Week Four - If You Talk The Talk...

Welcome to the Week Four Prep Football Report! There is a theme to three of the four games this week. Most of the games are on the outskirts of what could be

Welcome to the Week Four Prep Football Report! There is a theme to three of the four games this week. Most of the games are on the outskirts of what could be considered the area which they are placed. Fortunately, all the games are pretty good. The one game that is definitely in its area is in the North where I have two Upper Peninsula teams squaring off. Has everyone else been watching football as much as I have? Last week, I worked our freshman game on Wednesday, JV game on Thursday, Varsity game on Friday, then went to the CMU vs. MSU game on Saturday, watched the Lions on Sunday, and finished up with the Monday Night Football doubleheader. My wife has learned to appreciate football because otherwise she’d never see me during football season. Have you been to a game yet? Get out there and watch some Pop Warner or your local high school team. Better yet, go to The Ticket Machine and buy some tickets to Michigan State vs. Notre Dame for this weekend!

West

Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern (3-0) at Hastings (3-0) (Friday September 18, 7pm)

Not to be confused with Forest Hills Northern and Mike Sadler, Forest Hills Eastern is off to a fantastic start. Last year, they went 1-8. What a difference a year makes! This past Friday, they beat defending OK Gold champs Caledonia. The defense played tough and punter/quarterback/defensive back Zach Wilkerson played exceptional. He completed 15 of 29 passes for 278 yards and two scores. When he punted the ball, he had punts of 58, 57, 56, and 44, the one last coffin corner punt pinned Caledonia at their 11. Receiver Dylan Banagis caught five passes for 168 yards and a score. Spencer Elliott had three receptions for 56 yards, one of which was a 49 yard score on 4th and 7 just before halftime to break the 7-7 tie. Their defense held Caledonia quarterback Luke Wiest to 48 passing yards and intercepted two balls.

The Sextons of Hastings are undefeated as well. Last week, they allowed Wayland Union to score first, but then rattled off 42 points. That’s pretty impressive for a team that Coach Fred Rademacher admitted didn’t have much experience before the season began. Darrell Slaughter, a senior, has carried the ball and the team for the past two seasons. Now, junior Alex Randall is helping carry the load. Randall had 170 yards on 17 carries and scored three times in the victory last week. Two weeks ago against Hillsdale, Slaughter scored four times and Randall chipped in another three when they put 55 points on the board.

North

Ontonagon (3-0) at Crystal Falls Forest Park (2-1) (Friday September 18, 6:30pm)

Ontonagon’s Gladiators are playing good football this season. Two more wins will give them their first winning season since 1996. They beat up L’Anse last week 44-22. Like many teams in Michigan are doing, they’ve went to an old school offense, the single wing. Their offense totaled 445 yards, including 339 on the ground. Tailback Mike Schmaus scored three times and ran for 145 yards on 18 carries. He also completed three of his six passes for 88 yards. Two of those passes went to Cameron Menigoz for 87 yards and a touchdown. They are rolling this season and will have a tough test this week against perennial powerhouse Crystal Falls Forest Park.

Like I was just saying, Crystal Falls is a very tough team. Before falling 28-21 last week to a team from Wisconsin, their last regular season loss was October 13, 2006 in a snowstorm. Coach Santilli has a smaller team this season (numbers and size of players) after graduation 18 seniors from last year’s Division 8 State Runner-Up team. Luckily, tailback Josh Siler has returned for the Trojans. He had a 29 carry, 163 yard night and caught one ball for a 26 yard touchdown last week. Linemen Tim Martin and Matt Courchaine are retuning players and are important pieces of their offensive and defensive lines. Last week, they led the team in tackles with eight and seven tackles, respectively. It will be a good test of this year’s team when they have to battle Ontonagon and the single wing which Coach Dave Linczeski learned while coaching at Menominee. Crystal Falls Forest Park hasn’t lost to Ontonagon since 1987.

Capital Area

Hudson (3-0) at Blissfield (3-0) (September 18, 7pm)

The Tigers’ coach Chris Luma believes his team will be successful this season. They already are half way to a playoff spot. His team returned four offensive linemen and two defensive players. That strong offensive line will help Hudson do what they love to do; run the ball effectively and use up the clock. Hudson changed their defense to help combat the spread offense that so many teams are running now. Last week, they had a thrilling win over Onsted. Nathan Smith scored from one yard out with 50 seconds left in the game and then intercepted a pass with 28 seconds left to seal the deal. Chris Robbins led the team in rushing with 93 yards and a score. Drew Miligan had 89 yards and a score on 18 carries. Even the opposing coach last week praised the Hudson offensive line. It will take a balanced attack of passing and running to keep Blissfield on their heels.

