Both teams will be riding high in this high school football North Shore Conference matchup!

Hartford (1-1) hosts Whitefish Bay (1-1) Friday night, September 1 at Gib Mahr Field. The series record between these two schools the last six years is 3-3. The Orioles defeated the Blue Dukes last season, 49-7.

WTKM's play-by-play announcer Jared Bublitz says Whitefish Bay is a different team this year.

"They were young last season, and a solid core of those players are back with more experience this year. Hartford had many of their leaders, like their quarterback and running backs graduate but last week's win over Germantown shows that they have a lot of talent stepping up and leading the way this season."

The Orioles beat Germantown, 41-29 behind a strong performance by Cason Boudwine. The senior running back rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Hartford continues to play two quarterbacks while the coaching staff continues to be impressed with both Bennett Klages and Connor Ford.

"Both of those guys bring a lot of talent to the table as a quarterback," according to Orioles' Head Football Coach John Redders. "They both have talents that we're looking for and both of those guys have taken a role in leadership. It's okay that we're playing two quarterbacks. We play multiple running backs, we play multiple receivers during the game and we rotate our linemen. We have very few positions in our program that don't get rotations."

The Blue Dukes defeated Wisconsin Lutheran, 44-7 last Friday night. Whitefish Bay senior quarterback Ben Volpe finished 9-of-10 for 189 yds. and three touchdowns. Junior running back Harry Bortolotti rushed for 95 yards and one touchdown.

Kickoff at 7 p.m. with live coverage on 104.9 WTKM and streaming on wtkmnews.com.

Hartford Union High School 3

Oshkosh West 3

Grafton 2

KML 0

Columbus 2

Campbellsport 0

Arrowhead 1

Waukesha South 1

Oconomowoc 3

Mukwonago 2

Oregon 3

Watertown 1

Marquette University 3

Menomonee Falls 0

One of the highlights of the summer at Hartford Union High School was the announcement of a new head coach for the girl's golf team. 

Vinny Daniels stepped into the position last June, and hit the ground running by organizing summer training opportunities.

Pat Austinson is the assistant coach.

The Orioles begin the season on Wednesday, August 30 in a Varsity Quad meet at Erin Hills Golf Course. Hartford is scheduled to play against Homestead, Sheboygan North and Notre Dame De La Baie Academy.    

Hartford Union High School 41

Germantown 29

Slinger 56

Whitnall 7

West Bend East 28

Sheboygan North 14

Oshkosh West 28

West Bend West 14

Lakeside Lutheran 14

Lake Country Lutheran 11

Kettle Moraine Lutheran 26

Watertown Luther Prep 6

Campbellsport 34

Kewaskum 27

Mayville 36

Horicon-Hustisford 28

Arrowhead 21

Homestead 3

Hamilton 35

Oconomowoc 34

Nicolet 46

Watertown 21

Dodgeland 22

Parkview-Albany 7

Lomira 27

Edgerton 20

Menomonee Falls 49

New Berlin West 38

Cedarburg 28

Wauwatosa West 14

Whitefish Bay 44

Wisconsin Lutheran 7  

The Hartford Union High School football team has moved on from their disappointing season opener. Their first game of the season ended with a loss to Waukesha West, 42-14. 

"I think it was a bit of a wake up call," said Orioles' Head Coach John Redders. "Waukesha West had a good game plan, and we had some turnovers that hurt us throughout the game."

A number of positive highlights stood out for Hartford in the loss, including senior linebacker Austin Minor's 12 tackles. Senior running back Cason Boudwine had 12 carries for 69 yards rushing and one touchdown.  

Moving on to their nonconference matchup on Friday, August 25 on the road against Germantown. Both teams are looking for their first win of the season.

"Germantown always has talent, it's a solid program and those kids are well coached, stated Redders. "We had a good week of practice, there was great energy around here. We'll be tested Friday night, and I like the way our kids have responded this week after a disappointing loss last week."

