Despite the fact the Wauwatosa East (3-4) and West (0-7) football teams have a combined record of 3-11 with two games left to play, it's not the fault of the squad's respective junior quarterbacks that the locals are struggling.

On the contrary.

Ethan Harris has been the best quarterback the Red Raiders have seen since the days of Jeff Donovan. He has been involved in 18 of the 20 touchdowns his team has scored from scrimmage, tossing 9 touchdown passes and rushing 9 times for scores. That means he has been involved in 90 percent of his team's scores.

Across town you will find West's Kevin Gorman, who has been responsible for all 14 of the Trojans scores from scrimmage. The speedy signal-caller has run for seven and passed for seven scores. The Trojans have scored one touchdown on defensive fumble recovery and another on special teams.

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Tosa East is still eligible for postseason play going into tonight's game at Brookfield Central, but it's an uphill battle for the Red Raiders. Central (4-1) still has a chance to share the Greater Metro Conference crown if the Lancers win the last two games and Sussex Hamilton (3-2) will be shooting to make the playoffs in the final game.

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No one has questioned how good the Brookfield Central defense is, but with the veer offense coming together, the Lancers will have an interesting postseason. Central has two big, fast running backs in Xavier (The X-Man) Whitaker and Jeff Lewis, to go along with QB Tommy Braaten, who is a threat passing as well as running.

Speedy Tim Nass at WR and big TE Mitch Aprahamian give the Lancers two outstanding receivers, while sophomore Sam Rohr (6-4, 225) also came up with two big catches in last week's win.

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Cross country and girls volleyball conference tournaments are this weekend, so the postseason begins next week. The boys soccer postseason starts next week and the Brookfield schools are in one of the toughest sectionals in the state.

The Brookfield Central-Waterford football game last Friday was the most exciting 7-6 victory I have ever seen. I thought I was in a bakery with all the turnovers flying about. Central coach Doug Lange figured it would take a while for his offense - no one returned from last year's starting lineup - to jell and he was right. He also said he hoped his defense would be up to the task - and he was right again. Matt Upson, Jack Moro and Dan Bowar led a veteran defense and came up with a big stop when the Wolverines went for a two-point conversion in the final minutes of play.

To say Wauwatosa East struggled against Milwaukee Riverside would be polite. The Red Raiders were outmanned on both sides of the ball. Coach Tom Swittel said he had some good skill players in Ethan Harris and Barret Powell and he was right about that. Harris might not survive the season, though, if he keeps taking hits like he did in the opener. If there is a better wide receiver in the area than Powell, I would like to see him.

Two coaches made their debuts in losing causes - Sal Logue of Brookfield East and Matt Good of Tosa West - but at least they each put 19 points on the board. QB Skylar Holden and WR C.J. Gregg scored twice through the air and Holden ran in a score for the Spartans. While TE QB Kevin Gorman rushed for 197 yards and three TDs, including one of 85 yards behind a good performance on his O-line.

Brookfield Central coach Brian Scrobel looks like his girls golf team will run away with the Greater Metro Title again after taking the first two mini-meets. The fourth-state-ranked Lady Lancers have talent to spare again this year led by Kelly Coakley, Chelsey McCoy and Tricia Mark.

Brookfield Central coach Bill Twitchell and Brookfield East coach Mike Rose should see their respective teams battling for the GMC girls swimming title again this year. BC coach Dave Steinbach's Lady Lancer netters are second in the state behind Homestead but the Highlanders have beaten them twice already, 7-0, and 5-2.

Led by Katie Peterson and Hannah Trasser, the Lady Lancer cross country team will use an outstanding spring which saw Central win the state track title, to make them a GMC favorite again.

Look for coach Mike Parulski's Tosa West soccer team to overcome some early suspensions and academic problems to make a run at the state meet again this season, while both Tosa boys volleyball teams should be force in their respective conferences once again this year.

As usual, Brookfield and Tosa fans will have their share of winners to cheer for in the Fall as well as some excellent individual peformances from teams which might not contend.

Be a hit and have a ball.

Following Brookfield East's 4-1 victory over a talented Wauwatosa West team in the regional championship at East last Saturday, Trojans head coach Mike Parulski had some high praise for the Lady Spartans.

Parulski praised the Lady Spartans for their adjustments and their offensive talent.

Looking around the Brookfield and Wauwatosa spring sports teams, there are plenty of kudos to toss around. So let's take a look.

BOYS GOLF:  Brookfield Central won the Greater Metro Conference title and Jeff Groose did something no one has done before - earn the conference Player of the Year honors for three consecutive years. Groose made the first-team all-GMC along with teammate Phil Bartel, Brookfield East's Kyle Henning and Wauwatosa's Dane Zachman.

BOYS TENNIS: Brookfield Central and East finished second and third in the GMC and Drew Lied of East at No. 1 singles and Sam Bauwens/Cory Degner of Central at No. 1 doubles are players to watch in the postseason.

GIRLS TRACK: Where do you start? Brook Central and Tosa West girls totally destroyed the conference opponents, as the Lady Lancers won the outdoor title to complete the triple crown this year, winning by 108.5 points. The Trojan girls won the Woodland Conference by 86.5 points, but they just captured their 12th straight conference title. Think about it. No one but West has won the indoor, relays and outdoor titles the last four years. Several of these athletes will do well at state next week. Keep the name Chidera Obasih, a freshman sensation at Central, in mind. The sprinter long jumper has been absolutely remarkable since her first meet this year.

GIRLS SOCCER: Brookfield East is the top-rated team in the state this year, having recently gone 7-0 in the GMC while not allowing a goal in the conference season. Simply amazing considering the GMC is an excellent soccer conference.  Tosa West only suffered one conference loss and regained its Woodland crown this year. East has had great balance, with different people stepping up, while senior captain Ellen Coleman has led the Trojans.

The spring season got off to a slow start because of the lovely spring weather we have in Wisconsin, but the next two weeks will be filled with some action-packed regionals, sectionals and state action and the local teams from Brookfield and Wauwatosa will be right in the mix.

Get more details on all the action in the May 22 BrookfieldNOW and WauwatosaNOW publications.

Always remember to be a hit and have a ball!