up the stat sheet with a triple-double. He scored 26 points, snared 12 rebounds and dished out 13 assists in the win.  Malcolm Brogdon hit the first two shots (3's) in overtime en route to 25 points. Khris Middleton tallied 21 points but came up hobbling late in overtime after an incredible tap rebound to put the Bucks in a position to win the game.

The Bucks will next play Friday night at 9:30 PM against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The #1 seeded Luxemburg-Casco Spartan girls basketball team will take on the #2 Notre Dame Tritons in a WIAA Division 2 sectional semi-final at Ashwaubenon High School tonight.  The Spartans (20-4) survived an overtime thriller 76-74 against #5 Green Bay Southwest to advance while #2 Notre Dame (15-9) nipped #3 Pulaski 64-60 last Saturday.   Matt Piesler and Paul Schmitt will have the call starting at 6:40 p.m. with the pregame show and tip-off set for 7 p.m. on 96.7FM WBDK.  The game audio can also be streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com.

Both Green Bay Phoenix basketball teams enter the weekend hoping to secure higher seeds in next week's Horizon League Tournament.

On the women's side, the Phoenix look to avenge an earlier conference loss at home when it plays at IUPUI. The seesaw affair saw the Phoenix come back from a slow start, but could not close the deal in a 67-63 defeat at the hands of the Jaguars. A weekend sweep and some help could lead the Phoenix to their 21st straight conference title. Tonight's game starts at 6 p.m. in Indianapolis.

For the men, it continues to be a battle for seeding when they kick off a weekend with the conference's top teams with Wright State. A win over the Raiders and losses by UIC and IUPUI would allow the Phoenix to host a quarterfinal matchup next week and could finish as high as the three seed. A win would also be sweet revenge for an 87-75 loss to the Raiders just over a month ago. Tonight's game at the Resch Center begins at 7 p.m. 

Local booster clubs are making sure their fans can make it to basketball games this weekend without having to drain their own gas tanks to do it. Gibraltar is offering a ride for its supporters to Friday's game at Florence while Sturgeon Bay is helping out its fans with a bus to Denmark. Both trips are to support their boys' basketball teams which won opening round matchups earlier this week. You can find more information about the fan bus' below. 

After trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team forced overtime against Indiana last night. It took two extra periods but eventually, the Hoosiers held off the Badgers with a 75-73 win at home Tuesday night.

The #19 Badgers will likely lose out on a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament with Tuesday’s loss. Ethan Happ scored 23 points to lead all scorers. 

Luxemburg-Casco Spartan boys’ basketball fell to the Green Bay West Wildcats in overtime 83-76 Tuesday night in a WIAA Division 2 regional quarterfinal in Luxemburg on 96.7 FM WBDK.

The game started with a couple scoring runs as Green Bay West came out on fire going up 11-0 behind three three-pointers by Freeman Jackson in the first four minutes.  The Spartans then responded by scoring 14 straight points to take a 14-11 lead at the midpoint of the first half.  The score seesawed for the rest of the half as the Wildcats took a 41-39 into intermission.

Neither team could pull away in the second half and the game went into overtime tied at 71-71.  West as able to hit some key baskets and force turnovers to outscore the Spartans 12-5 in the overtime.

Jackson had a huge night scoring 37 points with seven triples for the Wildcats.  Sophomore Ryan Robillard led the Spartans in scoring with 25 points while Senior Nathan Coisman added 17.  

Luxemburg-Casco finishes the season 10-13.  Green Bay West (8-14) will now face #2 seeded Kaukauna on Friday night.  

(photos courtesy of Ron LeCloux)

The #7 seeded Luxemburg-Casco Spartan boys’ basketball team will host the #10 Green Bay West Wildcats Tuesday night in a WIAA Division 2 Regional quarterfinal.  The Spartans (10-12) are coming off a win last Thursday over Oconto Falls while the Wildcats (7-14) lost their regular season finale to Seymour.  Matt Piesler and Paul Schmitt will have the call starting at 6:40 p.m. with the pregame show and tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. on 96.7FM WBDK.  The game audio can also be streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com.

In addition to Gibraltar’s matchup against Lena on 105.1 The Viking and Luxemburg-Casco’s battle against Green Bay West on 96.7 WBDK, four other games are taking place with hopes of a state appearance in Madison three weeks from now in sight in the WIAA Playoffs.

Algoma hopes to rebound from a tough loss to Sturgeon Bay its last time out when they travel to Kohler. The Wolves are looking for their second win of the season, but will have to slow down Kohler’s Carter Gebler, who averages just shy of 20 points a game and over three assists. Carter Zimmerman leads the Wolves in scoring with 7.1 points per game while dishing out three assists.

Kewaunee welcomes Highway 42 rival Two Rivers in its first round game. Ryan Carmichael averages over 15 points a game, but has shown his ability to distribute with four assists a game as well. Alex Rohr and Alex Hewett help with the offensive attack. The Raiders’ Cam Daffner leads the team in scoring with 10.5 points per game.

Sevastopol hopes to snap a three game slide when it travels to St. Mary’s Springs. It has a chance to do so if it can stop Cade Christensen, who is averaging almost a double-double a game with 20.5 points and 8.1 rebounds. Robby Pollman leads the Pioneers in scoring with almost 18 points per game.

Sturgeon Bay stays at home against Cedar Grove-Belgium, which snapped a three game losing streak with its win over Algoma. Carson Talbert, Mitchell Jackson, and Jake Schneider are all averaging double figures for the Clippers, with Talbert on the doorstep of averaging a double double with just over nine rebounds a game. The offense flows through Ethan Wonser for Cedar Grove-Belgium, who averages 12.6 points per game and six rebounds a game.

All playoff games start at 7 p.m.

The road to Madison begins in Fish Creek tonight as the Gibraltar Vikings host the Lena Wildcats in the opening round of the WIAA Division 5 playoffs. Gibraltar enters the game winning three out of  their last five thanks Evan Henry and Trevor Reinhardt, who are each first and second on the team in scoring and rebounding.. Lena counters with Colbert Borchert averaging 15 points a game with six rebounds. In their last games, the Vikings gave conference champion Southern Door a little stress on their then-39 game winning streak before losing by 11 while the Wildcats had lost seven in a row before beating St. Thomas Aquinas, their co-op partners in some sports, handly in a 57-10 victory last Thursday.

Jon Bregman and Jay Kita will have the call beginning at 7 p.m. on 105.1 The  Viking, with pregame beginning at 6:45 p.m. Other local playoff action tonight includes Luxemburg-Casco facing Green Bay West at home on 96.7 WBDK, Algoma traveling to Kohler, Kewaunee hosting Two Rivers, Sevastopol visiting St. Mary’s Springs, and Sturgeon Bay staying at home against Cedar Grove-Belgium.

Injured MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo was not needed in Monday’s Milwaukee Bucks 117-106 win over the Chicago Bulls. A slow start to the game spotted the Bulls a 14 point lead heading into the second quarter. The Bucks responded, outscoring their hosts in each of the final three quarters including a decisive 38-16 advantage in the second stanza. Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon each scored 22 points to help lead the Bucks to their eighth straight road win. Lauri Markkanen and Robin Lopez each scored 26 points in the loss for the Bulls. The Bucks head west for their next four games, matching up with the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

A pair of RBI hits for third-base prospect Lucas Erceg got the Milwaukee Brewers close but not over the hump in its 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Brewers got on the board first with a solo home run by Cory Spangenberg in the first inning, but was matched two innings later by the Angels’ Jarrett Parker. Reliever Jon Olczak took the loss after giving up a leadoff homer to Wilfredo Tovar and a RBI and a two-run double four batters later. Erceg would narrow the lead in the 7^th with a home run and the ninth with a double, but Angels reliever Sean Issac calmed down to nail down the final two batters without incident. Zach Davies will take the hill in his first spring start when the San Diego Padres visit the Brewers in Maryvale.

The Milwaukee Bucks will start their five-game road trip in Chicago before heading out to the West coast.

The Bucks bring the best record in the NBA to United Center Monday night, but the Bulls are coming off their third straight win as they remain firmly planted in a lottery position in the draft. The Bulls beat the Boston Celtics Saturday 126-116 while the Bucks blew past the Minnesota Timberwolves in its border battle 140-128. Tonight's game begins at 7 p.m. 

The Green Bay Phoenix dropped their fourth straight game against IUPUI since the Jaguars joined the Horizon League, losing in Indianapolis Sunday 79-68.

ShanQuan Hemphill lead all Phoenix scorers with 18 points while Sandy Cohen chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds. The Phoenix entered the second half nursing a two-point lead, but a pair of big runs gave the Jaguars the cushion they needed to climb up a little bit higher. 

The loss puts the Phoenix in a tie with Oakland for the third seed in next month's Horizon League Tournament with two home games against the conference-leading Wright State Raiders and Northern Kentucky Norse on tap this week. 

Hernan Perez drove in seven to help the Milwaukee Brewers earn a 12-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Perez did his damage with a first inning, three-run home run and followed it up with a double and a groundout that drove in the other four runs. Jesus Aguilar's sacrifice fly and a single by Orlando Arcia drove in two other runs in the second inning while a throwing error gave the Brewers its final tally in the fifth. The Rangers' Carlos Tocci hit a solo home run in the sixth inning was the lone blemish for a Brewers pitching staff that saw nine take the rubber and struck out that many in the process. 

The Brewers head to Tempe to battle the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this afternoon. 

Wrestlers from Door and Kewaunee Counties combined to bring home eight medals from the WIAA Individual State Tournament over the weekend. 

In Division 2, Luxemburg-Casco scored the most points in the tournament thanks to all five of its wrestlers earning spots on the podium. Reece Worachek won the 170 lb. weight class while Bryce Bosman fell just short in the finals to take second place. Colton Worachek ended his weekend on a high note with a win in the 3rd place match at 160 pounds as did Nathan Ronsman in his 5th place match at 152 pounds. Lucas Joniaux finished in 4th place at 120 pounds. 

In Division 3, Grant Englebert avenged an earlier quarterfinal loss to Cadott's Nelson Wahl to take 5th place at 145 pounds. 

Also in Division 3, Kewaunee saw two of its wrestlers place. Jack Severin took 4th place at 126 pounds while Travis Reinke finished up his season with a 6th place finish at 170 pounds. 

Luxemburg-Casco had two individual wrestlers going for state championships on Saturday. The lesser-known of the two brought home the title. Reece Worachek won the Division 2 State Championship at 170 pounds taking down Chase Melton from Spooner/Webster. Bryce Bosman was trying to become the 17th wrestler in Wisconsin history to win four state championships but lost in the final to Matty Bianchi from Two Rivers. 

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartan girls hung on to win in overtime over the Green Bay Southwest Trojans Saturday night 76-74 in a WIAA Divional 2 Regional final in Luxemburg.  It was sweet revenge for the Spartans as the Trojans had knocked L-C off last year with an overtime comeback win.

Luxemburg-Casco fell behind by as many as ten points in the first half before going on a 14-3 run to take a one-point lead into halftime on a three pointer by freshman Lauren Adams right before the buzzer.

The second half saw the Spartans go up by as many as seven points but Southwest battled back to force the overtime as both teams failed to hit any shots in the last minute. 

In overtime, Adams scored seven points and Jenna Jorgenson added six including four clutch free throws to clinch the game.  The Spartans fouled Jadden Simmons on purpose to prevent a three- point tying shot in the final seconds. Southwest then could only manage a last second 50-foot heave by Simmons that fell well short as the #1 seeded Spartans escaped with the two-point victory.    

The Spartans (20-4) were led by Cassie Schiltz who scored 28 points while Jorgenson added 21 and Adams chipped in 18.  Simmons paced the Trojans with 31. 

The next Spartan girls’ basketball game broadcast on WBDK 96.7FM will be Thursday in a Sectional semifinal game against #2 Notre Dame.  Matt Piesler and Paul Schmitt will have the call starting at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show and tip-off at 7pm.  Game audio can also be streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com.

The Bucks were down by two points headed into the fourth quarter on Saturday night at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves. They outscored the T-Wolves 33-19 in the final frame to win by a final of 140-128. The Bucks had seven double-figure scorers and were led by Khris Middleton’s 28. Chicago awaits Milwaukee as they’ll take on the Bulls on Monday night. 

