Judge rules against WIAA in playoff case

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge has ruled that Shorewood/Milwaukee Messmer’s football team can play in the high school playoffs this year.

Playoff brackets for the Division 1 and 2 teams were released Tuesday, following the judge’s ruling earlier in the day.

The school’s inclusion had been challenged by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, which oversees Wisconsin high school sports. WIAA had ruled the team ineligible because it’s in the fourth and final year of a playoff ban on teams that drop out of their conferences.

The school left the Woodland Conference in 2007. But it said it should be eligible because it joined the Midwest Classic Conference this season.

WIAA executive director Dave Anderson says he doesn’t agree with the decision but the group will abide by it.