WATCH: Holmen hosts Onalaska in MVC rivalry
Mississippi Valley Conference play begins this week, as Holmen High School's football team hosts rival Onalaska on Friday.
WKTY will stream all Holmen’s game this season on its website or search the Holmen Vikings channel on Roku. The stream starts at 6:45 p.m. with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
The Vikings have started the season strong on both sides of the ball — outscoring opponents 97-16.
Holmen's success has mostly been the result of the high-powered rushing attack of Elijah Kane (331 yds), Jack Barth (211 yds) and Colin Williams (100 yds), plus a stout defense that has allowed just over 300 yards of total offense and 16 points.
Onalaska bring a balanced offensive attack and stingy defense to Viking Stadium. The Hilltoppers have amassed 434 yards through the air and 373 more on the ground, thanks in part to Ian Kowal's 327 yards passing, Kaeson Stettler's 179 yards rushing and Luke Siegel's 186 yards receiving.
The defense has done its part, as well, allowing 26 points in the season opener and shutting out Medford last week — the only common opponent between both teams.
WATCH: Logan heads to Wausau East, after shutout win Week 1
The Logan High School football team will try to finish the nonconference portion of the season undefeated as they travel to Wausau East on Thursday night.
Every Rangers game will be stream on WKTY — or search the Logan Ranger channel on your Roku device.
Logan (1-0) used suffocating defense in a 12-0 season-opening win over Ellsworth. The Rangers held the Panthers to 21 yards rushing on 20 carries and intercepted quarterback Jack Stoltenburg twice in the fourth quarter.
Logan sophomore quarterback Tommy Check was the source of the offense. He threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Stanton and added an 18-yard scamper. Check didn't take long in taking over the QB role that his brother Bradley Check held last season — totaling 101 yards on 26 carries.
On the other side of the field, Wausau East (1-0) handled Westby last week 30-6 loss last week, using a balanced offense with 260 yards passing and 105 yards on the ground.
Logan will open MVC play next week, hosting Sparta.
WATCH: Holmen football faces Sauk Prairie, after big Week 1 win
Holmen High School's football team hits the road for Week 2, up against Sauk Prairie in a nonconference matchup of undefeateds.
The Vikings offense started off hot in Week 1 with a 55-16 win over Medford — scoring 48 unanswered points in the first half. Holmen amassed 333 yards on the ground while the defense allowed less than 20 yds in the first half and 198 yards of total offense.
Holmen's Jack Barth and Elijah Kane each had three touchdowns. Barth ran for 180 yards on six carries, including an 80-yard score. Kane rushed 17 times for 138 yards.
Meanwhile, Sauk Prairie is coming off a 21-0 victory over the Baraboo.
This game's a rematch of Week 2 action from last season, in which the Vikings won at home 24-15, starting a five-game win streak.
Watch all Holmen's games on the WKTY app or online https://wktysports.com/hhs/, as well as on the new Holmen Vikings channel on ROKU streaming devices.
Check scores two in QB debut, as Logan shuts out Ellsworth in season-opener
A new era at quarterback started strong for Logan High School’s football team Thursday night.
Sophomore Tommy Check — a first-year starter at QB, taking over for his brother — threw for one score and ran for another as the Rangers shut out Ellsworth 12–0 at Swanson Field.
Check, who saw the field as a freshman wide receiver last season when Logan was a win from getting to the state championship, made his mark at the helm early.
After both teams opened with punts, Logan faced 3rd-and-22 when Check fired a strike downfield to Andrew Stanton, who raced the rest of the way for a 40-yard touchdown.
The two-point try failed, but the Rangers led 6–0 with 4:52 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Stanton set Logan up again with a long punt return.
This time, Check kept it himself, weaving through traffic on an 18-yard quarterback draw for the second touchdown of the night.
Another missed conversion left the score 12–0 at halftime.
Logan’s defense did the rest.
The Rangers shut down Ellsworth after the break, with Jackson Bosch and Viktor Kravanja each coming up with interceptions to seal the season-opening victory.
Logan is on the road next Thursday, facing Wausau East.
La Crosse’s Lauren Jarrett headed to “Rocky Top,” signing with DI Tennessee, after stellar UW-L career
Lauren Jarrett is headed to Division I, leaving UW–La Crosse as one of the most decorated NCAA Division III athletes in track and field history.
The Logan High graduate will spend her final collegiate season with Tennessee, which announced her transfer on social media, saying “Welcome to Rocky Top.”
“Extremely happy for her,” UW-L women’s T&F coach Nickolas Davis told WIZM in a quick text exchange.
Jarrett leaves UW–L with 12 national championships — nine individual sprint titles and three relay golds. As a freshman, she helped the UW-L women’s team win both the indoor and outdoor DIII National Championships.
She departs as the NCAA DIII record holder in the indoor 60-meter dash (7.29 seconds) and outdoor 100 (11.23).
Jarrett dominated last season.
She swept the 60- and 200-meter dashes indoors, then won both the 100 and 200 outdoors, while also anchoring the Eagles’ record-setting 400 relay team. That earned her the USTFCCCA National Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
Jarrett also tested herself against the nation’s best at the USATF Indoor Championships, placing sixth in the 60 dash.
