Jere Bey, A.K.A. "Swami"

There is a big difference between working and retirement, at least Swami says so. Work wise, he had the thought of weekends, which were for things he had to catch up on, like cutting grass, straightening up the garage, etc. Now the All-Knowing-One has shifted gears; all those manual labor jobs can wait. Proof of that was this past weekend, when his wife, Rosalyn and himself embarked to Cheboygan on Friday, to see one of their granddaughters play fall softball for Alpena Community College. Then Saturday, they made the short jaunt to Petoskey, for grandson’s Pop Warner football game. They rounded out the weekend with an early morning sprint to Saginaw, to see another granddaughter to play travel team softball. Needless to say, both were slap happy in the late evening hour upon returning home. But it was well worth it, as the eight grandchildren are growing up way to fast.

So, what does this have to do with high school football? Players enter their freshmen year with thoughts of playing for four years, which are long in their minds. But those years are gone, as they say, in a blink of an eye. So let the enjoyment under the Friday night lights continue, before they fade away. Let’s see if Swami can this week, one of the more enjoyable ones…

ALPENA (0-2) at ZEELAND EAST (2-0) — Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

The extra day of practice might work in the favor of Alpena High, playing on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats did not live up to their own expectations, but going up against a potential All-State quarterback did not help either. Swami has to give the Wildcats a lot of credit; Alpena could have folded up after the Sentinels scored on five straight possessions. As a matter of fact, Alpena held their own in the second half, not allowing a single point. Swami had hoped some of the defensive take aways could have turned in Wildcat points. Every time the Wildcats were in a position to score, they turned the ball over. Thorin Rogers weaved his way up the field, until an all-out sprint produced the Wildcats first points with an 85-yard kickoff return. Brady Chapman booted the extra point. Quarterback Xavier Szymoniak hooked up with Brady Chapman on a 29-yard pass play for the second touchdown of the night for the Wildcats. The All-Knowing-One has to say this year’s edition of the Wildcats is a far cry from last season, with a “never give up” attitude.

Zeeland East, featuring a 35-man roster, put its second straight win in the books. It was a late fourth quarter run by Brayden Smith for the Chix giving them a 14-13 win over Flushing. In the opening win over Grand Rapids Union, junior quarterback Will Drnek was on fire. As he connected on 13 of 17 pass attempts throwing for four scores, with three going to Isiah Boonstra, who caught six on the night for 105 yards. The Chix defense is equally good, only allowing 21 points after two games.

Swami has to say Zeeland is a prohibited favorite, but he says do not count out the Wildcats. He has to say with every contest the Wildcats are improving — the wins will not come automatically, but they will.

Swami Sez: Zeeland East 24, Alpena 18.

CHARLTON HESTON (1-1) at ATLANTA (1-1) — tonight at 7 p.m.

Even in the loss, Atlanta has to feel satisfied that the offense was able to move the ball, just not with effectiveness it did in week 1. Charlton Heston is playing an abbreviated schedule in the beginning of the year. The Patriots were turned back by a spirited Breckenridge squad, 21-6 in week one.

Seniors Blake King and Brett Culham kept the Huskies in the game with passing and rushing. Quarterback King aired it out for 176 yards, while Culham added another 139 yards on the ground. Eli Hagemeister accounted for a majority of the receiving yards with 83, to go along with a touchdown. Aiden Kaminske, Ryder Carigon and King were instrumental in keeping Atlanta in the game, but Rogers City just had too many weapons for Atlanta to control.

Charlton Heston Academy did even its record with a forfeit by Posen. The Vikings fell short on numbers this season, so it is a loss for players that had eligibility. The Patriots, on the other hand, were looking forward to playing the Vikings as a chance to avenge last year’s two-point loss. The offense of the Patriots is seen as a passing-orientated team. Charlton does rely on the run when the passing game is grounded. Tiernan Hinmon is a receiver first, then turns the reception into long gains with his moves as he did in the Breckenridge game. Quarterbacks Matthue Kitolski and Wyatt Butson can lay the ball into a small window with the pass. Desyln Klumpp has the ability to break through the defensive line as a running back, then moves to the tight end position. There he makes himself available for the pass. Swami believes the Patriots have the ability to move the ball; the only question is can they produce a defense against the run and pass. The All-Knowing-One says the Tigers have a two-prong attack that Heston has not seen before.

