• Division 1 Sectionals: Who Has The Most Pressure?



    When it's crunch time, you will see who will survive the pressure cooker and who will fold. This weekend's Division 1 sectionals - the only one I'm focused on - will let me know who will survive.

    Of the four sectional rounds, the only team facing the most pressure and has more to lose is Germantown. I say that because they're not guaranteed to get past Sussex Hamilton Thursday. Who knows? The Warhawks might have an off day. That will open the doors for Hamilton to go in for the kill.

    Unfortunately, in a perfect and fairy tale world, that won't be a reality for the Chargers. But let's assume that Germantown beats Hamilton, they still have to take care of De Pere early and put the game out of reach in the sectional finals in Manitowoc.

    Madison Memorial should breeze past Sun Prairie on Thursday. If Mukwonago beats Burlington that same night, then it could be an interesting matchup for the Spartans against the Indians at Kettle Moraine Saturday. Burlington could play the role of spoiler and beat the Indians in the sectional semis. That's why it's not easy to play these scenarios out because you never know which way the wind blows.

    I would like to see Milwaukee King at West Allis Central, but I'll be following the state's No. 1 team around like a groupie to see if they will make state for the first time since 2009. The Generals haven't been to Madison in a long time, so they're overdue. Milwaukee Hamilton might have their troubles with Racine Park, but I really need them to win so there will be an all-Milwaukee sectional final.

    In the past, you would see two Milwaukee schools play each other in the state finals, but not anymore. I guess the WIAA fixed it so there's only one Milwaukee school represented at state. Hamilton and King played in separate sectionals before this year, but since most of the City Conference schools are lumped together in one bracket, they cancel each other out.

    The theory behind that, in my opinion, is that the Milwaukee schools don't spend enough money at the Kohl Center, but like I said, that's what I think. I don't know that much about D.C. Everest or Oshkosh North, but I think there will be a full house when they battle Saturday in Stevens Point in the backyard of the WIAA headquarters.

    I hope that Deb Hauser isn't at Manitowoc on Saturday. If she shows up, that could be a bad omen for Germantown. The Warhawks were robbed of an opportunity to go to state last year because the timer at the scorers table didn't start the clock on time, giving Appleton East enough time to surge ahead and win the game in overtime.