As a sophomore, Jarrett continued her rise with national titles in the 60 and 100, along with another All-American showing in the 200.
She broke onto the national scene freshman year, winning her first NCAA crown in the 60-meter dash while adding All-American honors in the 100 and 200.
Previewing Holmen football with coach Travis Kowalski
Holmen High School football coach Travis Kowalski joined to help preview the season, as they open on the road Friday at Medford.
The Vikings were 7-4 last year and one of five teams to tie for the Mississippi Valley Conference championship — though Kowalski does reveal who was the outright winner.
WKTY will stream all Holmen’s game this season on its website or search the Holmen Vikings channel on your Roku.
La Crosse Talk airs weekdays at 6-8 a.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk wherever you get your podcasts.
Colin Williams will start at quarterback for Holmen, which returns its entire backfield to run that traditional triple-option offense. That includes Jack Barth, who went over 1,000 yards last season.
The Vikings did lose quarterback Alex Berget in preseason to a broken ankle. He likely won’t play at all this season, after scoring 18 touchdowns last year. Kowaski, though, has every bit of confidence in Williams to step in.
Kowalski also noted they have about half their starters back on each side of the ball.
We also discussed the new playoff point seeding, which takes into account your strength of schedule, and how that might play out in the long run.
Kowalski has been with Holmen for 18 years — this is his 10th season as head coach.
UW-La Crosse grad Caleb Boushley makes first-career MLB start
UW-La Crosse grad and Wisconsin native Caleb Boushley made his first career MLB start on Thursday.
The 31-year-old Hortonville native lasted just three innings, giving up five hits and three earned, but his Texas Rangers did get the 6-3 win over Kansas City.
Boushley is in his third MLB season. He played his first-ever game with the Milwaukee Brewers back in 2023, getting a win in 2.1 innings of relief work.
Heading into Wednesday night, Boushley had played in 20 games this season as a reliever, striking out 35 in 36.2 innings with a 4.91 ERA.
At UW-L, Boushley ranks first in school history in wins (24), innings (264.2) and strikeouts (227). He is second in career ERA (2.28). A transfer from UW-Fox Valley, Boushley finished 24-5 in his three-year career at UW-L with 10 complete-games and four shutouts (second in school history).
He was picked in the 33rd round of the 2017 draft by the San Diego Padres — the 11th player in UW-L history to be drafted.
Logan football coach Knoble previews season, after state semi run last year
A year ago, they were a win away from getting to the state championship.
Logan High School football coach Casey Knoble joined La Crosse Talk to preview this season, as they have a new quarterback in sophomore Tommy Check at the helm, behind a lot of returners on the line, plus Maxim Roberts at running back.
Roberts returns after rushing for 864 yards and eight touchdowns. Check has to replace his brother on offense, who had 51 total touchdowns.
Logan’s season starts at 7 p.m. Thursday at home against Ellsworth. Every Rangers game will be stream on WKTY — or search the Logan Ranger channel on your Roku device.
The Rangers were 10-3 last year and finished in a five-way tie for the Mississippi Valley Conference title.
They lost in the state semifinals 41-21 to Green Bay Notre Dame, which had a Notre Dame recruit on it — the son of former Chicago Bears and Irish defensive tackle, Jim Flanagan (something we joked about a bit).
We also talked a little bit about bylaw changes with the WIAA, allowing unlimited contact with players all summer and how Logan’s coaching staffs handle that as one unit.
Previewing Central High football with coach Mitch Olson
Central High School football coach Mitch Olson joins to help preview the season, ahead of their opening game at home Thursday against Waunakee.
The RiverHawks were in a five-way tie for the Mississippi Valley Conference last year and finished 5-5, losing to Holmen in the first round of the playoffs.
Olson takes over this season as head coach, after being defensive coordinator and with the program the past five years.
On the show, Olson talks about who’s gone and who’s back, plus some of the bylaw changes the WIAA made this year — including unlimited contact with players in the summer.
One of the players Olson singled out was Owen Skiles, who tore his ACL during those contact days this summer. Skiles, beyond football, is a student who got a perfect score on his ACT as he gets set to go to UW-Green Bay next season.
Brewers win No. 12 in a row and Wisconsin gets free burgers
A month ago, they were a win away from 12 consecutive wins — and free burgers for all.
Wednesday, the Brewers did it — picked up win No. 12 in a row and now Wisconsin gets free burgers from George Webb.
It’ll be just the third time since the mid-1980s the company has had to dish out the free food for Brewers win streaks.
Milwaukee did it to open the 1987 season and 170,000 burgers were given away.
And back in 2018, the Brewers closed the regular season with eight wins, then won four more in the postseason — where George Webb then gave out 190,000 burgers and vouchers.
And Wednesday, the Brewers picked up No. 12 with a 12-5 win over the Pirates.
Milwaukee starter Brandon Woodruff knew what was on the line.
“I was nervous,” he said. “There was a little bit more at stake today. I wanted to win those burgers bad. Who doesn’t want a free burger?”
George Webb says 2-6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, everyone who shows up at all locations throughout Wisconsin will be entitled to one free burger. The chain has 23 locations, almost entirely in the Milwaukee area.