Week Six - Who's your picks?

We are now entering Week Six. Undefeated teams can clinch a playoff spot this week with another win. Some teams are on the verge of clinching their conference

We are now entering Week Six. Undefeated teams can clinch a playoff spot this week with another win. Some teams are on the verge of clinching their conference championship. Other teams are getting ready to work extremely hard in order to win important games. I’m sure there are plenty of homecoming games this week around our great state. Get pumped up boys, it is game time! In other news, we won last night without even getting on the bus. The other team had only 16 players on their team, and eight of them were suspended yesterday. Not the way I want the “W” but I’ll take it. It seems weird to me that they would kick out the students on count day. For those who don’t know, yesterday was the day that the state counted all the students at all the schools so they can determine funding for each district. Ok, enough of that, let’s get into the games!

West Coast

Battle Creek Pennfield vs. Kalamazoo Christian (at Pennfield)

I’ve followed the Kalamazoo Valley Association a bit because the father of my college roommate is Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame coach Rob Heethuis from Delton Kellogg. One thing that Max told me was how tough Pennfield was, year in and year out. Typically, they are in contention to win the KVA and have only missed the playoffs once since 1982. Hopefully they can clean up some of the mistakes and sloppy play they experienced last week and start making strides towards perfection with the playoffs looming in the near future.

Kalamazoo Christian is having a fantastic season. They were scored on for the first time this season in the first quarter against Galesburg-Augusta last week (242-7 on the season). The team is focused thanks to an eye opening first round playoff loss last season after going 9-0 in the regular season. If they win this week, they will clinch a playoff spot. The winner will take possession of first place in the KVA and it will be their championship to lose.

North

St. Ignace vs. Cheboygan (at St. Ignace)

This is a big time match up for the Straights Area Conference. Both teams are undefeated in league play going into the game. Cheboygan has only played one conference game as opposed to the two games St. Ignace has played. This game, like the one mentioned above, has ramifications in the conference championship. Sault St. Marie is only one loss behind these two teams and plays St. Ignace next week.

St. Ignace can clinch a playoff berth if they get their sixth win this week.

Detroit

Highland Park vs. Melvindale (at Melvindale)

We have another big match up, this time in the Michigan Mega Blue League. This game will start to make clear which squad is tops in this conference. Highland Park is sitting at the top of the conference with Melvindale and Ypsilanti at their heels. Ypsi beat Melvindale last week behind a strong second half from their sophomore quarterback, but Melvindale could make things really interesting if they beat Highland Park. If the Polar Bears win, it could set up a showdown with Ypsi in two weeks.

Highland Park has some tough sophomore running backs. They aren’t leading the league, but they sure are running well. Melvindale needs to rebound from a tough loss and find a way to win the game and set up a chance for them to win a share of the conference championship. Hopefully the two teams will get into a good battle that comes down to the final seconds of the game. Those types of games are my favorite!

Mid Michigan

Flint Hamady vs. Byron (at Byron)

After a run of mediocrity, Byron has changed their plan as far as how to prepare for a football season. They do what most other schools do; lift weights, run, talk about and get ready for football games. It’s shown on the field and in the win/loss column as the Eagles are 4-1 this season. They have a big test this week as they host Flint Hamady, another squad who is experiencing a great season. The Genesee Area Blue Conference which both of these teams play in is also the home to last year’s Division 8 State Champions, New Lothrop.

Hamady has a 4-0 conference record with their only loss coming to Saginaw Nouvel in the season opener. They’ve had their own run of not playing good football, as they won only eight games from 1996 – 2005. They started to turn things around last season, posting a 7-3 record and making the playoffs for the first time in 11 years (losing to eventual state champion Nouvel). The question that remains is which of these two teams is ready to take that next step forward and take control of the Blue Conference championship.

Good luck to all the teams and remember, good sports make the best fans. These are high school kids. KIDS! Let them play and have fun, because isn’t that what high school sports are all about?