The Luxemburg-Casco wrestling team was able to repeat as state champions this year but two individual wrestlers have a chance at the title on Saturday in Madison. At 132 pounds, Bryce Bosman will attempt to become the 17th wrestler in Wisconsin history to win four state titles. He will take Matty Bianchi from Two Rivers in the championship match. At 170 pounds, Reece Worachek will hit the mat against Chase Melton from Spooner/Webster.

The #1 seeded Luxemburg-Casco Spartan girls basketball team defeated the #9 Seymour Thunder 78-42 Friday night in a WIAA Division 2 regional semi-final.  The Spartans trailed early 6-2 but took control of the game late in the first half, capped off by a three pointer right before the buzzer by Jordan Bukouricz to take a 40-20 halftime lead.  The Spartans poured it on in the second half to take an over-40 point lead and trigger a continuous clock with about four minutes left.  Bukouricz led the Spartans with 16 points for the game. 

The Spartans will now play for the regional championship Saturday against #5 seeded Green Bay Southwest who knocked off West De Pere 49-42.  The Lady Trojans has beaten L-C the past two years in the regional tournament.  Matt Piesler and Paul Schmitt will have the call starting at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show and tip-off set for 7 p.m on 96.7FM WBDK.  The game audio can also be streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com.  

(photos courtesy of Ron LeCloux)

Sturgeon Bay boys basketball is gaining momentum heading into the regional tournament next week. A 70-26 win over Algoma Thursday night was a confidence booster before the team puts in final preparations for their round one home game Tuesday against Cedar Grove-Belgium (7:00 PM).

Carson Talbert played quite possibly his best game of the month with 19 points. Gunnar Tebon continues to pick it up offensively with 13 strong points from the guard. Mitchell Jackson added 12 points in the win.

The Clippers cranked up the defense in the second half only allowing five points in the final frame. Mithell Zimmer scored 10 points to lead the Wolves.

The Milwaukee Bucks equaled their winning total for all of last year Thursday night with a 98-97 win in Boston. At (44-14) Milwaukee owns the best record in the NBA and there are still 24 games left in the regular season. 

In Boston Thursday, Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 30 points and added 13 rebounds to accompany his six assists. Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon each scored 15 points to do just enough to give the Bucks the victory.

Kyrie Irving and Al Horford combined to score 43 points to lead Boston at the Garden. Irving had a chance to win it with a floater off the left lane that rimmed out as time expired. Eric Bledsoe was defending the Celtics points guard and the contact on the shot, as is true on most buzzer beaters, was not whistled for the foul.

Milwaukee will next host the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7:30 PM Saturday night.

The #1 seeded Luxemburg-Casco Spartan girls basketball team looks will host the #9 Seymour Thunder Friday night in a WIAA Division 2 regional semi-final.  The Spartans are coming off a 71-52 win over Waupaca on Monday that gave Luxemburg-Casco a share of the North Eastern Conference with Freedom and Wrightstown.  Seymour defeated Menasha 52-31 in the regional Tuesday night.  The Spartans (16-2, 18-4 overall) beat the Thunder 72-55 in Seymour back in early January.  Matt Piesler and Paul Schmitt will have the call starting at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show and tip-off set for 7 p.m on 96.7FM WBDK.  The game audio can also be streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com. 

(photo courtesy of Ron LeCloux) 

Wrestling teams from Door and Kewaunee Counties only lost one of their own Thursday night in Madison during the opening round of the WIAA Individual State Wrestling Tournament. Luxemburg-Casco’s Bryce Bosman kept his bid for a fourth straight title with a second period pin at 132 pounds. The Spartans’ Lucas Joniaux also advanced with a second period pin while Nathan Ronsman and Colton Worachek collected decisions. For Kewaunee, Travis Reinke won his match by a 6-2 decision at 170 pounds while teammate Paul Wery lost a close 4-2 match at 195 pounds. Luxemburg-Casco’s Reece Worachek, Kewaunee’s Jack Severin, and Southern Door’s Grant Englebert will get their first action of the state tournament when wrestling starts up again at the Kohl Center Friday morning. You can see full Thursday results online with this story.

D3-170

Champ. Round 1 - Travis Reinke (Kewaunee) 39-4 won by decision over Shamus McLain (Coleman) 28-3 (Dec 6-2)

D3-195

Champ. Round 1 - Cade Nettesheim (Ithaca/Weston) 34-7 won by decision over Paul Wery (Kewaunee) 34-11 (Dec 4-2)

D2-120

Champ. Round 1 - Lucas Joniaux (Luxemburg-Casco) 38-8 won by fall over Mason Tylee (Amery) 21-6 (Fall 3:56)

D2-132

Champ. Round 1 - Bryce Bosman (Luxemburg-Casco) 36-6 won by fall over Sam Johnson (Gale-Ett.-Tr./Mel.-Min.) 23-8 (Fall 3:04)

D2-152

Champ. Round 1 - Nathan Ronsman (Luxemburg-Casco) 40-4 won by decision over Colton Nicolay (Lodi) 30-11 (Dec 3-2)

D2-160

Champ. Round 1 - Colton Worachek (Luxemburg-Casco) 37-8 won by decision over Cedric Kosnopfal (Ellsworth) 35-9 (Dec 4-2)

The Southern Door Eagles outscored the Gibraltar Vikings by 10 in the second half to earn its 40^th straight Packerland Conference victory. In Southern Door's 65-54 victory, Kyle Daoust’s big week continued with another 30 points on the ledger while Ryan Claflin added 19. Evan Henry scored 12 points, including a pair of threes to lead the Vikings. Trevor Reinhardt and Brady Ash each chipped in nine points in the loss. The Eagles play Peshtigo Saturday evening while the Vikings will take a weekend break before they host Lena in the opening round of the WIAA Regional Tournament. 

The Gibraltar Vikings hold the top seed in the regional this weekend when it hosts Oakfield in Fish Creek Friday night. The Vikings come into the matchup winners of eight of their last 10 after coming in second place in Packerland Conference play to the undefeated Kewaunee Storm. Payton Pluff and Abbigael Sitte have proven to be a tough combo to contain this season, leading the team in points, rebounds, and assists. The Oaks earned their way to the regional semi-finals by beating Heritage Christian 68-63 on Tuesday. Led by leading scorer and assist leader Aryn Uttendorfer, the Oaks finished the 2018-19 campaign fourth in the Trailways-East conference with an 8-14 overall mark. Jon Bregman, Tim Kowols, and Jay Kita will have the call beginning at 7 p.m on 105.1 The Viking.

Other local regional match-ups include Kewaunee hosting Brillion, Algoma traveling to Howards Grove, Southern Door heading to Sheboygan Falls, and Luxemburg-Casco hosting Seymour on 96.7 WBDK.

Luxemburg-Casco Spartan boys’ basketball defeated the Oconto Falls Panthers 78-69 Thursday night in a North Eastern Conference regular season finale in Luxemburg. 

Both teams came out hot in the first half and the Spartans went into halftime leading 43-33.  The Spartans used a full court press to force numerous Panther turnovers while going ahead by as many as 23 points in the second half.  The Panthers made a run at the end of the game but could not get any closer than nine points.   It was Senior Night at L-C and all eight Spartan seniors played and participated in the post-game interview on WBDK. 

Senior Nathan Coisman led the Spartans with 21 points while sophomore Ryan Robillard added 18. 

Luxemburg-Casco (8-10, 10-12 overall) will now host Green Bay West Tuesday in the WIAA Division 2 Regional tournament.  The game will be broadcast on WBDK 96.7 FM and streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com starting at 6:45 pm with the pregame show and tip-off set for 7 pm. 

The Green Bay Phoenix women’s basketball team earned their 1000^th win in program history Thursday night with a dominating 72-32 win over Oakland. Iowa grad transfer Carly Mohns led the way with 14 points with Mackenzie Wolf, Lyndsey Robson, and Frankie Wurtz also scoring in double figures. The Phoenix defense really clamped down in the first and fourth quarter, allowing a total of nine points combined. The Phoenix are back in action Saturday afternoon when they host Detroit Mercy.

The Luxemburg-Casco boys basketball team hosts the Oconto Falls Panthers Thursday night in the North Eastern Conference regular-season finale.  The Spartans (7-10, 9-12 overall) are coming off a 99-84 home victory over the Waupaca Comets Tuesday night while the Panthers (2-15, 4-16 overall) upset Fox Valley Lutheran 57-56 in Appleton.  Prior to the game, the Spartans will honor the eight seniors on the team.  The pregame is set for 7 pm and tip-off scheduled for 7:15 pm.  Matt Piesler and Paul Schmitt will have the call on 96.7FM WBDK and streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com.  The Spartans received a #7 seed and will host the #10 Green Bay West Wildcat next Tuesday in the first round of the Division II boys basketball tournament.  All tournament games will be broadcast on WBDK as well.   

They get nowhere near the amount of love that the Wisconsin Badgers do inside their own state, but Marquette Basketball is turning heads. The 11th ranked Golden Eagles won again Wednesday night 79-69 at home. After trailing by one to Butler at half time, Marquette outscored the Bulldogs by 11 points in the second half. 

Markus Howard led all scorers with 28 points. Theo John had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Butler was led by Sean McDermott's 27 points. 

If the Golden Eagles beat unranked Providence Saturday it is very possible that the program will be in the top 10 national rankings. The real test for Steve Wojciechowski's team will be next Wednesday when they match up with #17 Villanova at 8:00 PM CST.

The Gibraltar Vikings will look to do something no other Packerland Conference team has been able to do in years Thursday night when they battle the Southern Door Eagles at home on 105.1 The Viking. The Eagles have won 38 conference games in a row, including earlier this week when Kyle Daoust scored a conference record 51 points in a 92-48 rout of Algoma. Southern Door extended their winning streak the following night when it matched its previous output in a 92-54 win over Sevastopol. The Vikings counter with Evan Henry, who leads the team in scoring (12.1 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 rpg). Gibraltar is also coming off its own big win, defeating Mishicot 82-65. Jon Bregman and Jay Kita will have the call from Fish Creek beginning at 7:00 p.m. with the pregame show, followed by the opening tip at 7:30. 

The Green Bay Phoenix could earn its 1000th victory with a win Thursday night against Oakland. The benchmark covers its transition to Division 1 and three head coaches, including 395 under current leader Kevin Borseth. The Phoenix beat the Golden Grizzlies in the Motor City earlier this season by a score of 77-53. The Phoenix needs to keep winning in order to get a share of another Horizon League title as it currently sits in 3rd place in the conference with a Sunday matinee matchup between Youngstown State and Wright State a deciding factor. The team has already clinched a home game in next month's Horizon League Tournament. Tonight's game begins at 7 p.m.

In addition to tonight's Luxemburg-Casco game on 96.7 WBDK and Gibraltar/Southern Door matchup on 105.1 The Viking, two other games with local ties are set to take place. 

Algoma will look for its first conference win of the season when it hosts Sturgeon Bay on its senior night. Sevastopol will also make the trip south of the county line when it visits Kewaunee. 

Both games start at 7:30 p.m.

The Milwaukee Bucks kick off the second half of their season Thursday night when it hosts the Boston Celtics at Fiserv Forum. The Bucks enter the game with the best record in the NBA at 43-14, while the Celtics come in with the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference. Thursday marks the first game in the line-up for the newly acquired Nikola Mirotic, who sat out the games leading up to the All-Star break after he was traded to nurse an injury. The game begins at 7 p.m.

The boys still have to finish out the regular season in the Packerland Conference. There were three conference games on Tuesday night with four area teams playing.

Gibraltar went on the road to get a non-conference win at Mishicot. The Vikings scored 50 points in the first half and won 82-65. Trevor Reinhardt led Gibraltar with 16 points. They’ll play their final regular season game on Thursday night hosting first-place Southern Door, a game you can hear on 105.1 WSBW.

Southern Door knocked off Sevastopol 92-54 at home. Kyle Daoust picked up 25 points to lead all scorers. Robby Pollman added in 24 for the Pioneers. The Eagles will clinch the conference championship with a win on Thursday at Gibraltar. Sevastopol plays their final regular season game at Kewaunee on Thursday night, tip-off at 7:30.

Sturgeon Bay hosted second place Peshtigo and lost by the slimmest of margins. The Clippers got clipped 49-48 which dropped them to 11-10 overall and 8-7 in the conference. They’ll travel to Algoma Thursday night to end their regular season. 

