Muskego, Bradford mirror images

Muskego - When the Muskego and Kenosha Bradford football players take the Warriors' home field this Friday night for the Southeast Conference championship game, they might think they are looking into a mirror.

Their records are the same - 5-0 in the SEC and 7-0 overall - but the similarities between the teams actually run much deeper.

"Offensively, both teams don't have a lot of different plays, but what they have is they run well," Muskego coach Ken Krause said. "They both stay on the ground and throw just enough to keep the defenses honest. Defensively, they both have some kids around 200 pounds who are fast."

Offensive juggernauts

Both squads can put up plenty of points. The Warriors are averaging around 40 points this season and are coming off a 35-7 victory over Racine Case on Friday night, while the Red Devils have tallied over 45 points for four straight weeks, including a 49-14 romp over Racine Horlick last week.

Muskego's season high is 55 against Port Washington and Burlington, while Bradford hit 55 against Oak Creek. The Warriors' lowest output is 20 versus Franklin and the Red Devils' lowest total was 25, also against the Sabers.

Last season, Bradford went 7-0 in the SEC, including a 62-19 victory over Muskego, and 11-1 overall.

Warriors seeking win

Krause is confident the outcome will be different this Friday night.

"The game will likely go back and forth, and we need to stay positive," he said. "We hope that our weight-lifting and conditioning will help us in the fourth quarter.

"I am happy it is at home. We receive great support from the community."

Bradford lost all-state running back Vonte Jackson to injury in the season opener against Milwaukee Riverside but has not missed a beat with a strong corps of backs, including Dewey Werner, Quanzell Murphy, Henry Cabrera, John Myers and Tyree Lanier.

Murphy scored three touchdowns while running for 120 yards and Myers tallied a pair of scores in the Horlick game last week.

The quarterback is Zach Swisher, who completed six of nine passes for 100 yards against the Rebels.

"They have a good group of backs," Krause said. "It's not a one-man show."

A pair of running backs

The Warriors have the one-two running punch of Brady Simkowski and Roland Dunlap, both of whom collected over 100 yards against Case on Friday.

Simkowski ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns, while Dunlap totaled 131 yards on just 15 carries (8.7 average) and tallied once.

"Brady runs up the middle, and that sets up the outside for Roland," Krause said.

Muskego also used a passing game on Friday as quarterback Eric Pachowitz threw 10 times, completing three for 41 yards and a score to tight end Jim Mock.

"They had 10 guys in the box (to stop the running game)," Krause said. "We completed that touchdown pass and just missed on a couple of others. That helped our running game."

Krause took the Muskego head job four seasons ago, steadily building the program. The Warriors have won 15 of 19 games and are poised to claim a championship with a victory Friday.

"It's been a lot of hard work, and it's nice that we are getting rewarded with some wins," he said.

COLLISION COURSE

The season results for Muskego and Kenosha Bradford:

MUSKEGO

Muskego 55, Port Washington 19

Muskego 55, Burlington 7

Muskego 49, Racine Horlick 7

Muskego 34, Kenosha Tremper 19

Muskego 35, Racine Park 27

Muskego 20, Franklin 0

Muskego 35, Racine Case 7

BRADFORD

Bradford 27, Riverside 14

Bradford 33, Hudson 13

Bradford 25, Franklin 0

Bradford 47, Racine Case 6

Bradford 48, Kenosha Tremper 23

Bradford 55, Oak Creek 35

Bradford 49, Racine Horlick 14