Luckily for Blissfield, they had some of their area’s best offensive players returning. Quarterback Eric Schmidt, tight end Dylan Esterline, and running back Cody Spotts are all back. Two offensive linemen, two linebackers, and a defensive end all are back as well. Like Hudson, Blissfield is a running team that will try to keep their attack balanced. Last week, they blew out Dundee 50-20. Spotts had to replace Schmidt at quarterback but threw two touchdown passes. Dalton Goetz, Travis Babbitt, Josh Knorr, and Johnathon McEwan all scored touchdown runs from a few yards out. This week will be a big test for both teams. Blissfield and Hudson will both try to catch the other off guard. It will be imperative for Blissfield to not make mistakes that could cost them the game. This team has been well coached and the game should be a very tough, competitive game.

Mid Michigan

Clare (3-0) at Sanford Meridian (3-0) (Friday September 18, 7pm)

Clare is having another great season so far. They are undefeated and have a big game this week against Sanford. Quarterback Kirk English completed six of his 12 passes for 112 yards. He also ran in two touchdowns and kicked two extra points in their 32-7 win over Gladwin. Mike McFadden had 67 yards on 13 carries and his backfield mate Travis Smith had 45 on eight totes. Cameron Allen led the defense with 14 tackles. Coach Kelly Luplow has been at Clare for 22 years now and the Pioneers only have three losing seasons under his watch. The last time Clare lost to Sanford was in the second round of the 2007 playoffs and hasn’t lost to them in the regular season since 2005. Although Clare returned many players, they had to replace most of their offensive line. Clare was picked to win the Jack Pine Conference while Sanford was picked to come in second. This game could decide who wins the league title and we are only in week four!

Sanford Meridian has been pretty good over the last couple of seasons. Coach Keith Schulte has one year of Mustang football under his belt and has a grip on what each of his players are capable of. Last week against Harrison in their Jack Pine Conference opener, they played sloppy in the first half and much better in the second. He knows that his team needs to keep improving or face being defeated, especially if they play like they did in the first half last week. Running back Eric Decker is a returning player and had a great game against Harrison. He ran 16 times for 223 yards, scored three times, and also added a two point conversion. Quarterback Alan Van Nortwick is another returning player for the Mustangs. He completed eight of his 14 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns, including a 49 yard scoring toss to Brandon Krause. I’m sure both coaches will have their teams pumped up and mentally sharp when the ball is kicked off to start the game.

Detroit

Grand Blanc (3-0) at Howell (3-0) (Friday September 18, 7pm)

The Grand Blanc Bobcats are settling into their new league, the Kensington Lakes Activities Association. In their league debut last week against Hartland, they smoked the Eagles 45-14. Quarterback Ryan Morley went 11 of 18 for 157 and two touchdowns. Seven of those 11 completions were to Gabe Martin who had 100 yards and two touchdowns on the night. In addition to Martin, Tony Jones (future Northwestern Wildcat) is a threat. Although he only caught one football for 49 yards, he had an impact on the defenses by making them double team or at least watch what he was doing on every play. Justice Hayes had 177 yards rushing on 18 attempts and scored twice, both in the second half. Hayes has recovered from an injury sustained during the Bobcats game against Northville. Willie Hill blocked a punt in Hartland’s end zone and Tyler DeFrain recovered it for a score. After knocking off one undefeated team last week, they will try to do it again against Howell.

For the Howell Highlanders, they are picking up where they left off last season. Led by senior running back Bryce Lindberg, the Highlanders are undefeated so far this season. He has nine of the team’s 12 touchdowns and is averaging 187 yards per game. In fact, Lindberg has 83 rushes for 561 yards and five touchdown runs while catching 11 footballs for 134 yards and four more scores. Shoot, the kid has even thrown a touchdown! Quarterback Greg Cauley went eight of 15 for 145 and two touchdowns last week in their win over Milford. Lindberg had a monster game with 33 carries for 246 yards and two touchdowns and also caught one football for 11 yards and another score. Coach Aaron Metz will keep his team moving forward and probably keep utilizing the legs of Lindberg as long as he holds up. On defense, Nate Riffle has 24 tackles which includes his nine against Milford. This will be a big test for both the Bobcats and the Highlanders. Both teams are looking to stay undefeated in league play and keep moving towards that goal of a KVAA championship and a chance in the playoffs.