Four local teams started their playoff runs on Tuesday night with the regionals. Those teams had mixed results as they went 2-2 on the night.

Algoma got a monster game from Makayla Guilette who scored 36 points in the Wolves 50-36 win over Roncali at home. They’ll head to Howards Grove for the regional semifinals.

Sevastopol was 5-1 in non-conference games this season but that success did not continue against St. Mary’s Springs Academy. The Pioneers fell 78-41.

Southern Door and Sturgeon Bay faced off in Brussels and the Eagles came away with a 57-22 victory. Sheboygan Falls awaits Southern Door for the regional semifinals.

The Green Bay Packers have promoted Chris Gizzi to strength & conditioning coordinator and retained Mark Lovat, Thadeus Jackson and Grant Thorne as strength & conditioning assistants. Head Coach Matt LaFleur made the announcement Monday.

Gizzi has spent the past five seasons as a strength and conditioning assistant for the Packers. He joined Green Bay after spending the 2013 season at the University of North Carolina as the Tar Heels’ assistant football strength and conditioning coach. Gizzi served as a strength and conditioning intern with the Packers during the offseason and training camp in 2013. From 2010-13, he owned and operated Atlas Performance, a training facility in downtown Chicago. Gizzi played linebacker for the Packers for two seasons, appearing in 23 games for the club in 2000-01. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Denver in 1998 and spent the 1998 and 1999 seasons on the Broncos’ reserve/military list while honoring his military commitment. Gizzi lettered three times at Air Force (1994, 1996-97) and was named the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in both ’96 and ’97.

Lovat (luh-VOTT) enters his 21st season with the Packers, originally joining the team full-time in 1999 as a strength & conditioning assistant. He worked under three Green Bay strength & conditioning coordinators – Barry Rubin (1999-2005), Rock Gullickson (2006-08) and Dave Redding (2009) before being promoted to strength & conditioning coordinator in 2010. That same year, Lovat was honored by the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society with the Super Bowl Achievement Award. He was named the NFL Strength Coach of the Year for his work in 2011 by the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society, an award based on a vote of his peers in the field. The former Butler University baseball player and son of former Green Bay offensive line coach Tom Lovat (1980, 1992-98) is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Jackson is entering his 10th season with Green Bay after originally joining the Packers in advance of the team’s offseason training program in 2010. Prior to coming to Green Bay, he spent 2009 as the head strength and conditioning coach at Hinds Com­munity College (Raymond, Miss.), the same school where he started his career as a student athletic trainer (2000-01). Following the completion of his associate’s degree at Hinds, Jackson moved on to the University of Alabama, where he served as a student athletic trainer from 2002-05. In 2005, he was hired as a strength and conditioning as­sistant for the Tide, spending the majority of his time with the football program. While still working at Alabama, Jackson got his first NFL experience, serving as an athletic training intern for the New England Patriots during the team’s 2003 training camp. Jackson left Alabama in 2007 to serve as a manager and training coordinator at Young Champions Academy in Waco, Texas.

Thorne enters his seventh year with the Packers and fifth as a strength and conditioning assistant. He spent 2013-14 as a strength and conditioning consultant with Green Bay. Prior to coming to the Packers, Thorne spent four years (2011-14) at Purdue University as a sports performance coach. In 2011, he served as an assistant performance coach for the football team at Stanford University and in 2010 he was a performance and monitoring assistant for the New York Jets. In 2009, Thorne worked as a performance coach at Velocity Sports Performance in Manhattan Beach, Calif. After a two-year collegiate football career at Nicholls State University (2006-07), he played wide receiver in the Arena Football League for the Los Angeles Avengers in 2008 before joining the Rugby Union’s Sedgley Park Tigers as a winger later that year. While playing for Sedgley Park in the United Kingdom, Thorne served as an assistant performance coach for Everton Football Club of the English Premier League. While earning a B.S. in science from Nicholls State (2006-08), Thorne got his first coaching experience with the San Diego Chargers as a strength and conditioning summer intern in 2006.

While Kewaunee, Gibraltar, and Luxemburg-Casco earned themselves the night off, four other local teams begin chasing their state tournament dreams Tuesday night. 

Algoma enters regionals as a seven seed as they host Roncalli. The Wolves finished in third place behind Kewaunee and Gibraltar and are led by Makayla Guilette's 16.3 points per game. A win sends them to Howards Grove for the regional semifinals.

The Sevastopol Pioneers enter the playoffs on a high note, beating Reedsville 56-46 ahead of its first-round match-up against St. Mary's Springs. Finishing the Packerland slate 0-16, the Pioneers were 5-1 in non-conference match-ups. Winner would head to Oostburg.

Sturgeon Bay and Southern Door will renew their county rivalry to earn a trip to the next round of the WIAA Division 3 playoffs. The Eagles scored 60-plus points in both wins over the Clippers this season. The Clippers scored a major upset last week, defeating Algoma 47-27. Winner heads to Sheboygan Falls for their next match-up. 

Southern Door extended its conference winning streak to 38 Monday night, but it was Kyle Daoust's 51 points that was the bigger story.  Daoust set a Packerland Conference single-game scoring record in the Eagles' 92-41win over the visiting Algoma Wolves, topping Nick LeCaptain's mark from the '15-'16 season. LeCaptain set the previous mark in a 100-88 win at Oconto. The Wolves' Carter Zimmerman scored 19 points in the loss.

Mitchell Jackson scored 19 points and Carson Talbert added 11 for the Sturgeon Bay Clippers, but it was not enough to slow the Seymour Thunder in an 80-52 road loss. Jackson scored most of his points from distance, knocking down five three's in the contest.

The Gibraltar Vikings erased an eight-point first-half deficit to beat conference rival Sevastopol 56-53. The Vikings' Evan Henry led all scorers with 21 points while Robert Pollman led the Pioneers with 14 points.

Kewaunee could not protect a two-point halftime lead in its 61-57 loss to Peshtigo. The Storm's Alexander Rohr, Tanor Bortolini, and Alex Hewett all scored in double figures. Bortolini was also impressive on the glass, grabbing 11 rebounds to earn himself a double-double for the evening. 

Photo by Kris LeCaptain

Several local wrestlers will get an early start to their weekend when the WIAA Individual State Tournament gets underway at the Kohl Center this weekend. Sectional champions get a bye to the Friday morning session while the first round begins at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.

THURSDAY MATCHES

Division 2

120: Lucas Joniaux, L-C vs. Mason Tylee, Amery

132: Bryce Bosman, L-C vs Sam Johnson, G-E-T/M-M

152: Nathan Ronsman, L-C vs. Colton Nicolay, Lodi

160: Colton Worachek, L-C vs. Cedric Kosnopfal, Ellsworth

Division 3

170: Travis Reinke, Kewaunee vs. Shamus McLain, Coleman

195: Paul Wery, Kewaunee vs. Cade Nettesheim, Ithaca/Weston

While the girls begin chasing their state basketball dreams Tuesday night, the boys still have a week to their regular season. 

Tonight's action includes Sturgeon Bay hosting Peshtigo, Luxemburg-Casco playing at home against Waupaca, and Gibraltar traveling to Mishicot. Local teams will get their customary Wednesday evening off before a full slate of games on Thursday. 

The Co-op team from Sturgeon Bay/Southern Door/Sevastopol finishes their season with a 15th place finish at the State Championship Swim Meet in Madison on Friday night. There were 31 total teams competing in the Division 2 Finals.

The 200 Medley Relay team of Drew Rass, Brock Aune, Luke Bousley, and Ethan Almstadt finished 15th to start the night. 

The 200 Freestyle Relay team of Brock Aune, Luke Bousley, Jacob Norton, and Ethan Almstadt brought home a 10th place finish.

Luke Bousley finished in 12th place in the 100 Freestyle.

The other individual event swimmer of the night was Brock Aune who finished 3rd in the 50 Freestyle with an incredibly exciting finish and 2nd place in the 100 Breaststroke for the second consecutive season.

The team has an impressive returning roster with all State qualifying swimmers returning for next season, congratulations to all swimmers on a great season.

The lone #1 seed in the WIAA boys basketball tournament from Door and Kewaunee Counties is the undefeated conference champion Southern Door Eagles. The Coach Derik Hawkey led Eagles earned a first-round bye in Division 3 and will play the winner of Kiel and New Holstein Friday, March 1 at Eagle Gymnasium.

Other teams in the D3 bracket include #6 Kewaunee who will host #11 Two Rivers on Tuesday, February 26. Sturgeon Bay got a #7 seed and will host Cedar Grove-Belgium a #10 seed the same night.

In Division 4, Sevastopol got the #11 seed and will travel to #6 seed Saint Mary's Springs. Algoma is the #13 seed and takes the trip to #4 seed Kohler. Both games will be at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, February 26.

Gibraltar is the lone school in Division 5 from the Door Peninsula. The Vikings got a #5 seed and will host #12 Lena.

Luxemburg-Casco will host Green Bay West in the #7 vs. #10 matchup in Division 2.

Gibraltar and L-C also play their opening round game on Tuesday, February 26.

The best player in the NBA All -Star Game Sunday night was hands down Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. His 38 points and 11 boards led all players in each category. Team Giannis, however, fell to Team LeBron 178-164.

Giannis scored the first six points of the game and 10 of first 14. Before we knew it, Antetokounmpo was 7/7 from the floor and had a quick 14 points. 

Then teammate Khris Middleton checked in and hit his first three three-point attempts. It looked like the Bucks were going to take over the All-Star Game. The Milwaukee representatives accounted for 28 of the first 39 points scored by Team Giannis. 

The Antetokounmpo led squad led 53-37 at the end of the first quarter. The 53 points tied an All-Star Game record for points scored in a quarter.

Team Giannis would blow a 20-point lead in the second half however and Kevin Durant would hoist the All-Star Game Trophy. Durant may have won the award but Giannis was by far the better performer Sunday night.

After the mats are rolled up at the Kohl Center this weekend, former Luxemburg-Casco heavyweight state champion Newton Smerchek is making sure the wrestling season truly never ends. Smerchek, along with Luxemburg-Casco coaches George Jimenez and Trevor Spude, helps run the Titletown Wrestling Club based in De Pere. For a small fee a practice, wrestlers from across the area train together on Monday nights to help perfect their craft year round. Smerchek says it is important to get the extra mat time when you can.

After graduating from Central Michigan University last year, Smerchek helped coached the West De Pere football and wrestling teams as he looks for a full-time job in teaching. You can learn more about the Titletown Wrestling Club online by clicking here. 

The regular season in local high school basketball is still in a full sprint with regional tournaments right around the corner. 

In girls basketball, Luxemburg-Casco follows up its Saturday afternoon win with a 7 p.m. tilt at Waupaca.

Boys basketball action tonight includes Gibraltar battling on the road at Sevastopol, Southern Door hosting Algoma, Kewaunee traveling to Peshtigo, and Sturgeon Bay playing at Seymour. All games start at 7:30 p.m. Luxemburg-Casco also plays tonight at 7 p.m. with a road matchup at Marinette. 

The Luxemburg-Casco girls kept their hopes alive for a conference championship by dominating the Marinette Marines 64-25 in a North Eastern Conference game Saturday afternoon in Luxemburg.  After Marinette scored the first basket, the Spartans went on a 10-0 run and eventually went into halftime with a 33-9 lead. 

L-C Coach Jeff Jodar was able to rest his starters much of the second half as the Spartans cruised to an easy win.  Playing three games in four days the L-C will have Sunday off before playing Monday night against Waupaca.  If the Spartans prevail against the Comets, they will claim a share of the North Eastern Conference championship with Freedom and Wrightstown.

The Spartans had three players in double figures with Cassie Schiltz scoring 16, while Jenna Jorgenson added 13 and Freshman Lauren Adams dropping in ten points.  

The WIAA girls Division II basketball regional tournament will start next week and the #1 seeded Spartans (15-2, 17-4) will host Tuesday's winner of the Seymour and Menasha matchup on Friday night at 7pm in Luxemburg.  You can listen to all Spartan playoff games on 96.7FM WBDK and streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com. 

The next broadcast of Spartan basketball on WBDK will be the boys game on Thursday night when L-C hosts Oconto Falls to close out the regular season.  Pregame will be at 7 pm with tip-off at about 7:15 pm.    

