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Playoff Bracket · Football Division 5 OFFICIAL

WIAA official bracket, released October 17, 2026Next: Level 1, Fri, Oct 23 · 7 PMField table · How it works

Bracket and table computed Wed, Oct 21 · 4:34 PM CDT

Full boardRegion ARegion BRegion CRegion DFinal fourLater rounds fill in from verified results.

Green scores or Final/Award labels mark confirmed advancement. Dashed slots are imagined participants. Held, conflicting or incomplete results remain unresolved.

1 Racine Lutheran8 Columbus4 Kiel5 Milwaukee Acad. of Sc…3 Milwaukee North/Milwa…6 University School of…2 Lake Country Lutheran7 Brookfield Acad.TBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD1 New Glarus8 Bloomer4 Chilton5 Peshtigo3 Watertown Luther Prep6 Arcadia2 Saint Croix Falls7 Ozaukee/Random LakeTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD1 Darlington8 Dodgeville4 New Holstein5 Winnebago Lutheran3 Brillion6 Tomahawk2 Durand-Arkansaw7 OostburgTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD1 Amherst8 Wittenberg-Birnamwood4 Elk Mound5 Westfield3 Mayville6 Amery2 Grantsburg7 Spencer/Columbus Cath…TBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDState semifinalTBDTBDState semifinalTBDTBDState finalLevel 1Fri, Oct 23 · 7 PMLevel 1Fri, Oct 23 · 7 PMLevel 2Fri, Oct 30 · 7 PMLevel 2Fri, Oct 30 · 7 PMLevel 3Fri, Nov 6 · 7 PMLevel 3Fri, Nov 6 · 7 PMLevel 4Fri, Nov 13 · 7 PMLevel 4Fri, Nov 13 · 7 PMRegion ARegion BRegion CRegion D

Team labels open team pages. Hover or focus a team to trace its path. Confirmed game pages are linked below the drawing.

When the games are played. Level 1: Friday, October 23, 7:00 PM · Level 2: Friday, October 30, 7:00 PM · Level 3: Friday, November 6, 7:00 PM · Level 4: Friday, November 13, 7:00 PM. Each Level 1 game is at the site WIAA lists for it, shown below. Days and times are WIAA’s as of October 17 (Central time); WIAA’s bracket page has any change.

Level 1 games: day, time and site

This is WIAA’s bracket, released October 17, 2026 (WIAA’s bracket page). The region letters A to D are ours, in the order of WIAA’s page; WIAA prints none. See our own projection through week 9 →

Division 5 · Week 9 field and cut line

Table-only view →

Since week 8: in Dodgeville (38 → 29) · out Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau (32 → 33). Biggest climbs: Dodgeville ▲9, New Holstein ▲5, Peshtigo ▲5. Biggest drops: Arcadia ▼6, University School of Milwaukee ▼4, Ozaukee/Random Lake ▼3.

The seed column is WIAA’s. Rank, totals and the cut line are still our unofficial numbers, so a team can sit on the other side of our line from WIAA’s field.

