Week 10 - Pre-Districts - Go Hard Or Go Home

Greetings once again and welcome to the playoffs! This is where young men become legends and dreams can be crushed easier than a grape. It will be

Greetings once again and welcome to the playoffs! This is where young men become legends and dreams can be crushed easier than a grape. It will be one-and-done for 128 teams. Those other 128 will get to play in their District Finals and hope to get to the Regional Finals. These are the games that you look towards when going through two-a-days in the August heat. Freshmen dream about the day they’ll get a chance to make a block, catch a pass, or run the ball on the varsity squad during the playoffs. It is very important for players to show class and sportsmanship whether they win or lose; lessons learned on the gridiron are life lessons not to be forgotten. Let’s take a look at the SpartanNation Pre-District Games of the Week.

Capital Area – Division 3

Mason (8-1) at DeWitt (9-0) (Friday 7pm)

Mason had a nice season. Their only loss came to Lansing Sexton which made a three way tie for the Capital Area Activities Conference Red Division with St. Johns and the aforementioned Lansing Sexton team. The Bulldog defense has been very good this season, only allowing a total of 80 points and shutting out two teams. That defense will need to come through like gangbusters if they are to stay with the FAST and high powered DeWitt offense. A win this week could allow Mason to make a run at the semifinals. Quarterback Thomas McNamara completed 55% of his passes this season. Saylor Lavallii and Ben Hinamanu both averaged nearly 7 yards per carry and scored 25 touchdowns combined. They will need an effective offense and a stifling defense to beat DeWitt.

DeWitt is the top team in Mid Michigan and maybe the state. They finished a strong 9-0 and outscored their opponents 437 to 81. The closest game was the season opening 34-14 win over Flushing. Last week they finished up their regular season with a 52-7 win over St. Johns on a muddy field. Coach Rob Zimmerman has his fourth undefeated season since he became the head honcho in 1999. Running back Nathaniel Deak had 241 rushing yards while quarterback Jimmy Williams had 102. They ended the game with 452 rushing yards for 15.1 yards per carry average. Deak ended the season with 88 carries for 794 yards and 15 touchdowns. DeWitt is a favorite to win the Division 3 state title. They will not face Mount Pleasant or East Grand Rapids until the finals but will have to contend with Melvindale and Detroit Crockett before then.

North – Division 4

Cheboygan (6-3) at Kingsford (7-2) (Saturday 1pm)

Hopefully, the Chiefs of Cheboygan have recovered from their H1N1 outbreak. Last week, they had to forfeit their game against Ogemaw Heights because of the flu. Luckily, they had a playoff spot wrapped up the previous week. In their 40-7 win over Traverse City Central the week before, their Wing T Offense controlled the clock and the game. Running back Mike Pegish scored twice and quarterback Derek Ferris was able to complete a touchdown pass. Cheboygan has made the playoffs six straight seasons. They have played Kingsford every one of those seasons. Their playoff record against the Flivvers is 1-4.

Kingsford has made the playoffs 10 consecutive years. They have played in the state title game four times and won it all in 1993. Coach Chris Hofer has been battle tested and is a great coach in his own right, regardless of what his father has accomplished. In their final game of the season in Great Northern Conference play, they beat up Escanaba 14-0. The win allowed them to win the Great Northern Conference outright for the second consecutive year. Their defense came up strong and held a good Mitch VanEffen to minus three yards on six attempts. On offense, they strung together two drives of 86+ yards and got the job done. The winner of this game will be traveling. For the District Final, they could be in either Fremont or Big Rapids, and could end up traveling as far as Portland for the Regional Final.

Detroit – Division 1

Westland John Glenn (8-1) vs. Detroit Southeastern (8-1) (Saturday, 3pm at Detroit Renaissance)

The Rockets of Westland John Glenn took a break from the playoffs for a few seasons. Now they are back and ready to Rocket past the Jungaleers. The wildcard in the game would be the health of senior running back Jeremy Langford. He was injured during a Week Eight game versus Northville. Langford picked up 2,020 yards rushing this past season. Kamal Ayler, another senior, filled in for Langford and ran for 176 yards and two touchdowns in their 30-29 win over Walled Lake Western to wrap up the season. Freshman kicker Alex Isaevski hit a 30 yard field goal with under five minutes to play that gave John Glenn the lead and the win. Westland John Glenn got a tough draw for the first round, that’s definite!