Luxemburg-Casco Spartan girls basketball will take on the Marinette Marines in a North Eastern Conference game Saturday afternoon.  The game has been rescheduled three times due to the extreme weather and will be L-C’s final regular season home game.  The Spartans (14-2, 16-4 overall) defeated the Marines in Marinette earlier this season 66-25.  Matt Piesler and Paul Schmitt will have the call starting at 3:15 p.m. with the pregame show and tip-off set for 3:30 p.m on 96.7FM WBDK.  The game audio can also be streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com. 

Sturgeon Bay girls basketball earned quite possibly their biggest victory in a decade last night. A 47-27 win over Algoma is the type of win that could start to turn a program around. The Clippers have been marred in futility for over a decade since the likes of Sierra Spaude, Lauren McCormick, Jennifer Nesbitt and fellow classmates led the Clippers.

On Thursday it was Sarah Bridenhagen leading the way. She tallied 19 points to lead all scorers. Kenzye Hassenjager added 12 points. Coach Eric Taushek said, "Our seniors led us tonight, Brenna Zuehlke, Anna Fischer and Kenzye Hassenjager.

Taushek continued, "This is a huge win for the program and something as a team we can build on. The girls gave everything they had last night. The girls proved to themselves that we can play and beat anyone on any given night. The underclassmen we’re able to a part of this and see how much fun this was, it didn’t come easy, but the hard work they put in tonight was definitely worth it. I am extremely proud of the girls it was a great night of basketball for the Sturgeon Bay program!"

Kewaunee wrapped up an undefeated run in the regular season to win the Packerland Conference championship without a blemish on their record. The Storm topped Sevastopol 48-33. Zoe Kuehn led the Pioneers with 13 points and Amber Roalkvan added 11 points in the loss.

Southern Door fell to Gibraltar 57-43. Payton Pluff led all scorers with 18 points. Karlee Kita and Sage Krause added 11 points apiece in the win. Grace LeGrave led the Eagles with 12 points. 

Luxemburg-Casco's Garrit Aissen announced Thursday he will continue his football career at Hillsdale College in Michigan. He made it official by signing his National Letter of Intent with family, friends, and school officials present. The newest Charger quarterback was recently honored by the high school for his records in passing yards, touchdown passes, completions, and attempts. Aissen joins a team coming off a 10-3 season, a conference championship and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Regional semifinal game. 

Local basketball teams have had to cram a lot of games this week due to recent winter storms canceling school. Many are playing their second game in two nights with some playing three or four games this week just to fit in their schedule before tournament play starts next week for the girls and the following week for the boys.

In girls' basketball, Luxemburg-Casco hits the road to face Oconto Falls, Sturgeon Bay hosts Oconto, and Sevastopol travels to Reedsville.

Boys' basketball action tonight includes Kewaunee hosting Oconto, Gibraltar playing at home against Peshtigo, Sevastopol traveling to Algoma, and Southern Door looking to stay perfect in conference play at Sturgeon Bay. Boys' games start at 7:30 p.m.

A busy night in boys' basketball yielded one win for local teams. 

In Institute, Jake Schneider and Carson Talbert combined for 38 points in Sturgeon Bay's 65-46 victory over Sevastopol. The Pioneers' Robert Pollman led all scorers with 22 points. 

Gibraltar's Evan Henry drilled six three-pointers en route to a 22 point evening, but it was not enough to hold off the NEW Lutheran Blazers in a 63-54 defeat.  Andras Szakala and Trevor Reinhardt each added 12 points in the loss.

Luxemburg-Casco could not overcome a 29-16 first-half deficit on the way to a 66-47 loss to Freedom. No Spartans player scored in double figures with Dylan Hanson and Nathan Coisman leading the team with just seven points apiece.

A date at the Kohl Center is on the line when 19 wrestlers from Door and Kewaunee counties head to individual sectionals on Saturday. Seven wrestlers from Luxemburg-Casco and one from Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol head to Wrightstown for the Division 2 sectional. Four Southern Door and seven Kewaunee wrestlers will meet their destiny at the Division 3 sectional in Dodgeland. You can find their first round match-ups online with this story with the top 2 wrestlers in each weight class punching their ticket to the state tournament in Madison next weekend.

D3 Sectional matchups

106: Austin Falish, SD vs Mark Szombathelyi

113: Max Severin, Kewaunee vs Cash Stewart

120: Kyle Conard, SD vs Henry Amborn

126: Jack Severin, Kewaunee vs Josh Renning

132: Nathan VanGoethem, Kewaunee vs. Logan Grienier

138: Drew Price, SD vs. Harley Rivera

145: Grant Englebert, SD vs Anthony Pawling

152: Dylan Steinhorst, Kewaunee vs Devin Brooks

170: Travis Reinke, Kewaunee vs. Sawyer DeRuyter

195: Paul Wery, Kewaunee vs Logan Nicholls

Division 2 Sectional

106: Hunter Joniaux, L-C vs. Gavin Hall

120: Lucas Joniaux, L-C vs Colby McHugh

132: Bryce Bosman, L-C vs Scott McGibbon

152: Nathan Ronsma, L-C vs Mackenzie Kading

160: Colton Worachek, L-C vs. Javon Leisgang

170: Reece Worachek, L-C vs. Ryan Skees

182: Jeremy Jorns, SBS vs. Joseph Kain

285: Kyle Kroll, L-C vs. Mitchell Potratz

Three Phoenix players scored in double figures to lead Green Bay to a 66-54 victory over Oakland Thursday night.  Shanquan Hemphill led all Phoenix players with 13 points en route to his second double-double of the season. It was a defensive showcase for two teams used to letting their offenses shine. It was the fewest points scored by the Golden Grizzlies all year long while it was a new low for the Phoenix in a victory. The Phoenix host their second Motor City team in three days Saturday when they battle Detroit-Mercy at noon. 

Algoma lost a rare Wednesday night high school boys basketball game last night 73-30 to Peshtigo. With the amount of snow and ice postponements and cancellations, athletic directors are getting creative. 

Carter Zimmerman scored eight points and Mitchell Zimmer also tallied eight points on the night to lead the Wolves scoring attack.

The Kewaunee Storm saw their hopes to advance to the Team State Wrestling Championships dashed for the second year in a row in the semi-final round Wednesday night. The Storm fell to the shorthanded Princeton Tigers 37-32. Starting the evening at 182 pounds, Travis Reinke and Paul Wery were able to stake the Storm to an early 10-0 lead. After the Tigers won the next three matches, the Storm captured points in four straight weight classes, anchored by a major decision by Jack Severin. Those would prove to be the final points on the evening for the Storm, dropping the final five matches. The Tigers would almost pull off the improbable in the final, but lost to eventual champion Random Lake. The Storm's season continues this Saturday at the individual sectional meet.

182 Travis Reinke (Kewaunee) over Zach Moore (Princeton) Maj 14-2

195 Paul Wery (Kewaunee) over Sean Bollinger (Princeton) Fall 0:49

220 Owen Apland (Princeton) over Bendikt Luy (Kewaunee) Dec 3-1

285 Ryan Bollinger (Princeton) over Cristopher Hewuse (Kewaunee) Fall 1:16

106 Isiah Wagner (Princeton) over Elena Lewis (Kewaunee) Maj 11-2

113 Max Severin (Kewaunee) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

120 Logan Steinhorst (Kewaunee) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

126 Gina Augustian (Kewaunee) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

132 Jack Severin (Kewaunee) over Logan Grienier (Princeton) Maj 13-0

138 Collin Schueler (Princeton) over Austin Veeser (Kewaunee) Maj 11-1

145 Luke Pulvermacher (Princeton) over Mason Jeanquart (Kewaunee) Fall 3:39

152 Guenther Hebbe (Princeton) over Dylan Steinhorst (Kewaunee) Maj 9-1

160 Casey Dykstra (Princeton) over Remington Schleis (Kewaunee) Fall 2:54

170 Terry Myadze (Princeton) over Jason Reinke (Kewaunee) Maj 11-0

The Freedom Irish won eight of the 13 contested matches in the WIAA Division 2 Team Wrestling Sectional final Wednesday night to prevent Luxemburg-Casco from making a third straight appearance at state. 

After they were able to dispatch Winneconne in the semifinal 53-24, the Spartans were not able to carry over the momentum against their conference rival. Starting at 113 pounds, the Irish and the Spartans traded victories the first four matches before Reece Manteuffel and Ben Bredael registered pins to give Freedom a 20-7 advantage. A late escape prevented Nathan Ronsman from getting a critical major decision before Freedom's Sam Peters collected a technical fall against fellow state-ranked wrestler Colton Worachek. Reece Worachek and Garrett Jeanquart would get the last two contested decisions for the Spartans before the Irish won three of the final four weights to secure the sectional championship. Bryce Bosman, Reece Worachek, Lucas Joniaux, Ronsman, and Jeanquart all collected a pair of wins on the evening. Next up for seven Spartans wrestlers is the individual sectional tournament this weekend. 

LUXEMBURG-CASCO SEMIFINAL VS. WINNECONNE (W 53-24)

106 Caleb Meunier (Winneconne) over Ty Paider (Luxemburg-Casco) Fall 1:51
113 Hunter Joniaux (Luxemburg-Casco) over Mason Sternard (Winneconne) Fall 0:45
120 Lucas Joniaux (Luxemburg-Casco) over Gavin Coshenet (Winneconne) Fall 2:36
126 Luke Shefchik (Luxemburg-Casco) over Sonny Barone (Winneconne) Dec 6-0
132 Bryce Bosman (Luxemburg-Casco) over Emmeric Hanke (Winneconne) Fall 0:39
138 Anthony Keuntjes (Winneconne) over Hunter Bohm (Luxemburg-Casco) Fall 2:42
145 Isaac Blohowiak (Luxemburg-Casco) over Seth Schnell (Winneconne) Fall 2:42
152 Nathan Ronsman (Luxemburg-Casco) over Nick Braun (Winneconne) TF 15-0
160 Colton Worachek (Luxemburg-Casco) over Evan Miller (Winneconne) Maj 9-0
170 Reece Worachek (Luxemburg-Casco) over Matt Crowley (Winneconne) TF 16-1
182 Garrett Jeanquart (Luxemburg-Casco) over Dylan Krings (Winneconne) Fall 4:36
195 Bennett Krings (Winneconne) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
220 Travis LeGrave (Luxemburg-Casco) over Mitchell Braun (Winneconne) Fall 0:42
285 Ethan Welsh (Winneconne) over Kyle Kroll (Luxemburg-Casco) Fall 5:37

LUXEMBURG-CASCO FINAL VS. FREEDOM (L 37-24)
113 Colton Kater (Freedom) over Tyler Derenne (Luxemburg-Casco) Maj 10-1

120 Lucas Joniaux (Luxemburg-Casco) over Colby McHugh (Freedom) Dec 1-0

126 Carsten McHugh (Freedom) over Luke Shefchik (Luxemburg-Casco) Maj 15-4

132 Bryce Bosman (Luxemburg-Casco) over Koy Murphy (Freedom) Maj 10-2

138 Reece Manteuffel (Freedom) over Tristan Thiry (Luxemburg-Casco) Fall 2:46

145 Ben Bredael (Freedom) over Isaac Blohowiak (Luxemburg-Casco) Fall 5:04

152 Nathan Ronsman (Luxemburg-Casco) over Troy Nabbefeld (Freedom) Dec 11-4

160 Sam Peters (Freedom) over Colton Worachek (Luxemburg-Casco) TF 18-3

170 Reece Worachek (Luxemburg-Casco) over Jon Verhasselt (Freedom) TF 20-5

182 Garrett Jeanquart (Luxemburg-Casco) over Grant Vosters (Freedom) Dec 3-1

195 Devan VanRossum (Freedom) over Luke VanDonsel (Luxemburg-Casco) Fall 0:27

220 Grant Williamson (Freedom) over Travis LeGrave (Luxemburg-Casco) Dec 5-4

285 Seth Brownson (Freedom) over Kyle Kroll (Luxemburg-Casco) Dec 6-4

106 Hunter Joniaux (Luxemburg-Casco) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

High school basketball teams will spend their Valentine's Day on the hardwood with several scheduled and make-up games on the docket.

In boys' basketball, Luxemburg-Casco has its senior night against Freedom (7 p.m.), Sevastopol hosts Sturgeon Bay (6 p.m.), Gibraltar plays at home against NEW Lutheran, Kewaunee travels to Mishicot, and Algoma battles Oconto in its own gym.

