W. Salem, Aquinas last two CC, DC grid teams in WIAA playoffs

And then there were two.

And they were the two teams that finished atop what proved to be a strong Coulee Con-ference in 2022. Last Friday, West Salem and La Crosse Aquinas became the last two teams from either the Coulee or Dairyland conferences remaining in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association playoffs.

West Salem (11-1) won the Coulee Conference thanks to a 28-14 win over Aquinas in the final week of the regular season. The Panthers opened Division Three WIAA playoff action with a 49-0 win over Waupaca before beating Fox Valley Lutheran 35-14 and Notre Dame, 21-14, last Friday.

The Panthers rejoined the Coulee Conference after spending the last eight seasons play-ing in the Mississippi Valley Conference. They will play a former MVC rival Onalaska (12-0) this Friday. The two teams topped the MVC standings in 2021 as Onalaska defeated West Salem 32-28 in the regular season. This time, the game will decide which teams travels to Camp Randall Stadium next week to play in the WIAA State Championship Game. 

Aquinas is also a CC newcomer, joining the conference in 2021 as part of a statewide realignment plan after previously being in the MVC. The Blugolds are the defending Division Five state champions and looked ready to repeat with playoff wins of 51-8 over Durand, 36-16 over Northwestern and 28-14 over Colby. This week, they’ll head to Wisconsin Rapids to play Kewaunee (11-1). 

The other two CC teams to qualify for the playoffs, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau and Westby, both lost their Level One games. 

The Dairyland Conference football season officially ended last Friday when Pepin/Alma lost to Division Seven powerhouse Bangor, 40-21. The Eagles finish the season 11-1, going un-defeated in the regular season before defeating Iowa-Grant 41-6 and River Ridge 45-34 in the playoffs. However, Bangor (11-1) scored four touchdowns in the first half as they won the re-match of the 2015 State Championship game. Bangor won that state championship and anoth-er in 2017 as they have advanced to at least Level Three of the playoffs six times in the last nine seasons.

The Cardinals will pay Eau Claire Regis in Arcadia with a trip to the state championship game on the line. 

Pepin/Alma was the only DC team to win a playoff game as Augusta, Cochrane-Fountain City and Blair-Taylor all lost their Level One games.