Rank+/−TeamCityW-LTotalTier 1 AVGTier 2 AVGTier 2 WinsWIAA Seed
1–Racine Lutheran checkRacine26.381-A
2–Darlington checkDarlington26.331-C
3–Amherst checkAmherst23.331-D
4–New Glarus checkNew Glarus21.501-B
5–Durand-Arkansaw checkDurand19.392-C
6▲1Saint Croix Falls checkSaint Croix Falls17.782-B
7▼1Grantsburg checkGrantsburg17.062-D
8▲1Lake Country Lutheran checkHartland16.222-A
9▼1Brillion checkBrillion15.093-C
10–Milwaukee North/Milwaukee WI Conservatory of Lifelong Learning check14.403-A
11▲1Watertown Luther Prep checkWatertown14.393-B
12▼1Mayville checkMayville13.113-D
13▲1Elk Mound checkElk Mound11.834-D
14▼1Chilton checkChilton11.504-B
15▲5New Holstein checkNew Holstein11.504-C
16▼1Kiel checkKiel11.394-A
17▲2Westfield checkWestfield10.835-D
18▼2Winnebago Lutheran checkFond du Lac10.615-C
19▲2Milwaukee Academy of Science checkMilwaukee10.285-A
20▲5Peshtigo checkPeshtigo9.615-B
21▲1Amery checkAmery9.566-D
22▼4University School of Milwaukee checkMilwaukee8.596-A
23▼6Arcadia checkArcadia8.396-B
24▲2Tomahawk checkTomahawk7.726-C
25▼1Spencer/Columbus Catholic check7.567-D
26▼3Ozaukee/Random Lake check7.567-B
27▲1Brookfield Academy checkBrookfield6.967-A
28▼1Oostburg checkOostburg6.337-C
29▲9Dodgeville checkDodgeville5.898-C in
30–Bloomer checkBloomer5.228-B
31–Wittenberg-Birnamwood checkWittenberg5.118-D
32▼3Columbus checkColumbus5.008-A
Our unofficial cut line · top 32 by our numbers
33▼1Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau checkBelow cut lineGalesville4.50Not in WIAA field dropped
34▲2Obama SCTE checkBelow cut lineMilwaukee4.04Not in WIAA field
35▼1Northland Pines checkBelow cut lineEagle River3.78Not in WIAA field
36▼3Neillsville/Granton checkBelow cut line3.67Not in WIAA field
37▼2Wautoma checkBelow cut lineWautoma3.56Not in WIAA field
38▼1East Troy checkBelow cut lineEast Troy3.00Not in WIAA field
39▲6Southwestern/East Dubuque (IL) checkBelow cut line2.72Not in WIAA field
40–Parkview/Albany checkBelow cut line2.72Not in WIAA field
41▼2Kingdom Prep Lutheran checkBelow cut lineWauwatosa2.12Not in WIAA field
42▼1Richland Center checkBelow cut lineRichland Center2.00Not in WIAA field
43▼1Spooner checkBelow cut lineSpooner1.33Not in WIAA field
44T▼1Omro checkBelow cut lineOmro0.56Not in WIAA field
44T▼1Prescott checkBelow cut linePrescott0.56Not in WIAA field
46T▲1Brodhead/Juda checkBelow cut line0.50Not in WIAA field
46T▼1Sturgeon Bay checkBelow cut lineSturgeon Bay0.50Not in WIAA field
48T▼1Adams-Friendship checkBelow cut lineAdams0.00Not in WIAA field
48T▼1Clintonville checkBelow cut lineClintonville0.00Not in WIAA field
48T▼1River Valley checkBelow cut lineSpring Green0.00Not in WIAA field
48T▼1Viroqua checkBelow cut lineViroqua0.00Not in WIAA field
—Northwood/Solon Springs checkProgram eligibility not verified0-0————Unverified
—Winter/Birchwood checkProgram eligibility not verified0-0————Unverified

Wisconsin programs continue below the cut line in the same table. Eligibility notes use the published WIAA record; where it does not identify the reason, we say so. A three-year enrollment average above 200 can have a second-year commitment exception.

About this projection

Official bracket, unofficial table. The bracket above and the seeds are WIAA’s, as published October 17, 2026. Everything else on this page (rank, totals, the cut line, the weekly movement and the worked example) is still our own calculation, described below.

How our projection was made. Seeds come from the unofficial playoff matrix above (WIAA’s formula on the results we hold, 2026 regulations). Regions and Level 1 pairings follow the regulations’ travel rules with an approximation: straight-line miles between school ZIP centroids instead of WIAA’s travel distances, so a region letter or a pairing near the margin can differ. Slots: WIAA's official bracket where stored, projected elsewhere. Through week 9 (games dated Friday 2026-10-16 or earlier; WIAA deadline: completion before 11:59 p.m. Central; stored dates do not establish finish times). 32 of 51 in the field.