Girls' basketball action includes Kewaunee traveling to Sevastopol, Southern Door hosting Gibraltar, and Algoma playing at Sturgeon Bay. All girls games begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Gibraltar girls basketball team has faced some tough opponents as of late, but the Vikings have been mostly up for the challenge. The Vikings have gone 3-2 in a stretch that has included Packerland Conference leader Kewaunee and Marinette and Oconto Conference leader Crivitz. Head coach Josh Kropuenske said a stretch where the girls play several tough opponents is ideal for the playoffs ahead.

The Vikings have one more game left to go in the regular season, traveling to Brussels to take on Southern Door. Gibraltar (14-6, 11-4) received the 1-seed in the upcoming WIAA Division 5 Sectional Tournament next week and will face the winner of the matchup between 8-seed Heritage Christian and 9-seed Oakfield.

Milwaukee Brewers pitchers and catchers report today to their new Spring Training & Development Center. American Family Fields of Phoenix will serve as the new home base for Brewers Spring Training Baseball.

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartans look to make it back to the UW Field House for a third year in a row when they wrestle Winneconne and the winner of Freedom/Tomahawk at the WIAA Team Sectional meet Wednesday night in Brillion.

The Spartans are coming off a regional championship in Valders Saturday, boasting seven sectional qualifiers and edging #2 Wrightstown 226-211 in the team scores. Nathan Ronsman, Reece Worachek, and Colton Worachek earned titles while Hunter Joniaux, Lucas Joniaux, Bryce Bosman, and Kyle Kroll earned spots with runner-up finishes. The Wolves earned their spot in the team sectional by posting 205 points in the Little Chute regional, qualifying five wrestlers for the next round. Caleb Meunier, Anthony Keuntjes, and Evan Miller all won individual titles.

The winner takes on the victor in the other semifinal featuring conference rival Freedom and Tomahawk. Freedom is sending 12 to individual sectionals this weekend one year after the Spartans topped the Irish in last year's sectional semifinal 37-23. The Hatchets had 11 sectional qualifiers. 

Tim Kowols and Luxemburg-Casco coaching legend Bob Berceau will have the call on 96.7 WBDK beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the pre-match show followed by the first whistle at 6 p.m. If the Spartans win, the next match will be carried live on 96.7 WBDK beginning at 8 p.m.

 In other local wrestling, Kewaunee will travel to Markesan for their Division 3 team sectional duals. Kewaunee saw seven of its wrestlers qualify for sectionals, earning 234.5 points and the edge over Reedsville. Taking first place at their weight classes for the Storm included Jack Severin, Paul Wery, Nathan VanGoethem, Dylan Steinhorst, and Travis Reinke. Logan Steinhorst and Max Severin earned their slots with runner-up finishes. Their reward is facing Princeton before facing the winner of Kenosha Christian Life and Random Lake.  

The organizational meeting for the Sturgeon Bay Cal Ripken Youth Baseball Boys Ages 7-12 will be held Wednesday, February 13 at 8:15 PM. The meeting will be held at the Sturgeon Bay High School in room number 199. All are welcome to attend to find out more information regarding Sturgeon Bay Cal Ripken Youth Baseball.

The Gibraltar girls basketball team took down rival Sevastopol Monday night 74-54. The Pioneers were led by Zoe Kuehn's game-high 21 points. Amber Roalkvan scored 14 points and Grace Brauer added 11 points in the loss.

All afterschool activities and sporting events are canceled in Door and Kewaunee Counties for Tuesday, February 12th. Sturgeon Bay has all of their events rescheduled. Here is a look at the make-up plan for games that were scheduled for tonight:

Girls basket game (varsity only) will be played on Friday (2-15-19) here is the schedule:

Friday 2-15-19

4:30 PM Boys Basketball JV2 game in the Middle School gym vs Southern Door

6:00 PM Girls Basketball Varsity game vs Oconto 

No Girls Basketball JV 1 game vs Oconto (they only want to play the Varsity game)

6:00 PM Boys Basketball JV 1 game vs Southern Door in the High School gym

7:30 PM varsity Boys Basketball game vs Southern Door in the High School gym

Everyone will flow through the High School entrance to either the Middle School or High School games,

The Milwaukee Bucks would let the Chicago Bulls get close but eventually pulled away in the final minutes, winning 112-99 at the United Center Monday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with a double-double, scoring 29 points while securing 17 rebounds. The Bulls, led by Zach Lavine's 27 points, entered the second half down by one and at times keep their deficit at single digits. That's when the Bucks defense would clamp down, forcing the Bulls to shoot 38 percent and grab eight more defensive rebounds. The Bucks improve to 42-14 on the season as their road trip takes them to Indianapolis Wednesday night to take on the Indiana Pacers. 

Luxemburg-Casco Spartan boys basketball fell to the Little Chute Mustangs 88-69 Monday night in a North Eastern Conference game.  After a slow start to the first half, the Spartans had a four-point lead with just over a minute left until intermission when the Mustangs went on a run including a three-point shot at the buzzer by Justin Job to take a 27-26 lead. 

Little Chute stayed hot in the second half opening a 21-point lead before the Spartans made a run but could not get any closer than nine points.  Spartans senior Nathan Coisman led all scorers with a career-high 30 points while Ryan Robillard added 16.  Job lead the way for the Mustangs with 21 points with 15 coming in the second half.  The Spartans (6-8, 8-10 overall) will now travel to Freedom to take on the first place Irish Thursday night. 

The next Luxemburg-Casco basketball broadcast will be Saturday as the Lady Spartans will host Marinette in a make-up game.  Matt Piesler and Paul Schmitt will have the call starting at  3:15 pm with the pregame show and tip-off set for 3:30 p.m. on 96.7FM WBDK.  The game audio can also be streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com.

(Photo courtesy of Ron LeCloux)

The Luxemburg-Casco wrestling team is looking to repeat as state champs after winning their regional on Saturday. The Spartans also had seven individual wrestlers advance to the sectionals. Head Coach Chas Treml says the team has really come together recently and everybody is wrestling at their best right now. Treml is excited about a deep postseason run.

L-C narrowly edged out Wrightstown 226-211 in the Valders Regional on Saturday. The sectionals were scheduled for Tuesday night at Brillion but has now been moved to Wednesday night due to the weather. The Spartans first matchup will come against Winneconne and if they win will take on the winner of Tomahawk versus Freedom.

The Co-op team from Sturgeon Bay/ Southern Door/Sevastopol took 6th place in the 11 team sectionals at Ashwaubenon on Saturday. The team finished with 95% best times and swam incredibly in the intense environment. 

Both the Medley and Freestyle 200 Relays qualified to swim at the State Championship next Friday night at the Natatorium in Madison, those swimming include Brock Aune, Luke Bousley, Drew Rass, Jacob Norton and Ethan Almstadt in the Relay teams. 

Swimmers qualifying for individual events included Brock Aune in the 50 Free and 100 Breaststroke, Luke Bousley in the 100 Freestyle. 

The meet saw the nine man team finish in 6th place and featured all personal best times in their individual events.

Ashwaubenon hosted a big youth wrestling tournament over the weekend with a bunch of local wrestlers competing. Southern Door sent in their results from a very successful tournament:

1st Place- Kenny Lynch

2nd Place- Jonah LeFevre, Jade Wrenn, Gavin Geisel, Trevin Veeser, Wyatt Wilke, Jerek Valley,

3rd Place- Peter Bloniarz, Jiohnni  Oberleitner, Chase Massart, Clark LeFevre, Colton Krueger

4th Place- Logan Motquin, Lilly Wrenn, Zack Lynch

5th Place- Michael Bailey, Nora LeFevre

Also great job to Lance Veeser who participated at the Gopher State Nationals this weekend.

Door and Kewaunee Counties earned three #1 seeds in the WIAA girls basketball tournament set to begin on Tuesday, February 19. In Division 2, Luxemburg-Casco, Kewaunee in Division 3 and Gibraltar in Division 5 all receive first-round byes. They will start their tournament run on Friday, February 22.

Southern Door #5 will host Sturgeon Bay #12 next Tuesday in Division 3.

In Division 4, Sevastopol #11 will travel to Saint Mary's Springs #6 Tuesday, February 19. Algoma #7 will host Roncalli #10.

Ahead of yet another big winter storm for the area, boys and girls' basketball teams look to beat the weather with a heavy slate of games Monday night. 

In addition to tonight Luxemburg-Casco/Little Chute tilt on 96.7 WBDK, boys' basketball action includes Sevastopol hosting Peshtigo and Southern Door playing at home against Oconto. 

Girls basketball games taking place around the area include Kewaunee hosting Peshtigo, Gibraltar returning to Fish Creek to take on Sevastopol, and Southern Door traveling to Algoma, 

The Gibraltar girls basketball team defeated a tough non-conference opponent on Sunday, overcoming Crivitz 48-32 at the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh.

Although the game started out with both teams trading baskets, with Gibraltar's Karlee Kita and Crivitz's Chloe Gruszynski getting out to particularly hot starts, Gibraltar would take a lead about a quarter of the way into the first half and never looked back. A stifling defense looked even more comfortable than usual on the larger court and forced several Wolverine turnovers that led to points on the other end of the court.

Halftime would come with the Vikings leading 31-18, and although the offensive production would slow for both teams in the second half, Gibraltar kept a steady enough pace to maintain the lead and take the 16-point victory.

Payton Pluff had another excellent performance for Gibraltar, leading all scorers with 18 points. Abby Sitte added 8 points, but her greatest contribution in other areas. The 5'4" guard picked up 11 boards and 8 assists to lead the team in both categories. Gruszynski would end the game with 15 points to lead the Wolverines.

The victory improves Gibraltar's record to 13-6 on the season, while Crivitz drops to 14-5 on the year. Gibraltar will play three more games this week, starting with their Senior Night game against Sevastopol on Monday. Chilton and Southern Door await the Vikings later this week.

Luxemburg-Casco Spartan boys basketball will host the Little Chute Mustangs Monday night in the battle of the "L-C"s in a North Eastern Conference game.  The Spartans (6-7, 8-9 overall) are coming off a 53-37 loss to Denmark Saturday while Little Chute (7-7, 10-7 overall) beat Oconto Falls 61-52 Saturday night.  The Mustangs beat the Spartans 73-57 at home earlier this year.  Matt Piesler and Paul Schmitt will have the call starting at 7:00 p.m. with the pregame show and tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. on 96.7FM WBDK.  The game audio can also be streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com.

All games played on Saturday were makeups from all the games missed due to the weather the last two weeks.

Boys:

Sturgeon Bay went to Oconto and got a tough road win 70-58. Carson Talbert led the way for the Clippers with 19 points. Sturgeon Bay will go on the road again to Sevastopol on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM. They’re now 10-7 overall and 7-5 in the Packerland Conference.

Algoma lost to Green Bay NEW Lutheran by a final of 79-39 on the road. Carter Zimmerman had nine points in defeat. The Wolves travel to Peshtigo on Tuesday night, tip-off at 7:30 PM.

Girls:

Algoma’s girls had more much more success against the Blazers at home. The Wolves put on a dominant defensive game and won 40-24. Makayla Guilette led the way with 14 points. Algoma jumped over Gibraltar and into second place in the conference with the win. They’ll host Southern Door on Monday night, tip-off at 7:15 PM.

Sevastopol was unable to get their first conference victory at Peshtigo, losing 46-33. Zoe Kuehn had another good game scoring 16 points for the Pioneers. Sevastopol heads to Gibraltar on Monday night at 7:30 PM.

The Gibraltar Vikings will meet the Crivitz Wolverines on Sunday in a special non-conference matchup being broadcasted live on 105.1 The Viking. Neither team will have a home court advantage, as the game is being played from the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh, otherwise known as the home of the NBA G-League's Wisconsin Herd. The Vikings have lost two of their last three, but head coach Josh Kropuenske is not worried and said he thought his team has played well despite the minor setbacks. He said the key factor for Sunday's contest would be finding out who can best adjust to the larger court.

Pregame will start at 5 p.m. with tip-off to follow at 5:30. Both teams are coming off a loss, with Gibraltar losing 47-42 to Peshtigo in overtime while Crivitz dropped a 65-62 contest to Bonduel.
 

Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Saturday night’s game against the Orlando Magic and the Bucks couldn’t survive his absence. The Magic came to Milwaukee and won 103-83. The “Greek Freak” missed the game due to knee soreness. New acquisition Nikola Mirotic also did not play because of a strained right calf. The Bucks were outscored in every quarter by the Magic, who were led by Jonathan Isaac’s 17 points. Eric Bledsoe had 19 points in the loss. Milwaukee still has the NBA’s best record at 41-14. Their next game is Monday night in Chicago against the Bulls, tip-off at 7:00 PM.

With just one more week left to go in the season, the Sturgeon Bay girls basketball team with optimism that they can make a run into the postseason. Head coach Erik Tauschek said the most important thing heading into the end of the regular season is that his team has improved as much as possible to face a possibly difficult opponenet. He said that after all the seeds have been given out, the regular season can be considered just a long tune-up session. 

The Clippers (2-18, 2-12) will play two games this week as they prepare for the postseason. The team will host Oconto (9-11, 5-9) on Tuesday before a Valentine's Day showdown with Algoma (13-6, 10-3).
 

Luxemburg-Casco and Kewaunee wrestling squads advanced to the team sectional finals on Tuesday after winning their respective regional tournaments Saturday. It was just part of a successful day for local wrestling teams, which are sending 19 wrestlers to individual sectionals next Saturday. 

In Valders, the Spartans had seven sectional qualifiers, edging #2 Wrightstown 226-211 in the team scores. Nathan Ronsman, Reece Worachek, and Colton Worachek earned titles while Hunter Joniaux, Lucas Joniaux, Bryce Bosman, and Kyle Kroll earned spots with runner-up finishes.  Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol's Jeremy Jorns earned his spot in the Division 2 sectional meet with a championship win at 182 pounds.

At Brussels, Kewaunee saw seven of its wrestlers qualify for sectionals, earning 234.5 points and the edge over Reedsville. Taking first place at their weight classes for the Storm included Jack Severin, Paul Wery, Nathan VanGoethem, Dylan Steinhorst, and Travis Reinke. Logan Steinhorst and Max Severin earned their slots with runner-up finishes. Southern Door's Grant Englebert and Kyle Conard won individual titles in front of the home crowd while Austin Falish and Drew Price will also join them for next weekend's sectional meet.

For individual sectionals next Saturday, Kewaunee and Southern Door wrestlers will head to Dodgeland while Luxemburg-Casco and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol will travel to Wrightstown. For team sectionals, Luxemburg-Casco will battle Winneconne first before potentially taking on the winner of Freedom/Tomahawk at Brillion. Kewaunee will take Princeton first before possibly facing the winner of Random Lake/Kenosha Christian Life in Markesan. Semifinals are at 6 p.m. and the finals are at 8 p.m.

Picture courtesy of Southern Door School District

When the Gibraltar girls basketball team takes the court on Sunday, it will be on a larger court than they are accustomed to. The Vikings will be meeting Crivitz for a non-conference neutral-site matchup at the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh. The contest will feature two teams with positive records both on the season and within their own conference, with the Wolverines sitting in first-place in the Marinette and Oconto Conference. Head coach Josh Kropuenske said the larger court will need to be adjusted to, but also pointed out the girls would need to get used to it anyway if they are to achieve the ultimate goal this season.

Crivitz did lose their last game 65-62 to Bonduel, but their junior guard Chloe Gruszynski (17.9 PPG) might prove to be a problem for Gibraltar. The game will follow the conclusion of an NBA G-League matchup between the Wisconsin Herd and the Canton Charge. The Herd are the G-League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Charge are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. 
 

The Sevastopol girls basketball team will get to experience their first Saturday game this season when they head to Peshtigo. The Pioneers (4-14, 0-13) will look to pick up their first conference win this season against a Bulldogs (9-8, 7-5) team that has established itself around the .500 mark. Head coach Dan Judas said he isn't bothered by having to travel on a non-school day. He said his team would still show up and try to claim a victory in a tough Packerland Conference.

Saturday's contest is the second meeting between Sevastopol and Peshtigo. The Bulldogs won the first contest 50-38 in a game that saw two players pick up half of all the points. Lianna Baxter led all scorers with 25 for Peshtigo, while Sevastopol's Amber Roalkvan picked up 19.
 

There was plenty of action on Friday night as the 2018-2019 high school basketball season moves closer toward postseason play. 

Girls:

Algoma 60 - Sevastopol 39

Peshtigo 47 - Gibraltar 42

Kewaunee 61 - Oconto 32

Southern Door 62 - Sturgeon Bay 46

Boys:

Peshtigo 57 - Gibraltar 44

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartans girls lead from start to finish as they routed the Denmark Vikings Friday night 69-24 on 96.7FM WBDK.  It was Senior Night at Luxemburg-Casco High School as the seven seniors on the team were saluted prior to the game. 

Luxemburg-Casco (13-2, 15-4 overall) started slowly on offense but was able to hold the Vikings scoreless for the first four minutes of the game while eventually taking a 32-9 lead into intermission.  Senior Cassie Schiltz led the Spartans in scoring with 28 points while Jenna Jorgenson added 14 points.

The Spartans will find out their seeding for the upcoming tournament on Saturday as Coach Jeff Jodar will be lobbying for a deserving number one seed in the regional. 

The next Spartan girls’ basketball game broadcast on WBDK 96.7FM will be next Saturday at home for a make-up game against Marinette in the regular season finale.  Matt Piesler and Paul Schmitt will have the call starting at 3:00 p.m. with the pregame show and tip-off at 3:15 p.m.  Game audio can also be streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com.

Pregame salute to Seniors Cassie Schiltz, Jenna Jorgenson, Alexis Paye, Carli Kollross, Paige Skubal, Mackie Junio and Jordan Bukouricz.

The Green Bay Packers have named Luke Butkus assistant offensive line coach and Rayna Stewart special teams quality control coach. Head Coach Matt LaFleur made the announcements Thursday.

Butkus comes to Green Bay after serving as the offensive line coach for the University of Illinois for the past three seasons (2016-18), a position he also held for the Fighting Illini in 2012. Between the two stints at his alma mater, he was the assistant offensive line coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2013-15). Butkus, the nephew of former Chicago Bears linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dick Butkus, worked as a quality control assistant for the Seattle Seahawks (2010-11) and as an offensive assistant/assistant offensive line coach for the Bears (2007-09). He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Oregon (2005-06). As a player, Butkus was a two-time All-Big Ten selection at center and served as a captain of the 2001 Big Ten championship team. He had stints in the NFL with Chicago (2002) and the San Diego Chargers (2003), while also playing in NFL Europe with the Cologne Centurions (2002) and Rhein Fire (2003).

Stewart brings experience across numerous levels of football to Green Bay. He has spent the past four seasons at Vanderbilt, first as director of player development (2015-17) and then as special teams quality control coach (2018). Stewart was a defensive quality control coach with the Tennessee Titans from 2009-11, a graduate assistant at Northwestern University from 2007-08 and a training-camp intern for the Indianapolis Colts in 2004. He also worked as an athletic director, coach and teacher at high schools in Tennessee and Illinois. As a player, Stewart was a two-time All-America cornerback at Northern Arizona University and was selected in the fifth round (No. 143 overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. He played in 71 career games as a defensive back for the Oilers (1996-97), Miami Dolphins (1998) and Jacksonville Jaguars (1999-2000).

In addition to Friday's broadcast of the Luxemburg-Casco girls basketball game against Denmark on 96.7 WBDK, several local high school teams will be in action tonight.

In boys basketball, Gibraltar makes up its game against Peshtigo on the road at 6 p.m. while Sevastopol plays the Northeast Wisconsin Christian Homeschoolers Athletic Association at 7:30 p.m.

Girls basketball action features Gibraltar following its boys team in Peshtigo, Sevastopol hosting Algoma, Southern Door playing at home against Sturgeon Bay, and Kewaunee traveling to Oconto.  All the games begin at 7:30 p.m.

Luxemburg-Casco Spartan girls basketball will host the Denmark Vikings Friday Night in a Northeastern Conference game that will salute their seven seniors on the squad.  The Spartans (12-2, 14-4 overall) are coming off a 69-43 victory over the Clintonville Truckers on Tuesday.  Matt Piesler and Paul Schmitt will have the call starting at 7:00 p.m. with the pregame show and tip-off set for 7:15 p.m. on 96.7FM WBDK.  The game audio can also be streamed on DoorCountyDailyNews.com.

Wrestlers in Door and Kewaunee counties enter their most important stretch of the season when the state tournament series begins on Saturday.  

Luxemburg-Casco looks to punch a third consecutive trip to the team sectional when it heads to Valders. The Spartans face tough competition from teams like Two Rivers, Wrightstown, and Denmark while other squads like Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol, Brillion, and Valders have individuals good enough to play spoilers in the final tally. The winner of the Valders Regional would head to Brillion for the team sectional on February 12th.

Kewaunee could make it two in a row when they travel to Southern Door for its regional tournament. The Storm fell in the sectional semi-final last year while Southern Door advance three to the individual sectional. Winnebago Lutheran, Lourdes Academy, Mischicot, and Reedsville will join the Storm and the Eagles for a chance to qualify for the team sectional on February 12th in Markesan.

The Green Bay Phoenix men's and women's basketball teams started off their weekend slates on high notes Thursday night.

On the men's side, the Phoenix started strong and ended even better in its 82-65 win over Cleveland State on the road. The team shot above 53 percent as a team, led by Sandy Cohen's 18 points. The Phoenix also turned in an impressive defensive performance, keeping the Vikings scoreless for over the final five minutes of the game. Its next game is Saturday at Youngstown State.

The march towards first place continued at the Kress Center where the Phoenix women beat Northern Kentucky 70-42. In her second game back from injury, Frankie Wurtz led the Phoenix with 13 points. The Phoenix were menacing on defense forcing 23 turnovers, including 14 steals. Its next game is Saturday against current Horizon League leader Wright State. 

Yet another game has been postponed for the Gibraltar boys basketball team, with Thursday's matchup against Green Bay NEW Lutheran being canceled following another round of winter weather. With the weather predicted to clear up for Friday, the team will likely be back in action Friday against Peshtigo. The Vikings and Bulldogs are yet to meet this season after their first two scheduled meetings were canceled due to poor weather. Head coach Justin Burress said that while most of his scouting and planning had gone into Thursday's game, Peshtigo's athleticism and talent this season cannot be overlooked.

Gibraltar is 7-7 on the season and 5-5 in the Packerland Conference. Thursday's cancellation will only continue to clog up a busy end-of-season schedule that already features seven games in two weeks.
 

The Gibraltar girls basketball team saw their nine-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the still-unbeaten Kewaunee Storm Monday, but the team has quickly returned to their winning ways. In their turnaround matchup Tuesday against Oconto, the girls quickly returned to form. The Vikings defeated the Blue Devils 54-37 to sweep the season series and fend off third-place conference challenger Algoma for another day. Although the first half started off slowly, head coach Josh Kropuenske said his team was quick to shake off any leftover feelings from Monday's loss.

With Tuesday's victory, Gibraltar sits at 12-5 on the season and 10-3 in Packerland Conference play. The Vikings will head to Peshtigo on Friday before meeting a non-conference foe in Crivitz for a neutral-site game at the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh.
 

The 19th ranked Wisconsin Men's Basketball team survived a 56-51 victory over Minnesota last night. "The Barn" in Minneapolis was rocking Thursday and played a factor in a close game throughout for the "Border War." 

The Badgers were led by Ethan Happ. The senior forward scored a team-high 15 points and led the team in rebounds with 13. Brad Davison was the only other Badger to score in double digits. Davison finished with 10 points.

Minnesota's big men played tough. Jorday Murphy scored 16 points and Daniel Oturu added 12 points in the loss.

Wisconsin next travels to #7 Michigan to take ion the Wolverines Saturday at 11:00 AM.

After both teams called the Kress Center home last weekend, the Green Bay men's and women's basketball teams kick off a full weekend of action Thursday night.

The Phoenix men head back on the road for a swing through Ohio to face Cleveland State and Youngstown State. The Phoenix beat both teams at home earlier this season, but it has been the road keeping the men down as they continue to fight for tournament seeding. Thursday's game against Cleveland State begins at 6 p.m.

