Aquinas falls in state semifinal

Playing in a larger division finally caught up with the La Crosse Aquinas football team.

After winning the last three Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division Five state championships, the Blugolds were bumped up to Division Four this year. This is the first season the WIAA has implemented performance escalators, which move teams up a division based on success.

That didn’t seem to matter much to Aquinas until last week. The team was won its first three WIAA playoff games before falling to Racine St. Catherine’s, 12-6, in Madison last Friday.

St. Catherine’s (13-0) will play Baldwin-Woodville (12-1) on Thursday for the Division Four state title. Stratford (13-0) and Wrightstown (12-1) will compete in Division Five, while Grantsburg (12-1) and Lomira (11-2) are the Division Six matchup and Potosi/Cassville (13-0) plays Edgar (12-1) in Division Seven. 

The top three divisions will be decided on Friday as Catholic Memorial (11-2) plays Notre Dame (13-0) in Division Three, Rice Lake (11-2) takes on Slinger (13-0) in Division Two and Bay Port (11-2) plays Muskego (9-4) in Division One.