How WIAA builds the bracket, and how to check a team

  1. Tier 1 points. Every win earns points set by the team you beat: Division 1 = 6.5, D2 = 6.0, D3 = 5.5, D4 = 5.0, D5 = 4.5, D6 = 4.0, D7 = 3.5. A tie earns half. A loss earns nothing. A forfeit win earns the full value. Tier 1 AVG = Tier 1 points ÷ games played (at most 9).
  2. Tier 2 points. Add up their Tier 1 points for every team you beat (a team you tied is not beaten and adds no points). Opponents’ games = the games played by every team you played, won, lost or tied, added together (each counted up to 9). Tier 2 AVG = Tier 2 points ÷ opponents’ games, and the Tier 2 score is 9 × Tier 2 AVG. WIAA’s rule: “Divide Tier 2 points by opponents’ games played and multiply by 9 (this is a 100% bonus to the Strength of Victory) to get the Tier 2 score.”
  3. Total (PQS) = Tier 1 AVG + 9 × Tier 2 AVG. WIAA’s own example: Franklin 2024, 56.0 ÷ 9 + 228.5 ÷ 81 × 9 = 31.61. Ties in Total are broken by Tier 3, the average of the Tier 2 scores of the teams you beat.
  4. Replacement games. If a team replaced a forfeit win with a new game that week, the forfeit counts when the replacement was lost; when it was won, whichever is worth more counts (regulations 3h). WIAA prints such games as “Seeding Only”. When you beat a team in its replacement game, your Tier 2 points count that team’s Tier 1 points without the forfeit win it kept that week.
  5. Field and seeds. Teams are ranked inside their division by Total. The top 32 qualify after Week 9. Ranks 1–4 are the #1 seeds, 5–8 the #2 seeds, and so on to #8. The four #1 seeds anchor four regions: the #1- and #4-ranked go to one half of the state bracket, #2 and #3 to the other. #2 seeds join the nearest #1 seed, #3 and #4 seeds their likely second-round opponents, and #5–#8 are placed by the shortest total travel. Level 1 is #8 at #1, #5 at #4, #7 at #2 and #6 at #3 in each region.

Worked example: Racine Lutheran (rank 1, seed 1)

WIAA's final Week 9 report credits Catholic Central/Ken Ch Life as an opponent with 8 games and 4.5 Tier 1 points, plus 1 win. Its played-results ledger retains 2–7 over 9 games and 8 Tier 1 points. The official aggregate supplies opponent credit; it does not identify which game WIAA excluded or change a played result. The Tier 3 tie-break remains pending verification when it depends on this differing ledger.

DateOpponentResultOpponent’s valueTier 1 earnedOpp. Tier 1 pointsOpp. gamesCounts?
2026-08-21Marmion Academy, ILW5.5 (D3)5.5016.509yes
2026-08-28Martin LutherW5.5 (D3)5.5022.009yes
2026-09-04Saint FrancisW5 (D4)5.0036.509yes
2026-09-10Milwaukee Academy of ScienceW4.5 (D5)4.5024.509yes
2026-09-18CudahyW5.5 (D3)5.503.509yes
2026-09-25Catholic Central/Ken Ch LifeW (Seeding Only)4 (D6)4.004.508yes. Replacement win counted instead of the forfeit win over Catholic Central that week (more favorable, regulations 3h).
2026-09-25Catholic CentralW (forfeit)3.5 (D7)———Not counted: this forfeit win was replaced by the more favorable win on 2026-09-25 (regulations 3h).
2026-10-02University School of MilwaukeeW4.5 (D5)4.5029.009yes
2026-10-09Kenosha St. Joseph CatholicW4 (D6)4.0032.009yes
2026-10-16Pius XI CatholicW5.5 (D3)5.5022.509yes

Tier 1 AVG = 44.00 ÷ 9 = 4.889. Tier 2 points = 16.50 + 22.00 + 36.50 + 24.50 + 3.50 + 4.50 + 29.00 + 32.00 + 22.50 = 191.00; opponents’ games = 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 8 + 9 + 9 + 9 = 80; Tier 2 AVG = 191.00 ÷ 80 = 2.388. Total = 4.889 + 9 × 2.388 = 26.38 (Tier 3 tie-break pending verification).

To check another team’s numbers, open its row’s “check” link in the tables above. Team labels in the bracket open team pages.

WIAA Football Playoff Brackets: Official and Projected | Ewert Sports | Ewert Sports