The women's team can get into a tie for first place in the Horizon League with a weekend sweep of Northern Kentucky and Wright State. Both teams have proven to be tough tests for the Phoenix, including the Raiders taking the first contest 85-67. The Kress Center has been kind to the Phoenix the last five years, going 38-3 in conference play during that stretch. Thursday's game against Northern Kentucky starts at 7 p.m. 

The weather the last two weeks has been the toughest opponent local teams have faced this season after a winter storm canceled yet another night of high school athletics. Schools across Wisconsin were forced to cancel classes and after-school activities Thursday due to icy conditions that are expected to worsen throughout the day. Nine games are affected, including a third attempt to broadcast the Luxemburg-Casco girls' basketball team's game against conference rival Marinette. Wrestlers also lose another day of practice leading up to this weekend's WIAA Regional Tournaments held across the area including Southern Door. 

The Milwaukee Bucks put up 50 points in the first quarter en route to a 148-129 win over the Washington Wizards Wednesday night. The trade deadline dealt blows to both teams in terms of depth before the game. The Bucks traded Thon Maker to the Detroit Pistons for Stanley Johnson while the Wizards dealt Otto Porter Jr. to the Chicago Bulls for Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis. The 50-point first quarter was one shy of an NBA record for scoring in an opening stanza while its 85 points in the first half was a franchise record. All five starters finished in double figures, lead by 43 points for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Eric Bledsoe scored 22 points and tallied 11 assists in the victory. The Bucks will play a remade Dallas Mavericks team Friday night. 

Sturgeon Bay earned their second win of the conference season against Sevastopol Tuesday night. A 60-43 triumph featured a balanced scoring attack from the Clippers. Sarah Bridenhagen scored 16 points, Carley Wodack and Brenna Zuehlke added 11 apiece and Kenzye Hassenjager scored a career-high 10 points in the win. Zoe Kuehn led all scorers with 19 points and Amber Roalkvan chipped in 10 points in the loss.

Gibraltar outlasted Oconto 54-37 to avenge a loss in their last game to Kewaunee. Payton Pluff filled up the box score with 18 points and Abbi Sitte scored 14 for the Vikings. Mara Allen led all scorers with 19 points for Oconto. 

Southern Door was a 44-38 winner over Gillett. Nicole Norton scored 12 points, Grace LeGrave added 11 points and Kendra Dantoin poured in nine points for the Eagles.

Algoma was a 52-35 winner over Peshtigo. MaKayla Guilette led all scorers with 17 points while teammate Sierra Nessinger netted 16 points for the Wolves. 

Finally, Kewaunee remained undefeated in the conference with a convincing 57-31 win over N.E.W. Lutheran.

The students of Kewaunee are more proud to be at school today than they are most days. That's because the Storm sports teams went 3-0 Monday night. Kewaunee wrestling clinched their second straight Packerland Conference championship with a victory over Southern Door which was heard on 104.1 WRLU. The boys basketball team played very well in a blowout victory against Gibraltar at home, a game that could have been listened to on 105.1 WSBW. In girls basketball, the Storm kept their dominant season going with a big victory, also over Gibraltar, in a tough game on the road. It's a good day to be Kewaunee Athletic Director Brian Rabas who says students and staff were a little happier today after last night's results than they would be on a normal Tuesday. Rabas added that the community helping out has made their sports programs what they are today.

The Kewaunee boys and girls basketball teams are right back at it on Tuesday night. The boys will go to Brillion in a non-conference matchup and the girls will play their third game in four days when they host Green Bay NEW Lutheran.

The Sevastopol girls basketball team has averaged 42.8 points per game this season, but only needed one half to meet that total Monday night against Stockbridge. Sevastopol carried a 43-22 lead at the half, and while the second half was much more even, the Pioneers would take home the non-conference victory 67-43. The explosive first half was due largely in part to a more aggressive defense that head coach Dan Judas has been encouraging over the past couple of weeks. He said he presented his team with a challenge before they took the floor.

For the Pioneers (4-12, 0-11), the 67-point mark is the team's highest scoring total of the season. Sevastopol will attempt to retain their aggressive style against Packerland Conference rival Sturgeon Bay (1-17, 1-11) tonight.
 

The race for second place in the girls basketball standings for the Packerland Conference is wide open with about a week remaining in the regular season.  Kewaunee's win over Gibraltar gave them the breathing room they needed atop the conference and created a logjam after them.

The next four teams are all separated by no more than two games. Here is a look at the current standings as provided by Conference Commissioner Mike Holtz:

SCHOOL                               WON              LOST                                                            

Kewaunee                                 12                    0

Gibraltar                                    9                      3

Algoma                                      8                      3

Peshtigo                                    6                      4

Southern Door                          7                      5 

Oconto                                       5                      7

NEW Lutheran                          4                      8

Sturgeon Bay                            1                      11       

Sevastopol                                0                      11

Sturgeon Bay and Gibraltar flipped in the standings after Monday night's Packerland Conference boys basketball schedule played out. The middle five teams in the nine-team conference are now are separated by just two games. Southern Door is still undefeated and Algoma has yet to earn that first conference win. Here is a look at the current standings as provided by conference commissioner Mike Holtz:

SCHOOL                               WON              LOST                                                            

Southern Door                           10                    0                     

Peshtigo                                     7                      1

Kewaunee                                  8                      4     

Sturgeon Bay                             6                      5     

Gibraltar                                     5                      5

NEW Lutheran                           5                      6

Oconto                                        4                      6     

Sevastopol                                 1                      9     

Algoma                                       0                      10   

Last week's weather is providing for some quick turnarounds for basketball teams in Door and Kewaunee counties. Days off are becoming make-up dates for athletic directors as they continue to deal with last week's weather-related cancellations. 

In boys' basketball, Luxemburg-Casco travels to Green Bay East while Kewaunee hits the road to battle Brillion.

Girls' basketball action Tuesday night includes Luxemburg-Casco hosting Clintonville, Algoma battling Peshtigo at home on parents' night, Gibraltar playing in Fish Creek against Oconto, Kewaunee returning to action against NEW Lutheran, Southern Door meeting up with Gillett, and Sevastopol traveling to Sturgeon Bay. 

The Kewaunee Storm captured their second straight Packerland Conference title in wrestling Monday night with a 53-18 win over the Southern Door Eagles.

The evening started with a pin by Southern Door's Austin Falish, but Max and Jack Severin each had pins while Logan Steinhorst added a regular decision at 120 pounds and Nathan VanGoethem scored a 14-0 major decision at 132 pounds to make the lead 19-6. The Storm and Eagles would exchange victories the next two weight classes with Drew Price earning a 4-2 regular decision for Southern Door and Mason Jeanquart collecting a 13-3 major decision at 145. After a forfeit by the Storm narrowed the lead to 23-15, Grant Englebert wrestled two weight classes up to get a hard-fought 4-0 victory at 160 pounds. The Storm would put the dual on ice with three forfeit and a pin by Paul Wery at 220 pounds.

Both teams will compete this Saturday at the regional tournament hosted by Southern Door. 

The Kewaunee Storm boys basketball team completed its season sweep of Gibraltar on Monday evening, defeating the Vikings 72-49 to defend its home floor and creep closer to Peshtigo in the race for second place in the Packerland Conference.

A rough shooting stretch to begin the game proved to be costly for the away side. Despite the Storm traditionally being the side to shoot more from beyond the arc, the Vikings could not seem to score inside. The Vikings ended the first half with just 19 points, 15 of which came on three-pointers from four different players. 

On the Kewaunee side, their first half was marked by wide spread scoring. Ryan Carmichael led the way with 14 and Tanor Bortolini scored 8 of his own, but six other Storm players contributed to the scoreboard before halftime. Carmichael would finish with a game-high 18.

Although the second half would be even, the lead was just too much for the Vikings to overcome, as the lead remained in the 18-24 range for the entirety of the second half.

Following the loss, Gibraltar falls to 7-7 on the year and 5-5 in Packerland Conference play. Kewaunee improves to 10-6 on the season and 8-4 in the conference. The Vikings will take a couple of days off before meeting Green Bay NEW Lutheran at home on Thursday. The team took the first contest against the Blazers in a close 71-69 affair.

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartan girls game at home against Marinette for Monday night has been canceled.  The game which was to be broadcast on WBDK 96.7 FM was to be a make-up game for last Monday's scheduled match-up that was postponed due to the snowstorm.  The game could be rescheduled for this Thursday, according to L-C head coach Jeff Jodar.  DoorCountyDailyNews.com will update officially the date for the game scheduled to be played in Luxemburg when it is confirmed.   

Sevastopol girls got their game in Monday night and beat Stockbridge 67-43. Zoe Kuehn scored a game-high 22 points. Amber Roalkvan added 15 and Kaitlyn Schauske tallied ten points in the win. 

The co-op Swim Team from Sturgeon Bay/Southern Door/Sevastopol finished in 5th place at the Eastern Wisconsin Conference swim meet on Saturday behind some tremendous individual swims and excellent relay finishes.

200 Medley Relay team of Jacob Norton, Brock Aune, Luke Bousley, and Ethan Almstadt finished in 2nd place with a time of 1:46.85

200 Free Relay saw 2 teams finish in the top ten, with Pollock, Johnson and Albertson, Rass in 10th, and the team of Aune, Bousley, Norton, Almstadt taking home another second-place medal.

400 Free Relay had the team of James Pollock, Jace Johnson, Will Albertson and Drew Rass come in with an eighth-place finish.

Individual results...

Brock Aune - 1st place 50 Free and 1st place in the 100 Breaststroke 

Will Albertson - 5th place in the 100 Breaststroke and 16th in the 50 Free

Luke Bousley - 2nd place in the 100 Freestyle and 3rd place in the 50 Free 

Ian Bartz - 15th in the 200 Free and 18th in the 100 Freestyle 

Ethan Almstadt - 3rd place in the 200 Individual Medley 

Jacob Norton - 4th place in 200 Free and 5th place in the 100 Backstroke 

Drew Rass - 3rd place in 100 Breaststroke and 12th in 50 Free 

Jace Johnson - 11th place in the 100 Backstroke 

James Pollock - 6th place in 100 Butterfly and 9th in the 200 Free 

The team is looking forward to next weeks Sectionals at the Ashwaubenon meet.

It has come down to one final dual to decide the Packerland Conference championship when the Southern Door Eagles and the Kewaunee Storm Monday night. The two teams have run the table so far in the conference thanks in part to having the most complete teams. The Storm wrestling team is the defending conference champion thanks in part to Logan Steinhorst, Jack Severin, Travis Reinke, Dylan Steinhorst, and Paul Wery all returning and being ranked among the best in Division 3 according to Wisconsin Wrestling Online. The Eagles counter with Grant Englebert, currently ranked 11th at 152 pounds. The dual is also first since it was announced sophomore wrestler Griffin Slezewski was diagnosed with leukemia. Fans are encouraged to wear orange for leukemia awareness or chartreuse for Slezewski's favorite color at the dual meet.

Tim Kowols and Greg Letter will carry the match live on 104.1 WRLU and worldwide on DoorCountyDailyNews.com beginning at 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. for the first whistle.

You can donate to the Slezewski family GoFundMe page by clicking here.

The Gibraltar boys basketball team has not seen the court since January 25th, and although the winter storms have passed for now, the effects will be felt for a while longer. With several cancellations and postponements due to the weather, the Vikings will have plenty of games to make up in the month of February. Justin Burress, the head coach of the boys’ basketball team at Gibraltar, said it’s not just conditioning that worries him, but also the hectic nature of playing so many games in so few days.

Over the next 18 days, Gibraltar will play 9 games, including 2 non-conference matchups. The Vikings' Monday contest against Kewaunee will be broadcasted live on 105.1 The Viking, with Connor Harbit and Jay Kita on the call. Pregame will start at 7, with tip-off at 7:30.

The cancellation of several high school athletic contests over the past week has one area athletic director working his hardest to reschedule as many games as possible. Todd Meikle, the athletic director at the Sturgeon Bay School District, said it is up to both him and the AD of the opposing school to schedule another time that works for both sides. Once a day is chosen, officials must be found to make the trip and help cover the date. Meikle said it can be tricky to do so depending on the day of the rescheduled game.

The Sturgeon Bay athletic director has had his hands full this week, with boys and girls basketball games and wrestling contests to make up. However, Meikle said he and the athletic department have everything set moving forward.

