CommunityWatch

Pigskin Picks Week 1 winner revealed; Miss St. Francis, NOW scribe lead VIP pickers

Sept. 01, 2012 7:10 p.m. | Congratulations are in order for Jeff Slusar, who correctly picked the winners of all five games in this week's MyCommunityNOW Pigskin Picks contest and predicted the exact final score of the Brookfield Central vs. West Allis Hale tiebreaker match up.

Slusar wins a pair of tickets to Marcus Theatres and is among the leaders as we head into the second week of the contest. Three winners at the end of the season will receive a gift card to Bartolotta restaurants worth $100, $50 or $25.

Colleen Mrotek, the reigning Miss St. Francis, proved her football prowess by picking all five games correctly. She is joined atop the VIP rankings by NOW sportswriter John Rech, who also enjoyed an undefeated week.

This week's games are now available for picking. Featured contests are: Catholic Memorial vs. Arrowhead; Brookfield Central vs. Sussex Hamilton; Cedarburg vs. Whitefish Bay; Oak Creek vs. Franklin and Marquette vs. West Allis Hale.

Join MyCommunityNOW's Pigskin Picks contest

Lancers making habit of living dangerously

By Mike Daly

Sept. 01, 2012 12:14 a.m. |

Another week, another exhilarating win for the Brookfield Central Lancers.

And while host West Allis Hale fell just short Friday night in a 21-14 double-overtime defeat, it was crystal clear the Huskies are a drastically different team than the one that went 1-6 in the Greater Metro Conference in 2011.

“Be on alert,” Brookfield Central head coach Jamie Meulemans said. “It’s the Greater Metro Conference. West Allis Hale a great team, they’ve got great athletes. Week in and week out, you have to have a sense of urgency in this conference.”

Early on, it looked like there might be a repeat of last season’s 34-14 drubbing, as the Lancers scored in just under two minutes. The initial scoring drive was set up by junior Demario Harris’ 54-yard run on the first play from scrimmage.

But in a game marred by an inordinate amount of mental miscues on both sides, the offenses lagged as the first half continued. The Huskies made it 7-6 on senior Taylor Tomczak’s 1-yard touchdown run with 2:13 left in the half but missed the extra point.

Central nearly scored again before the end of the half after a series of more bruising runs from Harris, but a sack on second and goal left the Lancers helpless to stop the clock.

Late in the third, Harris rattled off another 43-yard rush to set up a 10-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Riley Richarz.

“Demario just gets stronger as the game goes on,” Meulemans said. “A game like that with a lot of snaps, everyone’s tired, but you look in their eyes and you can see they’re ready to go right back at it.”

The Huskies were productive on offense most of the night but had several drives stall due to penalties and dropped passes. Finally, midway through the fourth quarter, they advanced to the Lancers’ 10-yard line. On fourth down from the 9-yard line, senior quarterback Nick Sotiros hit Marcel Mundt over the middle on a slant. Junior running back Corey Stingley converted the two-point attempt to tie the game at 14 with seven minutes to play.

On the Lancers next possession, they were stopped on 4th-and-1 when Huskies linebacker Richie Jordan stuffed Harris on a dive. The Huskies’ offense drove deep into Central territory, but defensive lineman Drew Degner’s interception with 27 seconds left forced overtime.

“It was an awesome effort from the whole defensive line,” Lancers defensive end Austin Vanark said. “When the whole line plays like that, it gives everyone a chance to step up and make plays.”

The Lancers defense stopped the Huskies in the first overtime possession but fumbled on their own possession. In the second overtime, Central senior Marcus Crum scored on a play-action run the left, giving Central a 21-14 lead.

“I was hoping they’d call my number,” Crum said. “It just opened up for us. Great blocking from our line, great blocking from the slot, and that was it.”

Meulemans said it was Harris’ 25-carry, 225-yard performance that made the game-winning play possible.

“We thought we could get to the edge there,” he said. “They were playing really heavy on Demario inside, so we ran a little play action and then went outside.”

The game appeared headed for a third overtime when Sotiros hit Dylan Gilbert in stride on a slant over the middle on third down, but Gilbert dropped the ball. A screen on fourth down went nowhere, and the Lancers bench rejoiced.

