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Editor’s Note: The website Wissports.net is publishing Conference Previews for all leagues in the state, including teams and conferences that will pursue spring options. Wissports said it feels that it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate all the teams, coaches, and athletes who have worked so hard for so long.  Here is their look at the Badger-Small Conference, which includes Sauk Prairie. The Badger-Small is made up of five teams from the former Badger-North (Baraboo, Mount Horeb/Barneveld, Portage, Reedsburg, and Sauk Prairie) along with three from the Badger-South (Fort Atkinson, Monona Grove, Stoughton).   2019 Recap:  In the Badger-North, DeForest went unbeaten, including a win over rival Waunakee. DeForest advanced to the Division 3 state title game and rallied late to top Menasha.  Waunakee also made it to state, but dropped a heartbreaker to Brookfield East in the Division 2 championship. Reedsburg and Sauk Prairie also made the playoffs in the Badger-North.  In the Badger-South, Milton and Stoughton shared the league title, both going out in Level 2. Monona Grove, Monroe, Watertown, and Oregon also made the playoffs. Monroe made a Cinderella run, beating second-seeded Onalaska and third-seeded Stoughton before losing to DeForest.   2020 Preview: Predicted Order of Finish 1) Stoughton 2) Monona Grove 3) Reedsburg 4) Sauk Prairie 5) Baraboo 6) Mount Horeb/Barneveld 7) Portage 8) Fort Atkinson   Players to Watch Cameron Behnke, QB, Monona Grove: Behnke split time with Casey Marron at quarterback last year, but still threw for more than 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns and added more than 200 rushing yards. Rudy Detweiler, LB, Stoughton: Detweiler earned first-team all-conference recognition after leading the team with 129 tackles and four forced fumbles. Brooks Empey, RB/DL, Stoughton: Empey ran for nearly 500 yards and was also an extremely disruptive force on defense, earning first-team all-conference recognition. Luna Larson, QB/LB, Baraboo: Larson led the Thunderbirds in passing and rushing last year and is also an outstanding linebacker, earning an offer from Central Michigan after his sophomore season. Barrett Nelson, DL, Stoughton: Nelson, listed at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds as a sophomore last season, is a returning second-team all-conference selection. Gabe Rousseau, OL, Stoughton: Rousseau is a promising offensive line prospect coming off a second-team all-conference sophomore campaign.   2020 Team Previews 1) Stoughton  The Vikings were an also-ran in football not that long ago, with just one playoff appearance and no postseason wins in school history prior to 2014. Now, Stoughton is a consistent threat in the Badger, earning a share of the Badger-South title last season and won the second playoff game in the last three years before losing to a Monroe team they’d beaten handily just three weeks earlier.  Head coach Dan Prahl, who resigned to pursue out-of-state opportunities, isn’t returning. Also gone is 2019 league Offensive Player of the Year Adam Hobson at quarterback and Badger recruit Jack Nelson, a multi-time All-State choice.  The program remains in a good place, though. Brooks Empey is one of the top two-way players in the league, earning co-Defensive Lineman of the Year honors and rushing for more than 400 yards on offense last year. Empey is part of a strong big man group that also includes junior Barrett Nelson and Gabe Rousseau.    2) Monona Grove  The Silver Eagles had some struggles in 2019, finishing just 4-6 overall and 4-3 in the Badger-South Conference. After two straight unbeaten league titles, it wasn’t the kind of year Monona Grove has come to expect.  “In 2020, we are looking to ride the momentum of improvement throughout the 2019 season,” said head coach Brandon Beckwith. “We played a larger amount of sophomores and juniors and are looking forward to seeing their continued growth.” While there are some concerns on the offensive and defensive lines, the team has a good amount of talent and options at the skill positions. Both Cameron Behnke and Casey Marron saw time at quarterback last year and should be in the mix. Receivers Henry Walsh and Owen Croak, along with running back Fabian Jackson also return for the Silver Eagles.   3) Reedsburg  The Beavers had another very successful season in 2020, and if not for eventual state champion DeForest dropping down, it could have been another deep playoff run for Reedsburg. As it was, after a 7-2 regular season, Reedsburg fell to the Norskies once again in Level 2 of the playoffs.  It proved to be the end of an era in Reedsburg, as Brian Pottinger resigned along with a good part of the coaching staff. Pottinger retuned the program to prominence, with a 2009 state championship, 2008 runner-up finish, and two other state semi-final appearances.  Reedsburg hired former assistants Quinn Hobbs and Mike Riberich as interim, co-head coaches. They welcome back four starters on both sides of the ball with 20 letterwinners.  Some very talented seniors departed, with second-team all-conference offensive lineman Liam Greenwood one of the returnees. Connor Schyvinck, Griffin Elder, and Zach Bestor are among the top skill position players coming back from last season.   4) Sauk Prairie  The Eagles had a very successful debut season under first-year coach Clay Iverson, winning the first three and last three games of the regular season and ending a 12-year playoff drought. Now comes the challenge of turning that one year of success into multiple seasons.  Sauk Prairie should have a chance to keep the success moving forward, though it was a senior-dominated team last season. In fact, of the team’s 10 all-league choices of some kind, honorable-mention all-conference running back Tyler Uselman is the lone returnee.   5) Baraboo  The Thunderbirds made the playoffs in 2018, ending a 12-year drought. Baraboo could not keep the momentum going, though, finishing 2-7 last season.  There’s some nice talent coming back this season for Baraboo. That includes quarterback Luna Larson, who led the team in passing and rushing as a sophomore and also played at linebacker. He was impressive enough as a sophomore to earn a scholarship offer from Central Michigan.  Also back is second-leading rusher Owen Nachtigal and top receiver Riley Weyh.   6) Mount Horeb/Barneveld  The Vikings got hit hard by the injury bug right out of the gates and could never recover, going just 1-8 after 12 straight playoff appearances.  “We have a bounce-back year to look forward to,” says third-year coach Brett St. Arnauld. “With the injuries last season it opened the door for a lot of sophomores to fill important roles and get some varsity experience that we had not planned for. We have a lot of athletes at our skill positions and the areas of need will be filled with great young talent that should show a major surge in the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.”  Tanner Grassman played at quarterback, along with several others last season, and led the team in passing and rushing while also finishing with more than 100 yards receiving.   7) Portage  The Warriors had some successes early in the season, shutting out Fort Atkinson in Week 1 before a couple one-score losses against Monroe and Mount Horeb/Barneveld. However, the later part of the year didn’t go well as the team stumbled to a 2-7 finish.  After a year as an interim coach, Bob Hepp returns to try to get things going in Portage. He’ll need to replace the top offensive weapons including 1,100-yard rusher Delnato Sheppard, quarterback Brett Walker, and second-team all-conference receiver Ryan Schultz.   8) Fort Atkinson  The Blackhawks have fallen on extremely hard times, as Fort Atkinson did not win a game last season and has not claimed a victory since late in 2017. Head coach Brady Grayvold moved on in the off-season to pursue college coaching opportunities, and Nick Nelson was hired as the new head man.  “We will be relying on the positive attitudes of our players,” Nelson said. “Last year we had great senior leadership. Some younger guys will need to step up to fill those spots, but we’re looking to build off of the consistency and positivity our returning players demonstrated last year.”  The Blackhawks return seven starters on both sides of the ball this year.