The Sevastopol Athletic Booster Club, assisted by several students, brought plenty of popular events to the Fish Creek Festival this year. Yearly favorites such as ice bowling and the bike toss were conducted under the club’s name, with the proceeds set to be used toward any of the Sevastopol athletic programs that might need additional funding in the future. Joel Schauske, a football coach at Sevastopol and a volunteer at the festival, said the bike toss is the most popular event even if he couldn’t remember where it came from.

In addition to ice bowling and the bike toss, the booster club also assisted with a hockey competition, a football toss, and a peculiar tennis ball golfing event on the ice that paid out $500 for a hole-in-one. 

Giannis Antetokuompo continued his great season on Saturday night as he led the Bucks to a 131-115 win over the Wizards in Washington DC. The Greek Freak poured in 37 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The Bucks have the NBA’s best record at 38-13 on the season. Milwaukee will travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets on Monday night, tip-off at 6:30 PM.

Swimming

Sturgeon Bay/Southern Door/Sevastopol finished sixth out of seven teams in the Eastern Wisconsin Conference Championships. Brock Aune finished first in the 50 Free and the 100 Breast.

Boys Basketball

Gibraltar had no issue with St. Lawrence Seminary winning by a final of 93-49 in a non-conference battle on their home floor. The Vikings had a 26-point halftime lead and cruised from there. Andras Szakala and Trevor Reinhardt both finished with 19 points to lead the team. Gibraltar is now 7-6 overall on the season. The Vikings go to Kewaunee on Monday night.

Sturgeon Bay traveled to Lake Country Lutheran and couldn’t get a non-conference win. LCL got up big early on the Clippers and had a 23-point halftime lead. The final score was 70-51. Carson Talbert had 22 points for Sturgeon Bay but it was not enough as the Lightning were led by Joey Bratz who had 21 points. The Clippers are now 9-7 and will go to Oconto on Monday night.

Luxemburg-Casco was able to even up their conference record with a 61-54 victory over Clintonville at home. This game was originally scheduled to be played on Tuesday but was postponed due to the weather. Nathan Coisman scored 17 and Ryan Robillard pitched in with 15 for the Spartans. L-C now sits at 6-6 in the conference and 8-7 overall. They will travel to Green Bay East on Tuesday in a non-conference matchup.

Girls Basketball

Kewaunee continued their dominance this season winning a tough non-conference game at home against Valders by a final of 53-45. The Storm improved to 16-1 overall on the season. Valders came into the game at 14-2. Kewaunee’s next game is a big one as it will be at Gibraltar, the top two teams in the Packerland Conference. 

Ten area boys and girls will be moving on to the Diocesan level of the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship competition.  Saturday, St. John Bosco gymnasium hosted the District level contest for boys and girls from nine to 14 years old.  Each participant shot 25 free throws with the top scorers now advancing to the next level before the state competition.

Boys division winners

 9 yr old:  Diesel Bosdeck of Luxemburg  21 points

10 yr old:  Jackson Waleka of Kewaunee  16 points

11 yr old:  Connor Kilgore of Kewaunee   11 points

12 yr old:  Caleb Plzak of Sturgeon Bay     19 points

13 yr old:  Logan Kilgore of Kewaunee      12 points

Girls division winners

9 yr old:  London Karnopp of Kewaunee  10 points

10 yr old:  Makiyah Derrig of Kewaunee    11 points

11 yr old:  Andie Schar of Egg Harbor        20 points

12 yr old:  Ashlyn Delfosse of Brussels      15 points

13 yr old:  Rylee Dax of Kewaunee               4 points

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartan girls lost to the Wrightstown Tigers 77-58 Friday night but senior Jenna Jorgenson scored her career 1,000 point.  Jorgenson surpassed the landmark on a three-point shot.  She becomes the second current Lady Spartan to hit 1,000 career Points.  Cassie Schiltz scored her 1,000 career point last season.  The Spartans (11-2, 13-4 overall) will now host the Marinette Marines in a North Eastern Conference game Monday night.  The game will be broadcast on 96.7 FM WBDK starting at 7 pm with the pregame. 

(Jenna embracing her mom, Roxy Jorgenson after scoring her 1,000 career point)

(photos courtesy of Ron LeCloux)

After almost a week of cancellations, several girls basketball teams finally returned to the floor on Friday as the second half of the season rolls along.

Zoe Kuehn's 14 and Grace Bauer's 8 were not enough as the Sevastopol girls fell to Southern Door 75-46.

Sturgeon Bay lost to Peshtigo in a tight contest 33-22. Sarah Bridenhagen and Carly Wodack led the Clippers with 7 while Lexia Baxter led the Bulldogs with 13.

Hanna Wiese's 19 points were enough for Algoma to move past Oconto 51-44. Mara Allen had 17 to lead the Blue Devils.

Gibraltar also defeated NEW Lutheran 50-42 to extend their winning streak by one more game.

The Sevastopol girls basketball team has used decisive three-point shooting to increase their scoring output. The Pioneers have begun taking more threes, and although there have been issues finding the basket at times, the team has found itself open more and more as it begins to put more emphasis on the play. This improvement became most apparent last Friday, when Amber Roalkvan hit four three-point shots in addition to Kaitlyn Schauske's three three-pointers to lead the team over Lena 57-41 last Friday. Head coach Dan Judas said although the field goal percentage is not where he'd like just yet, the numbers are still there and will only continue to grow as the girls get more confident.
 

Chilina Cuellar and Zoe Kuehn also scored into the double-digits on Friday, but both elected to do so through shots inside the arc. The victory over Lena is Sevastopol's third non-conference victory this season. The Pioneers will get another chance to pick up their first conference victory of the year when they face Southern Door at home on Friday.
 

The Gibraltar girls basketball team is currently riding a nine game winning streak, but will look to defend it for the first time since January 18th when they take on the NEW Lutheran Blazers in Green Bay on Friday. With last week off due to finals and several games canceled already this week due to weather, the Vikings have not seen the court for some time. Head coach Josh Kropuenske is concerned about the lack of practice his team has had over the last week, but does still remain confident in its ability to shake off any rust that might remain from the long rest. He also reminisced on the last time the two teams met.

Gibraltar’s nine game winning streak began back on December 7th following a 76-48 victory over the same Blazers team the Vikings will meet on Friday. Kropuenske credits the 28-point victory for lighting a fire underneath the girls, who went into the contest at 1-4 on the season.
 

The Green Bay Packers have retained defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and running backs coach Ben Sirmans and promoted Jason Simmons to defensive backs coach and Ryan Downard to assistant defensive backs coach. Head Coach Matt LaFleur made the announcement Thursday.

Montgomery is entering his fifth season with the Packers and second as defensive line coach. He worked as the defensive front assistant for Green Bay from 2015-17. Montgomery has helped with the development of DL Kenny Clark, who recorded 10.5 sacks over the past two seasons, the most among Packers defensive linemen and second on the team over that span. In 2017, DL Mike Daniels earned his first career Pro Bowl selection, just the fifth defensive tackle in team history to be named to the Pro Bowl, after recording a career-best 72 tackles while ranking No. 3 on the team with five sacks. Montgomery joined the Packers in 2015 after coaching at the collegiate level for 11 seasons, which included eight seasons coaching the defensive line at the University of Oklahoma (2013-14), the University of Michigan (2011-12), the University of Wyoming (2009-10) and the University of Northern Iowa (2007-08). He began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of Iowa, as a student assistant in 2002. Montgomery continued coaching as an assistant at Iowa City West High School (2003-04) and as the defensive coordinator at North Iowa Community College (2005) while also playing for the Chicago Rush, Colorado Crush and Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena Football League (2003-05).

Sirmans is entering his fourth season as running backs coach for the Packers. From 2016-18, Green Bay led the NFL with an average of 4.66 yards per carry, including an average of 5.01 yards per carry in 2018 (No. 2 in the NFL) that was the second-best single-season mark in team history. He joined the Packers after spending the previous four seasons (2012-15) as the running backs coach for the St. Louis Rams. In 2015, Sirmans coached Todd Gurley, who was named to the Pro Bowl and the Pro Football Writers of America Offensive Rookie of the Year after leading all NFL rookies in rushing yards (1,106), scrimmage yards (1,294) and 100-yard games (five). Before joining the Rams in 2012, Sirmans spent 16 seasons as an assistant coach at the college level. He started his career at the University of Maine as the running backs/recruiting coordinator (1996-99). From 2000-04, he coached running backs at Kent State before joining Michigan State as a running backs coach in 2005. Sirmans added special teams to his coaching duties for the Spartans in 2006. His final college stop was at Boston College as the running backs coach from 2007-11. The East Orange, N.J., native played running back at Maine under current Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. As a senior, Sirmans ran for 1,214 yards and earned all-conference and All-New England honors.

Simmons is entering his ninth season with the Packers having worked in various roles. In 2018, he coached the secondary for Green Bay, helping a defense that improved from No. 23 in pass defense in 2017 to No. 12 in 2018. From 2015-17, Simmons served as the assistant special teams coach, helping the Packers rank No. 2 in the NFL over that span in opponent punt return average (5.7 yards per return). In 2014, Simmons was a defensive/special teams assistant, where he worked closely with special teams and spent much of his time tutoring perimeter players on various coverage and return teams. He also assisted with the defensive backs, helping the Green Bay defense rank No. 9 in the league in takeaways (29). Simmons joined the Packers in 2011 as a coaching administrator, a position he held for three years. Before coaching, he played for 10 years in the NFL as a defensive back and was a standout on special teams during his career. A fifth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1998 NFL Draft, Simmons went on to play 121 games from 1998-2007 for the Steelers and Houston Texans. He lettered four years as a cornerback for Arizona State, serving as a team captain and earning second-team All-Pacific-10 honors as a senior.

Downard (DOWN-erd) begins his second season in Green Bay after serving as the defensive quality control coach last year. He came to Green Bay after working at Bowling Green for two seasons, serving as the safeties coach in 2017 and the director of football operations in 2016. In 2017, he oversaw the development of Marcus Milton, who converted from cornerback to tie for the team lead with three interceptions, as well as junior-college transfer Fred Garth, who led the team with 95 tackles. From 2014-15, Downard was a defensive coaching assistant with the Cleveland Browns, assisting with the defensive line in 2014 and the defensive backs in 2015. Prior to his two seasons with the Browns, he served as a graduate assistant at both Texas Tech and Toledo. Downard played defensive back at Eastern Michigan, where he earned honorable mention Freshman All-America recognition from Scout.com in 2007 after ranking No. 2 in the country among freshmen with six interceptions.

After almost a week off due to weather-related issues, boys and girls basketball in the Door Peninsula is back.

On the girls side, Sevastopol hosts Southern Door(6:30 p.m.), Gibraltar hits the road to play NEW Lutheran, Sturgeon Bay travels to Peshtigo, Algoma battles Oconto across the bay, and Luxemburg-Casco plays at Wrightstown (7:00 p.m.). All other games begin at 7:30 p.m.

In boys basketball, Kewaunee travels to Algoma and Sturgeon Bay plays NEW Lutheran at home at 7:30 p.m., while Luxemburg-Casco hosts Fox Valley Lutheran at 7 p.m. 

A big second quarter led the Milwaukee Bucks to a big win over the Toronto Raptors in Canada Thursday night. The Bucks outscored the Raptors 34-22 in the deciding second quarter after entering the stanza down three. Seven players scored in double figures, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo's 19 points. Khris Middleton celebrated his inclusion in the upcoming All-Star Game by adding 18 points and grabbing six rebounds in the win. The road swing continues Saturday with a visit to the Nation's capital to play the Washington Wizards. 

It is homecoming weekend on the campus of UW-Green Bay as the both Phoenix basketball teams host state rival Milwaukee in a pair of games this weekend at the Kress Events Center. On Friday night at 7, the men battle the Panthers as they try to stay eligible for the year-end Horizon League Tournament, which only includes the top eight teams. A win would allow the Phoenix to leapfrog the Panthers in the standings and possibly UIC if the Flames also lose. Both teams enter the evening on two-game losing streaks. On Saturday afternoon at 1, the women get their turn to take on the Panthers after falling to IUPUI in overtime last Saturday. The loss put them in unfamiliar territory, looking up at Wright State and Youngstown State in the Horizon League standings. Both the men and women are coming into their games with the Panthers winning their first matchup earlier this season.