Homestead defeated the Warhawks, 34-14 in their first game of the season. Germantown's talented sophomore quarterback Vinny Inga finished the night with 124 yards rushing, and one touchdown along with 153 yards passing, while completing 10 of 19 and one touchdown. 

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. for the Orioles and Warhawks high school football game!          

Germantown 4

Hartford Union High School 0

West Bend West 2

Winnebago Lutheran 0

Campbellsport 1

Winneconne 0

Rock River Baseball playoff bracket, down to the final three teams!

Southern Division Championship:

Saturday, August 26th - 1p.m.

Neosho (2-1) at Milton (3-1)

Rock River Grand Championship - Best of 3 Series

Game 1 - Sunday, August 27th - 1p.m.

Milton/Neosho winner vs Kewaskum (in West Bend)

Game 2 - Saturday, September 2nd - 1pm

Kewaskum at Milton/Neosho winner

Game 3 - Sunday, September 3rd - 1pm

Milton/Neosho vs Kewaskum (in West Bend)

Land O' Lakes Fastpitch Softball Final Scores from the weekend of August 19.

Sussex 14                                                 

Oconomowoc 5     

Monches 11                                            

Merton 10                                                 

Lake Mills 10

Sussex 0

Milton 3

Monches 2

Lake Mills 10

Milton 6

Congratulations to Lake Mills, the first Land O' Lakes Fastpitch Softball Champion!

Land O' Lakes Baseball Final Scores:

Monches 14

Oconomowoc 9

Brookfield Bulldogs 9

Sussex 5

Monches 9

Brookfield Bulldogs 8

Congratulations to Monches for winning the 2023 Land O' Lakes Baseball Championship!

Their season ending awards include the two tournament's Most Outstanding Players.

In the softball tournament the choice was quite easy. When you go a perfect 5-5 on the day and walk twice...you get named Most Outstanding Player. Congrats to Lake Mills Outlawz player Paige Hanson on quite the tournament and season!

On the baseball side, it was much more difficult. There were players on both teams in the championship game that were well deserving, and quite frankly, the winner of the Most Outstanding Player has been unrated for over a decade despite stats that warrant legendary status in Land O' Lakes. 13 IP win 0 earned runs and just 6 base hits. Pitched in 3 of the 4 playoff games, and was warming up after throwing 8 inning a few hours prior. Congrats to Monches Irish player Andy Smith on his great tournament and season!

Congrats to the champs, Monches and Lake Mills!

Waukesha West 42                                 

Hartford 14                                                                                              

Slinger 49                                                 

Menomonee Falls 41                               

West Bend East 28                                  

Waterford 7                                               

Sheboygan South 7                                  

West Bend West 0                                                                      

Saint Mary's Springs 17                            

Lake Country Lutheran 0                           

Arrowhead 21                                             

Marquette University 14 

Kettle Moraine 40                                       

Racine Horlick 14                                         

Watertown Luther Prep 35

Jefferson 7

Oconomowoc 42

Watertown 13

Horicon-Hustisford 26

Lomira 13

Campbellsport 47

Green Bay West 8

The new tennis complex at Hartford Union High School was ready for the first day of practice on August 8 for the Orioles' girls tennis team. It was on display with a 16-team High School Girl's Tennis Invitational on opening weekend of the season.

It's a big improvement, according to HUHS Superintendent Jeff Walters.

"It was a lot of work, and it looks great. It's a big part of our campus at Hartford Union High School. It involved the application of the playing surface layer, and then they conducted a flood test to make sure there were no dimples on the surface of the courts. They also made sure it was not holding water, and draining properly."

A second layer of the playing surface was applied and then they waited around four weeks for it to settle and become firm. 

"This project has certainly been a journey," said Walters. "It took longer than we hoped it would, but in the end it's great for our community and our student-athletes."

The new tennis complex cannot have Pickleball lines on it because the HUHS District received a grant from the Tennis Association.    

