Week Two - When The Going Gets Tough...

Week One is done and gone. Now we approach Week Two and get to some more nice match-ups. The teams have had a week to assess that first game and evolve their

Week One is done and gone. Now we approach Week Two and get to some more nice match-ups. The teams have had a week to assess that first game and evolve their game plans to cover their weaknesses and exploit their strengths. I’ve taken the advice of those who told me over on The Phalanx that you wanted games that involved future Spartans. I thought hard about profiling the game between St. Charles and Merrill, but opted for Traverse City St. Francis (Max Bullough) and Saginaw Nouvel because we like to give our readers what they want. It’s a great slate of games this week and I encourage you to head out to the local high school (or heck, travel to another town to watch a future Spartan), drop $10 on a ticket and some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the game!

Detroit

Hudsonville vs. Detroit Catholic Central (Thursday September 3, 7pm)

Hudsonville is coming off a great come-from-behind victory over D1 runner-up Lake Orion this past week. They scored four touchdowns in the fourth quarter to slip past the Dragons. Being down 19-0 at the beginning of the fourth, they scored twice in the first three minutes to get the score down to 19-14. Quarterback Shane Trevino went 18 of 36 for 244 yards passing and two touchdowns. The line for the Eagles is strong; they can hide the shuffling at the skill positions that has been done this offseason, do to graduation. Coach Dave Duram seems to reload every year even though they lose talent, which is great because they play in the O-K Red Division. The come from behind victory shows that though this team doesn’t have a lot of starting experience, they sure do know how to win games.

The Shamrocks of Detroit Catholic Central smashed Detroit Cody last week by the score of 49-0. Niko Talazeti had 71 yards on 14 carries while scoring three of the team’s touchdowns. His teammate Jon Savakus had 120 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns of his own. On top of that offensive effort, their defense scored two touchdowns on interceptions, one by Justin D’Agostino and one by Greg Voutsos. It’s not a big surprise coming from a Tom Mach coached team; Coach Mach has been around a long time and knows how to get a football team playing to the best of their ability. He has six players on each side of the ball returning from last season. They will play some four man defensive fronts as well as the 5-2 (five defensive linemen, two linebackers…think the 3-4 used in the professional ranks)

Capital Area

Portland at DeWitt (Thursday September 3, 7pm)

The Raiders of Portland, coached by John Novara, are a young team. They only return three starters from last season. The whole offensive line is new this season. Quarterback Jake Kenyon had 204 passing yards and two touchdowns in the close 34-33 loss to Ovid-Elsie. The team missed a two point conversion with just over three minutes left to play that sealed the deal for O-E. The main ball carrier for the Raiders is junior Alexander Newman. He has some varsity experience from last season. This team has made strides recently, winning their first playoff game last season and also winning the league title. Portland needs to come up with a good defensive game plan to stop a potent DeWitt offense.

For the DeWitt Panthers, scoring is the name of the game. They returned 10 starters from the offensive side of the ball last season and 17 starters overall. Dewitt has a tough offensive line led by huge 6’7” tackle Paul Jorgenson (who has committed to Northwestern). Last week against Flushing, quarterback Jimmy Williams was nearly perfect; completing 15 of his 19 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns. RB Nathan Deak had 106 yards on 16 carries. With all that experience, it will be tough for any team to go against the Panthers. Rushing for 200 total yards shows that the offensive line can push people around, but they did have mistakes which need to be shored up as evident by giving up two sacks. Portland is young so DeWitt will need to exploit their mistakes and not make mistakes of their own.

West

Stevensville-Lakeshore at Battle Creek Central (Thursday September 3, 7pm)

Last week, Battle Creek came out and took care of business. Even though running back Larry Caper has moved on to Michigan State, they were still able to get it done on the field. It started on the first play of the game against Benton Harbor when linebacker Chris Ridley stole the ball near midfield and ran it in for a touchdown. Greg Williams took over the running back spot last week and rushed for 117 yards and three touchdowns. The confidence from winning the first game needs to carry over into this week against a tough Lakeshore team.

The Lancers of Stevensville-Lakeshore are breaking in a new team this year. Eric Lemon is the new quarterback. Against Sturgis last week, he went 11 of 15 for 222 and three touchdowns in a big 49-0 win. Their rushing attack was led by Andrew Hamilton’s 78 yards on 16 carries. On the second play of the game, Devon Bailey took a pitch and ran 55 yards for a score. Coach Denny Dock was happy with his defense, who didn’t allow a completed pass, but only three were attempted. Opening night jitters got to the Lancers on the first drive, but they settled down, dug in at their own 16, and didn’t allow a score. On the night, the defense only game up 106 yards while accumulating 543 net yards. This should be a good, tough game for both teams.

North

Muskegon Catholic Central at Frankfort (Friday September 4, 7pm)

After winning a state title in Division 8 last year, MCC is going to rely on many young players. In addition to only returning three starters, they have a tough schedule. Last week, they lost to Class A Muskegon Mona Shores. Seven sophomores will be contributing to the team and the offensive line is still a question mark. Fortunately, they do still have halfbacks Major Metcalf and Will Perri who should contribute a lot. Kicker Tom Pallas is now the starting quarterback in addition to kicking duties, but he has experience under center from his playing time in blowouts last season. Coach Mike Holmes will need to be open to different options this season and will put his team in the position to win games.

Frankfort has been a football powerhouse in Northern Michigan for quite some time. They have made the playoffs for the last 14 seasons. Coach Matt Stapleton has the same goals they usually have; win the Northwest Conference, make the playoffs, and have a run in the post season. Dan Nugent, a halfback last season, is making the transition to quarterback. Last week, he threw four touchdowns and ran in another score in their 59-7 win over Marion. All four of the touchdown receptions went to Andrew Nuwbold. Nugent finished the night five of 10 for 144 yards and 69 rushing yards. Kyle Slade had two scores; one on a 54 yard punt return and a 103 yard interception.

Mid Michigan

Traverse City St. Francis at Saginaw Nouvel (Thursday September 3, 7pm)

Ask and you shall receive SpatanNation readers! St. Francis features two future Big Ten players in safety Matt Zakrzewski (Indiana) and Max Bullough (Michigan State). The Gladiators have made the playoffs for the past 19 years and are considered a top (if not THE top) football program in the state. Last year, they only lost one game, and that was to Saginaw Nouvel. Coach Greg Vaughan knows that his teams have talent, but it’s his job to harness that talent and turn out a winning game plan. Max Bullough is playing in the backfield this year and had 100 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. On the defensive side of the ball, he made eight tackles. Another Bullough will see the field as well. Sophomore quarterback Riley Bullough was able to toss a 12 yard touchdown pass to his brother Max. Both of these schools have great programs and long traditions of winning football teams.

The Nouvel Panthers are definitely rebuilding this year. They lost 20 starters. Nouvel will depend on running back Ryan Miller and quarterback Ross Rokita. Miller had 203 yards rushing on 23 attempts last week against Flint Powers while Rokita had 229 passing yards, completing 13 of his 24 passes. Three turnovers inside the 10 yard line were too big of a mountain to overcome and they lost 34-19…even though they racked up 446 total yards. Coach Mike Boyd is in his 10th season as the head man knows that his team will get a great measure of where they are when they battle the Gladiators. Reid McConnell had 10 tackles for the Panthers. It comes down to not making mistakes against a very good St. Francis team.