“Once again, these kids overcame adversity,” Meulemans said. “We’ve been telling them all summer, things happen and you have to be able to push back, in football and in life. They’ve done it two weeks in a row now. It’s a sign of a good team; it’s a sign of a team that plays together. They regroup no matter what the circumstance is, and I’m very proud of these boys for that.”

The 2-0 Lancers travel to 2-0 Sussex Hamilton next week in a clash that could well determine the champion in the Greater Metro. Hale gets another chance to show it belongs, hosting Marquette.

Schober picks up penalty-plagued Spartans

By Robert Van Groll

Aug. 31, 2012 11:18 p.m. | Brookfield East’s hard tackling and physical play had to make up for a lack of discipline on Friday evening, but the Spartans came out with a 33-7 victory in their home opener over West Allis Central.

The Spartans gained 299 yards despite racking up a plethora of penalties throughout the game. They were led by Zach Schober, who rushed for 162 of those yards.

“Our offensive line did a great job," Schober said. "Those guys started it off for me and opened the holes, so I’m really not surprised,” said Schober.

The scoring started in the first quarter when the Bulldogs were stopped on their opening drive. Dakota Behrs punted the ball to Schober, who returned it for a 65-yard touchdown. On their next possession, the Bulldogs marched down to the Spartans’ 10-yard line, when Behrs completed a pass that was fumbled and recovered by East’s Sam Brunker.

The Spartans began to march in the opposite direction led by Kyle Wirtz, who caught three passes of 14 yards, 11 yards and 6 yards. The Spartans three times tried to punch the ball into the Bulldogs end zone from the 1-yard line but were denied on all three, with Alec James wrapped up on third down.

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Prove your football-picking savvy against Miss St. Francis, veteran sportswriters

Aug. 31, 2012 3:47 p.m. | The kickoff of tonight's slate of high school football games is a little more than three hours away and that is plenty of time to join MyCommunityNOW's Pigskin Picks competition.

Prove your high school football prognosticating skills by visiting mycommunitynow.com/pigskin to join the contest. Weekly winners will receive movie passes for Marcus Theatres and the three contestants who amass the best record during the entire contest will be eligible to receive gift cards to Bartolotta restaurants worth $100, $50 or $25.

Reigning Miss St. Francis Colleen Mrotek and Time Warner Cable Sports 32's JP Cadorin have made their special celebrity picks in this week's featured games, which include Arrowhead at Muskego, Whitefish Bay at Germantown, Sussex Hamilton at Marquette, Greendale at Greenfield and Brookfield Central at West Allis Hale.

They are joined by Lake Country Sports Director JR Radcliffe and NOW sports reporters John Rech, Tom "Sky" Skibosh and Steven L. Tietz.

Join MyCommunityNOW's Pigskin Picks contest.

Vrakas capital budget winds down major projects

By Laurel Walker of the Journal Sentinel

Aug. 30, 2012 4:22 p.m. | Waukesha - Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas released his five-year capital plan Thursday that will, in next year's budget, see the end of funding for the county's two largest projects - the $35.2 million new health and human services building and the multiphase widening of Janesville Road that began in 2006 at a total cost of $38 million.

Vrakas' plan calls for 2013 spending of $28.9 million - $12 million less than this year. Typically, the county levies one-year taxes for 20% of project costs - and sometimes as much as 25% - and borrows the rest, paying off the debt in 10 years.

With construction well under way on the new health and human services building, Vrakas announced that another $1 million saving, in addition to the $500,000 previously announced, will occur as a result of the favorable bidding and weather-related construction climates.

The building, located along Riverview Ave. surrounded by Moor Downs Golf Course and near the current health and human services offices, is scheduled to be finished at the end of next year.

The proposed five-year building plan for all county projects, totaling about $69.5 million after nearly $20 million in offsetting revenue, devotes $42.8 million to road projects. Another $37.6 million in federal funds will help pay for the highway projects.

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Waukesha County ends failed van pooling program

By Laurel Walker of the Journal Sentinel

Aug. 29, 2012 11:46 a.m. | Waukesha - The Waukesha County Board on Tuesday unanimously voted to discontinue the county's failed van pooling program for commuters, a pilot program that never took hold.

