Tomorrow at 4pm at Hortonville High School, the 2 Menomonie Mustangs (9-1, 6-1 Big Rivers) take on the 3 Hortonville Polar Bears (10-0, 8-0 Bay) in a WIAA Division 2 Level 2 playoff game. Menomonie earned the right to advance to Level 2 after narrowly escaping 7 Marshfield in a Level 1 game last weekend at Menomonie 7-3. Quarterback Nate Stanley scored the eventual game-winning touchdown with 6:18 left in the third quarter to propel the Mustangs to victory. He leads the team in passing yards with 1005 and passing touchdowns. Derek Kahl is the workhorse for coach Joe LaBuda, as he leads the team with 1081 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Receiver Luke Stanley has 25 catches for 603 yards on the season for 9 touchdowns. Hortonville, the Bay conference champs, defeated Superior 47-0 in their opening round game last weekend at D.C. Everest. Coach Andy Kolosso led the Polar Bears to the conference championship by ending West De Pere's run at the top of the conference by one game. Hortonville knocked off WDP on the road in overtime, 31-28, to claim conference. Quarterback Andy Thompson has thrown for 1658 yards on the season to go along with 23 touchdowns. Alex Lasinski has rushed for 1297 yards and 23 touchdowns, while Mitch Lillige has caught 16 passes for 484 yards and 7 TD's on the season. Tristyn Guyette has caught 16 passes for 321 yards and 8 touchdowns to form a nice 1-2 receiving punch for the Polar Bears. Look for the home-field advantage of Hortonville to play a major part in this game. Look for the defense to show up in a big way and provide critical stops on critical drives during the game for Menomonie, as I think Hortonville will put together a complete game on their way to their 11th straight win on the season.
