Kenosha St. Joseph held off Cuba City 28-21 on Friday, Oct. 30, to advance in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Division 6 football playoffs.

The Lancers, seeded No. 2 in their bracket, survived a tighter game than their Level 1 blowout. St. Joseph had routed No. 7 Poynette 49-0 in the opening round on Oct. 23, according to Wausau Pilot & Review playoff results. Cuba City, the No. 3 seed, entered Level 2 after beating Benton Co-op 27-9 in its own first-round game.

St. Joseph won the WIAA Division 7 state championship last fall under coach Matt Rizzo, according to Racine County Eye. The Lancers went undefeated that season, winning every playoff game by 16 or more points.

This year's squad is younger. In coverage published in October, Rizzo called his team "a pretty young squad this year" after a regular-season loss to Racine Lutheran.

One player bridging last year's title team and this year's playoff run is Christopher Kenesie, a University of Northern Iowa football commit. Bound Wisconsin identified Kenesie as St. Joseph's quarterback heading into the Cuba City matchup, noting he was also second on the team in rushing, led the squad in tackles and had four interceptions. Kenesie had five punt-return touchdowns and a kickoff-return score during the season, averaging more than 33 yards per punt return.

The win sends St. Joseph to a sectional championship matchup against Manitowoc Lutheran, according to Yahoo Sports playoff coverage. Sectional games are scheduled for Nov. 6-7.

Indian Trail's season ends

Across town, it was a different story for Indian Trail.

Racine Case shut out the Hawks 49-0 in a Division 1 Level 2 game, as first reported by WISN. Indian Trail entered the game as the No. 3 seed with an 8-2 record after beating Milwaukee Bradley Tech/Arts 41-6 in Level 1.

Case, the No. 2 seed, had posted a 63-0 shutout of Milwaukee Riverside/Golda Meir in its opening-round game. The Eagles carried a 9-1 record into the matchup.

The loss ends Indian Trail's season.

What's ahead

St. Joseph's sectional championship game against Manitowoc Lutheran is the next step on the road to Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, where the WIAA state football championships are scheduled for Nov. 19-20.