In late 2010, the county spent about $186,000 on eight vans that were intended to provide a more efficient door-to-door transit service than large fixed route buses, but only one of the vans was ever put in service. Another $35,000 was spent on marketing and operating costs.

Initially, the county intended to use federal stimulus funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the purchase, but those funds were never drawn on.

Now the county hopes to sell the Dodge Caravans for a minimum of $15,500 to nonprofit agencies to recoup some of the costs. If not sold, the vans would then be put up for auction as other county surplus equipment is.

Drunken driving crackdown nets four arrests in matter of hours

By NOW Staff

Aug. 28, 2012 5:58 p.m. | The city of Brookfield Police Department arrested four people for driving under the influence of intoxicants between 9:20 p.m. Friday and 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

"Obviously, this problem is not going away any time soon," Capt. Phil Horter said in a news release. "We will continue to aggressively attack this issue with on-duty personnel and utilizing additional personnel with grant funding provided to us (from state and federal government)."

The arrests:

A 42-year-old Pewaukee woman was arrested for her third offense of drunken driving at 9:21 p.m. Friday.

A 49-year-old Germantown man was arrested for drunken driving after he crashed his motorcycle on Moorland Road at 9:43 p.m. Friday.

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Vrakas to seek budget to study election equipment needs

By Laurel Walker of the Journal Sentinel

Aug. 28, 2012 2:34 p.m. | Waukesha - Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas will seek $70,000 in next year's capital budget to prepare the way for new election equipment countywide.

Shawn Lundie, Vrakas' chief of staff, said Vrakas included the new proposal after talking to Republican nominee for county clerk, Kathleen Novack, who concurred with its need. Democrat Jessie Read, her opponent in the November general election, was not similarly contacted, however.

The funds, if approved by the County Board, would pay a consultant to establish system requirements, business processes and a needs analysis for new election hardware and software.

The proposal will be part of the 2013-'17 capital plan Vrakas intends to submit to the County Board on Friday.

"Waukesha County is a rapidly growing county and in recent years the number of reporting units in the county has increased," Vrakas said. "This, coupled with the collecting, tallying and reporting vote totals, has made the process cumbersome. The goal is to automate and streamline the system as much as possible to prevent human error."

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Former Brookfield Academy tennis star wins first round match at the US Open

By Christopher Kuhagen

Aug. 28, 2012 1:50 p.m. | Day 1 of the US Open featured the usual suspects like World No. 1 Roger Federer and Olympic Gold Medalist Andy Murray winning first round matches.

Scattered among the winners in the men’s draw, though, is a less recognizable name but one that is quite familiar to those who follow tennis closely in Wisconsin: Tim Smyczek.

Smyczek, a former Brookfield Academy High School tennis star, defeated fellow American Bobby Reynolds in the first round, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, on Monday setting up a second round match with 17th-ranked Kei Nishikori of Japan.

A win over Nishikori could set up a possible third-round match against 12th-ranked Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Regardless of how Smyczek does in Round 2, the Milwaukee native has already accomplished more in New York City than he ever has in his career there.

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Join Pigskin Picks to test your skills against local celebrities, veteran sportswriters

Aug. 28, 2012 1:13 p.m. | How well do you know high school football?

You can find out by visiting mycommunitynow.com/pigskin to join MyCommunityNOW's Pigskin Picks football contest. You will have the chance to win prizes as you test your pigskin prognostication skills against celebrity experts and NOW's staff of award-winning sportswriters.

Reigning Miss St. Francis Colleen Mrotek (pictured) and Time Warner Cable Sports 32's JP Cadorin join the fray this season as celebrity experts picking games each week. They will be joined by Lake Country Sports Director JR Radcliffe and NOW sports reporters John Rech, Tom "Sky" Skibosh and Steven L. Tietz.

Weekly winners will receive movie passes to Marcus Theatres. The top three finishers at the end of the season are eligible to receive a gift certificate to Bartolotta restaurants worth $100, $50 or $25.

The contest begins this week and lasts until the end of the regular season.

» Read Full Article

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