Detroit Southeastern might have finished the season 9-0 if it wasn’t for an unfortunate error. The Jungaleers had to forfeit one game for using an ineligible play. Many know of their 6-foot-7 tight end/linebacker William Gholson because he has committed to Michigan State. He had 11 tackles, a blocked punt, and a blocked field goal in their 19-13 win over Brother Rice in the PSL/Catholic League crossover game. Quarterback Edward Thomas is another very talented player. He threw for a touchdown and also ran in another score. Paris Powell also had a nice game, running for a touchdown and 130 yards on 35 carries. Donshell English is a good coach. He has Southeastern playing at a very high level. The Jungaleers have a good chance at making a long playoff run.

Mid Michigan – Division 5

Carrollton (8-1) at Millington (8-1) (Friday 7pm)

The Cavaliers of Carrollton have had two of their most successful seasons in school history. You would have to combine all the wins from the 1995 through 2007 seasons to equal the 17 wins in the past two seasons. Led by running back Robert Essex, Coach Greg Wasmer has this team humming along and ready to win their second playoff game in three attempts. Even with a win, they would have to contend with teams like Flint Beecher and Ovid-Elsie before they got out of Regionals. In their last regular season game against Bay City All Saints, they started quick and never looked back. The Cavaliers held a 42-0 advantage at halftime and scored four first quarter touchdowns. Essex had 225 rushing yards on 12 carries and three scores. He has 1,749 rushing yards on the season.  Quarterback Zach Palmreuter threw two touchdown passes and ran in another…while also kicking seven extra points.

Millington also had a great season. Their lone loss was to Essexville Garber, who won the Tri Valley Conference East Division. The Cardinals have a top flight running back of their own. Justin Stutler ran for 255 yards and three scores in their 42-0 win over Otisville LakeVille last week. That huge game put him at 1,521 yards on the season, breaking Pete Schwab’s record of 1,492. He’s scored 16 touchdowns on the season and Coach Tim Furno says he’s a tough kid with a lot of speed. Their experienced offensive line (Matt Berlin and Cory Barbersek both started three years) has paved the way. Another strength for Millington is their defense. They did not give up 100 total points on the season and posted two shut outs. The Millington Cardinals will need to play great run defense, force the pass, and take care of the ball because Carrollton will run the ball and take advantage of any turnovers.

West – Division 8

Battle Creek St. Phillip Catholic (6-3) at Muskegon Catholic Central (5-4) (Saturday 1pm)

The Fighting Tigers of Battle Creek St. Phillip Catholic needed a win last week to punch their playoff ticket. North Adams-Jerome was also looking for a playoff appearance, but lost the St. Phillip 18-13. BCSP scored on the first play of the game, a 55 yard completion to Charles Roberson from Thomas Bauman. North Adams-Jerome took a 7-6 lead, and threatened to score again, but the Tigers came up with a goal line stand and forced a turnover on downs. Again, North Adams-Jerome had a chance late in the game, but T.R. George tipped a fourth down pass and Battle Creek got the ball back. Coach John Hume is excited to see how they stack up against Muskegon Catholic Central.

The Crusaders of Muskegon Catholic Central are hoping to defend their state championship. Last year, they went 14-0 and blanked Crystal Falls Forest Park and Mendon on the way to the title. It all came down to their game with North Muskegon last Friday night. Luckily for Muskegon Catholic Central, they took care of business early and cruised to a 47-0 victory. Coach Mike Holmes was not overly happy with their game offensively. He thought they needed more intensity. Quarterback Tom Pallas completed five of his six passes for 78 yards. Major Metcalf and Will Perri both scored two first half touchdowns. Perri had 103 yards on 11 carries. Metcalf had 69 on 10 totes, but will miss this game because he was ejected against North Muskegon. The Crusaders are a very well coached team. They all know their assignments and execute well. Two of their four losses came to schools with nearly 1,000 more students and another was to a state runner up last season who played four divisions higher. MCC had a tough schedule and was repaid in experience and a playoff spot based on strength of schedule.