MHSAA Football Playoffs - District Championship Round
Hello everybody! Welcome back to my little corner of the Spartan Nation! Things are starting to get very exciting. 128 teams have been eliminated from the playoffs. Once Sunday morning rolls around, there will only be 64 teams left. We are only a few weeks away from the state title games. There is still plenty of fantastic football to be played. It’s doubtful that there will be many more blowouts. The teams that are still in it are very good and deserve to still have games to play. Last week, we looked more at the smaller schools (Divisions 5 through eight) and this week we will focus more on the larger schools, with one small one tossed in. And away we go!
Lowell (8-2) at Muskegon (9-1) (Friday November 2, 7pm) (Division 2)
The Red Arrows of Lowell are always a good team it seems. With three straight state title game appearances and four since 2004, I consider them a top notch program. Last week, they beat up Grand Rapids Northview 21-0. The defense held Northview to a negative 70 rushing yards. Quarterback Kyler Shurlow completed seven of his 13 passes for 138 yards and ran 27 times for 103 more and a score. Running back Titan Anderson ran for 90 yards on 12 runs and scored. Receiver Jeff Houston pulled in three passes for 81 yards. Pierce Watson recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown to complete the scoring. Lowell has played Muskegon once already this season. In that September 14th game, they lost to the Big Reds 36-21. This is their chance to pull even on the season series and move to the Regional Final round.
Muskegon is a great running team. They get tons of rushing yards every game which is a tribute to their strong offensive line. The line will need a strong game against a very stout run defense the Red Arrows have. In their Pre-District game, Muskegon beat Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills 34-21. It helped that Kenowa Hills turned the ball over six times. Quarterback Jalen Smith ran for three touchdowns. Fullback John King ran for 196 yards and two scores while also pulling in two interceptions on defense. For the night, they rushed for 280 yards. The Big Red defense also had a good night stopping the run. They held GR to 49 rushing yards. It will be a great game between two strong programs.
Hemlock (9-1) at Ithaca (10-0) (Friday November 2, 7pm) (Division 6)
I know I wrote about a D6 game last week, but I think that this might be the best game in the state tonight. Hemlock has a decent chance of getting a huge win. The Huskies are another team that likes to run the ball. Last week in their 45-20 win over Montague, they rushed for over 284 yards. The rushing attack was led by quarterback Chase Weichmann who gained 108 yards and a score on 14 runs while also completing three of his seven passes for 74 yards. Dylan Honsinger chipped in 93 yards and a touchdown on 12 totes. Tony Speckhard ran 15 times for 83 yards and found the end zone three times. That includes an 85 yard kickoff return for a score in the first half. Garrett Culver hauled in two passes for 60 yards. The defense for the Huskies is tough and should match up well against Ithaca. While both teams play in the Tri Valley Conference, Hemlock plays in the Central with the larger schools while Ithaca plays in the West with mostly Class C teams.
Ithaca is a very good team. They haven’t lost in their last 38 games. That includes two straight Division 6 state titles. The spread offense has been played extremely well and they have the hardware to prove it. Last week, they beat Grandville Calvin Christian 42-14. Quarterback Travis Smith completed 12 of his 19 passes for 219 yards and four touchdowns. Jared Evers ran the ball eight times for 54 yards and also caught three passes for 65 additional yards, scoring a rushing and receiving touchdown. Caden Kipp caught five balls for 101 yards and a score. This could be the toughest game Ithaca has been in all season. They did play a bigger school to start the year in Williamston, but these two teams match up very well on paper. It will all come down to execution and who wants it more.
Remus Chippewa Hills (7-3) at Ogemaw Heights (7-3) (Friday November 2, 7pm) (Division 4)
The Warriors had a nice win last week. The avenged the September 21st loss to Big Rapids by winning 31-6. Trent Karcher set a school record for single season receiving yards. He has 1,001 yards so far. In the game, he pulled in three passes for 74 yards and a score. Jason Peacock ran for 78 yards on 20 carries and also scored a touchdown. Jake Tarbell ran for 47 yards on six carries and scored as well while completing six of his 17 passes for 76 yards. One interesting thing about Chippewa Hills is that they use two quarterbacks. Ty Schafer completed all six of his passes for 97 yards and a score. Peter Lewandowski hauled in five passes for 41 yards.  This should be a good match between these two schools.
Ogemaw Heights took it to Cheboygan last week. They won 41-6. Quarterback Ben Hartley completed four of his nine passes for 164 yards and a score. He also ran twice for 90 yards which included a 75 yard scoring scamper in the first quarter. Brandon Benac ran 16 times for 94 yards and two scores. Josh Awrey caught a 61 yard touchdown strike. Tommy DeMatio scored on offense, made 10 tackles, and recovered a fumble on defense. Last season, the Falcons had some growing pains moving into a new conference. They suffered their first losing season since 2004. Now that they have adjusted to life with teams like Cadillac and Traverse City, they are starting to find their winning ways again. Benac has set single season and career rushing yard records (1,362 yards and 16 touchdowns,) so you know the offense is going through him. Shout out to my buddy Josh with whom I talked about this game earlier this week. I thought the above mentioned game was the biggest, he thought this one was. So I wrote about both of them.
Plymouth (8-2) at Livonia Churchill (10-0) (Friday November 2, 7pm) (Division 1)
Plymouth accomplished a feat they never had achieved before last week. They beat their rival Canton for the second time in the same season. The player who made the biggest impact was also the smallest guy on the field. 5’3†DJ Rossell ran 18 times for 287 yards but did not find the end zone and left late in the game with an ankle injury. Mike Kennedy was also a work horse, gaining 163 yards and scoring three times on 20 runs. Quarterback Jamarl Eiland only tossed four passes, but completed two for 46 yards and two scores. He also ran 10 times for 39 yards. Kennedy also hauled in one and raced 35 yards down the sideline for a score. Connor Stella hauled in the other touchdown pass from 11 yards away. One of the games that Plymouth lost this year was to their opponent this week. There are no easy games now and the Detroit area is filled with top notch schools in Division 1.
Livonia Churchill must have thought they had deja-vu. To finish the season, Churchill beat Livonia Stevenson 49-10. When they took the field this past week, they also played Livonia Stevenson. It was much closer this time, but Churchill still scored plenty. Final score? 49-35. A lot of that was behind 5’11†246 pound tailback Romello Brown. Brown finished with 198 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries. It was close in the fourth quarter though. Stevenson had pulled close with the score 35-27. Churchill rattled off three scores in the last five and a half minutes to secure the win. This is a tough team. When you have a weapon like Brown, you will use him. He is still getting back into it after being out for quite some time with a torn Achilles. These two teams are ready to battle for the first of what could be four weeks of getting that Michigan shaped trophy…each larger than the last.
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