Swami Sez: Atlanta 38, Charlton Heston 6.

WHITTEMORE-PRESCOTT (1-1) at HILLMAN (2-0) — tonight at 7 p.m.

This game could have been a battle of unbeatens, but Atlanta played spoiler in the opener. Whittemore-Prescott bounced back in a big way against Carsonville-Port Sanilac. The Cardinals found holes in the Carsonville defense on the opening drive, and subsequent drives after to find a running clock in the second half. Brodie Lintz rushed for 135 yards in scoring a touchdown on only 14 carries. It was a night that the entire team saw playing time and it gave coach Joe Murphy a chance to evaluate his entire team in the lopsided win, which could be of value as the season goes on. Aiden Bell and Tyler Page give the Cardinals another useful dimension, kickoff returns as both found the endzone without being touched in the opening loss to Atlanta. Swami says this Cardinal team isn’t like past years; they are going to score using every aspect of the game.

Hillman has matched last season’s total wins in just two weeks. Another proof the Tigers have improved is on the positive side of the points scored to this point. Last season was the direct opposite, being outscored heavily over the nine games. Tonight will be a real test to see if the Tigers can stay on the positive side. Last week Hillman used the pass/run attack to turn back an up-and-coming Mio. In the opener it was the passing of quarterback Xavier Nichols that proved too much for Alcona, hitting Eddie Prue and Evan Crane on a consistent basis. Against Mio, Nichols used his legs to pick up yardage, while only throwing 16 times, with the majority of them going to Crane. The All-Knowing-One tends to error on the side of a high-scoring affair, but at the same time it could be a direct opposite.

Swami Sez: Hillman 45, Whittemore-Prescott 32.

ONAWAY (1-1) at ROGERS CITY (2-0) — tonight at 7 p.m.

Onaway rebounded from a thrashing by Inland Lakes, turning the tables on Bellaire in a lopsided win. The Cardinals used the rush to put Bellaire on their heels and never recovered. Onaway used a platoon of running backs in putting together an all-rushing attack led by Lelin Splan with 215 yards going for two touchdowns. Kayson Jarvis contributed 118 yards of the total, also scoring twice. Zach Schmoldt and Jackson Green did a yeoman’s job with 91 and 54 yards, while each scored once. Quarterback Christopher Pauly did not have to put the ball in the air, but did go a perfect 3 for 3, including a passing touchdown.

The Cardinal defense was equally effective in allowing two touchdowns. Splan led the way with seven tackles, and Andrew Gulley delivered four-and-a-half, while Schmoldt and Jarvis contributed two each. Swami has to say as the Cardinal offense goes, the defense has to be equally effective. Football is a team game, so let’s not forget that — everyone on the Cardinals made a contribution to the win.

Rogers City derailed the potent offense of Atlanta, allowing just three touchdowns after the Huskies put together an eight TD night against Whittemore-Prescott. Quarterback Bryan McKinstry boosted his completion rating to .654 in the 42-26 win. McKinstry threw for 223 yards, while the Huron backfield combined for 107 yards of rushing. McKinstry had great protection from the line to complete touchdown tosses. Cayden Rhode leads the backfield corps in the rushing department and had an outstanding game against the Huskies. Levi Flemming, Ethan Spens and Justin Romel were instrumental in limiting the offense of Atlanta.

Swami says will Onaway mix up the play calling this week, as Rogers City contains the rushing attack with a swarming defense? The other question is will the Hurons concentrate their efforts on the run game?

Swami Sez: Rogers City 30, Onaway 20.