Hartford Union High School's campus is expanding. Previously, it was the corner where the building is located but over one year ago they purchased the land across the street that holds the football complex and the two softball fields. Now, with the tennis complex that intersection has become Hartford Union High School's footprint.

Alaina Shelsta is a state champion. It has a nice ring to it. 

The Hartford Union High School student's dedication and hard work took her to the UW-Whitewater campus for the Special Olympics Summer Games in June.

Alaina ran her best 200 meters ever, with a time of 35.45 seconds. She also exceeded her shot put goal on her second throw, which measured 7.06 meters.

Congratulations Alaina!   

The Slinger High School football team is looking forward to another season.

The Owls finished last season tied for second place in the North Shore Conference, along with an 8-3 mark and a WIAA Level 2 playoff appearance. Kaukauna defeated Slinger, 45-24.

The Owls football team will be led by a new quarterback this season, with last year's starter Tanner Hora graduating. He led the Owls with 1,487 passing yards and 16 touchdowns while completing 57 percent of his passes.

Slinger Head Coach Bill Jacklin told WTKM Sports that Michael Thiede will step in as this season's starting quarterback.

"He's left-handed, and we like how athletic he is. Last season on JV, he was able to score touchdowns and scramble when receivers were not open. It's a nice opportunity for him."

The Owls entire offensive line returns this season. Senior Chris Haag plays left tackle, junior Cooper Williams at left guard, center will be anchored by junior Chase Jacklin, while right guard will be played by junior Charlie Hoitink, who has already committed to play college football at Stanford University and senior Richie Gerek rounds it out at right tackle.

"Our offensive line has been very impressive in the early going here," Jacklin said. "The experience is showing and they are adjusting to things while taking charge out there."

Slinger is blessed this season with a lot of depth at the running back position. Junior Santos Rodriguez will be counted on along with senior Jack Klippel.

The Owls open up their season Friday, August 18 with a home game against Menomonee Falls at 7:00 p.m.     

It's a new football season for Hartford Union High School.

The Orioles won the North Shore Conference championship last season and finished 8-3 with a Level 2 WIAA State playoff appearance. Their season ended against Homestead, with a 10-7 loss at Gib Mahr Field.  

Hartford Head Coach John Redders and his talented coaching staff are working hard so far this season. Coach Redders told WTKM Sports that he liked the effort during their scrimmage against Watertford and Menomonee Falls.

"Our scrimmage was a step in the right direction for the 2023 season. Both Waterford and Menomonee Falls are much improved compared to what they had the last couple of years. We were able to compete against them and move the ball while our defense, for the most part, stopped their offenses."

The Orioles will have a new quarterback leading the way this season, after three-year starter Austin Kutz graduated.

"Austin was such a big part of our program," according to Coach Redders. "He developed into such a great leader for us."

Kutz finished his impressive high school career with 3,289 passing yards. Last season, he led Hartford with 1,158 yards through the air with seven touchdowns while completing 58 percent of his passes.

"This season we have Connor Ford and Bennett Klages competing for that starting role," Redders said. "Both of them have been playing well, and doing a good job. They have been working hard. At this point, we wouldn't hesitate to put either of them in."

The Orioles strong rushing attack last season was led by Noah Deibert (1,230 yds. and 19 TDs) and Quinten Hornada (1,099 yds. and 19 TDs). Both of those talented football players graduated.

"Senior Cason Boudwine is a guy that has stood out at fullback for us," according to Coach Redders. "He is working hard and doing some good things."

Hartford's offensive line will see a number of young players this season, on an offensive unit that returns five starters.

On the other side of the ball, the defense certainly put in a solid showing during their scrimmage. The Orioles have an aggressive front, with solid linebackers leading the way including senior Austin Minor, who finished with 42 total tackles last season. 

The Hartford Orioles begin their season on Friday, August 18 with a home game against Waukesha West.