GAME OF THE WEEK (Oct. 6–12)

SWC BOYS SOCCER: Platteville/Lancaster (11–1–2, 8–1–1 SWC) at Prairie du Chien (13–1–1, 8–1–1 SWC), Thursday, Oct. 6, 5 p.m.

     For all the marbles, winner-take-all, to the victory go the spoils. Today’s Southwest Wisconsin Conference boys soccer match between visiting Platteville/Lancaster and Prairie du Chien will decide this year’s SWC championship. It is also this week’s McDonald’s Swnews4U.com Game of the Week.

     “It’s winner take all tonight,” said Hillmen head coach Brandon Pink. “It’s definitely a big game.”

     The Blackhawks scored four unanswered second-half goals to rally from a 3–0 deficit to stun the Hillmen Sept. 1 at Platteville High School. Prairie du Chien once again rallied against the Platteville co-op, scoring a late goal to force a 2–2 draw in the rematch on Sept. 20, also at Platteville.

     Coach Pink’s Hillmen are a perfect 8–0 in their other SWC matches, including a 1–0 victory over Dodgeville/Mineral Point on Tuesday and a 3–0 shutout at Richland Center on Monday. Logan Weaver scored the lone goal in Tuesday’s win, while senior forward Ryan Roling scored twice for the Hillmen in Monday’s win at Richland Center.

     The Dodgers handed Prairie du Chien its only loss of the season, a 1–0 decision back on Sept. 13.

     A quick start will again be the focus for Pink’s Hillmen, but this time if they manage to get the lead, they must find a way to finish off the Blackhawks to clinch at least a share of the SWC title.

     The Hillmen will travel to Sugar River on Saturday before closing out the conference season Tuesday at winless Richland Center (0–13–1, 0–8–1). Platteville/Lancaster will host Wisconsin Heights in a non-conference match to close out the regular season next Thursday.

     Prairie du Chien hosts Marston in a non-conference game on Tuesday and ends the SWC season with a home game against River Valley on Thursday. 

PREP FOOTBALL: This week’s area games 

SWC

Platteville (6–1, 3–0 SWC) at River Valley (4–2, 2–1 SWC), Friday, 7 p.m.

     The Hillmen are already playoff eligible, but they have bigger goals now. A win at River Valley Friday night can set-up a winner-take-all Southwest Wisconsin Conference Championship game at Lancaster in next week’s regular season finale. The Blackhawks can maintain hope of a three-way conference title with a win this Friday and a Platteville victory at Lancaster next week.

Lancaster (7–0, 3–0 SWC, ranked 3rd in Division 5) at Dodgeville (4–3, 1–2 SWC), Friday, 7 p.m.

     The undefeated Flying Arrows looks to run their perfect mark to 8–0 with a win at Dodgeville Friday night.

Richland Center (0–7, 0–4 SWC) at Prairie du Chien (2–5, 0–3 SWC)

SWAL

Iowa–Grant (4–3, 3–1 SWAL) at Cuba City (3–4, 2–2 SWAL), Friday, 7 p.m.

     The Panthers will look to bounce back from last week’s 13–6 loss to Milk Can rival Fennimore. The Cubans still need one more conference win to become playoff eligible. 

Darlington (8–0, 4–0 SWAL, ranked #2 in D6) at Fennimore (5–2, 4–1 SWAL) Friday, 7 p.m.

Mineral Point (4–3, 1–3 SWAL) at Boscobel (1–6, 1–4 SWAL), Friday, 7 p.m.

SIX RIVERS

River Ridge (3–4, 3–3 SRC) at Potosi (3–5, 3–4 SRC), Friday, 7 p.m.

     The Chieftains have bounced back after a 1–4 start to the season by winning back-to-back games over Benton/Scales Mound and Belmont. They will look to punch their playoff ticket with a win over River Ridge on Friday. The Timberwolves can earn a postseason berth with a win in either of their final two games. Ridge travels to Black Hawk next week to close out the regular season.

Belmont (0–7, 0–6 SRC) at Shullsburg (7–1, 5–1 SRC), Friday, 7 p.m.

Highland (6–3, 6–2 SRC) defeats Cassville (0–8, 0–8 SRC) by forfeit

Benton/Scales Mound (2–5, 2–4 SRC) at Pecatonica/Argyle (8–0, 6–0 SRC, ranked 4th in D6), Saturday, 2 p.m.

Non-Conference

Belleville (4–3) at Southwestern (1–6), Friday, 7 p.m.

Black Hawk (5–3) at Royall (5–2), Friday, 7 p.m.

PREP VOLLEYBALL: This week’s area games of note

SWC 

Platteville (12–18, 5–2 SWC) at River Valley (22–12, 4–2 SWC), Thursday, Oct. 6, 7:15 p.m.

     The Hillmen and Blackhawks will square off in a battle for second place in the Southwest Wisconsin Conference. The Blackhawks swept Platteville on their home court 25–13, 26–24, 26–24 in the teams’ first meeting on Sept. 13. Since then, both Platteville and Valley have lost in five sets to SWC-leading Richland Center (22–4, 6–0). The winner of tonight’s match will have an outside chance at catching the Hornets for a share of this year’s conference title. The loser will be relegated to third-place in the league.

SWAL

Cuba City (14–13–1, 7–2 SWAL) at Mineral Point (20–4, 7–1 SWAL), Thursday, Oct. 6, 7:15 p.m.

     The Cubans can regain a share of first-place in the SWAL with a win at Mineral Point tonight. Coach Kari Lawson’s team defeated the Pointers at home on Sept. 8, 3–1, but lost a pair of matches to Darlington in less than a week to fall into second-place, a game back of league-leading Point.

Six Rivers West

River Ridge (14–2–1, 8–1 SRW) at Benton (22–1–1, 10–0 SRW), Monday, Oct. 10, 7:15 p.m.

      The Zephyrs can clinch at least a share of their first conference title since 1988 with a win over Belmont tonight, but this week’s match to watch in the Six Rivers West will be Benton’s final home game against second-place River Ridge next Tuesday night. The young Timberwolves hope to steal a share of this year’s conference crown with a victory on Benton’s home court. The Zephyrs dominated the first meeting between the two teams, 25–16, 26–24, 25–18 on Sept. 19.