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

Every season runs in cycles, fall leaves turning, the first snowfall of winter, budding out of trees in the spring and the green grass of summer. Swami’s take is a little different from that of nature. Football is a game that can determine when cycles are in full bloom, ice cold, trying to bud out or trying to turn the corner. The All-Knowing-One has seen area teams in each of these cycles. Now at the mid-point of the season, it is even more pronounced. There are teams trying to go from ice cold to budding out, others are in full bloom trying to keep their record clean, and lastly, some attempting to turn the corner. That is the beautiful thing about the sport, you never know what the next game will bring. Let’s enjoy the fall and football regardless of where teams stand now, because you never know when the cycle will change. Let’s see how Swami cycles threw this week’s picks…

ALPENA (0-4) at PETOSKEY (1-3) Tonight at 7 p.m.

Both Alpena and Petoskey had thought they would be in different positions at this point of the season. The Wildcats did have change in coaching staff and it does take a period of time to buy into the new system. But Swami has seen first-hand, the Wildcats have instilled in themselves through the staff, the confidence they can play with anyone. It showed last weekend against Cadillac, they could have easily given up as the Vikings scored three touchdowns quickly. The Wildcat defense had trouble containing the running game and the passing attack, as Cadillac marched down the field in methodical order. Alpena’s defense stiffened, with a fumble recovery and interception. The Wildcat offense got their legs under them, moving the ball, as the result of the foot work and the speed of quarterback Andrew Szymoniak left the Vikings in the dust, racing for 43 yards. Even though Cadillac had a four-touchdown lead at half, there was no giving up. The Wildcats continued to get back in the game, with three more TD runs by Szymoniak, including a 91-yard jaunt around left end. The All-Knowing-One says if the Wildcats had more time the end result would have been different. Cadillac could not see the clock run out fast enough. Proof of the point: kicker Eion Eades not only started with the kickoff but recovered the onside kick that would result in Alpena’s final points with a two-yard push into the endzone by Aidan Aube. In addition, Aube hauled in a 13-yard pass from Szymoniak, who had an exceptional night throwing with 161 yards on eight completions.

In the battle for the Jaycees traveling trophy was all of that in the 48th edition. Gaylord came out on top of 19-13 Big North Conference game. The Northmen led 13-12 with a shade over five minutes to go. The Blue Devils had a time-consuming drive that gave them the lead and the game. It was one of the Blue Devils’ turnovers that led the Northmen to a seven-yard touchdown run by Lukas Nemec, also scored late in the contest, but Gaylord found a way to pull out the win.

Swami poses the questions: can the Wildcats continue on last week to get over the hump? Or will the Northmen’s offense get untracked?

Swami Sez: Alpena 18, Petoskey 12.

HILLMAN (4-0) at INLAND LAKE (4-0) Tonight at 7 p.m.

The best of the best. This describes the battle between Hillman and Inland Lakes. The Tigers coming off a 53-14 win over Baldwin, while the Bulldogs white washed Holton 46-0. Once again, the duo of Eddie Prue and Xavier Nichols put their best foot forward in the rushing/pass game. Prue only touched the ball 13 times in garnering three touchdowns, to go with 178 rushing yards. The Tigers went with the ground game, amassing 317 yards of offense. Nichols threw for another 101 yards on six attempts, which was good for two touchdowns. The Tiger’s defense was also rock-solid, stopping Baldwin in their tracks. Evan Crane and Prue discouraged the passing attack with interceptions, while Chris Shiffer was in the backfield all night long. Shiffer had just five unassisted tackles, but was a thorn in the quarterbacks’ side with two tackles for a loss.

The Bulldogs defense continued to throw shutouts, while putting roughly 200 points on the board over the first four games. Andre Bradford led the rushing game with 128 yards to go with his two touchdowns. Collin Maves was also active in the rushing department with 80 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Ty Kolly managed the ground game scoring as well on a two-yard run, but did have time to throw for 91 yards, with 47 going to Mason Green.

Swami says this could be a high scoring affair, as Hillman is not that far behind in total points scored, at 165. Inland Lakes has been on a roll with four shutout wins in eight-man football, which is unthinkable. Another fact the All-Knowing-One has to throw in is the Bulldogs have three defensive standouts in Wyatt Hanel, Alyx Willis and Eli Foldenauer. Hillman’s offensive line will have to break down the defensive wall to loosen up the powerful aerial and rushing attack.

Swami Sez: Inland Lakes 36, Hillman 21.

ALCONA (1-3) at MIO (3-1) Tonight at 7 p.m.

Alcona is looking to stay on track, Mio is hoping it was a fluke in a very tight win over Charleton Heston. The Tigers offense was just that in recording their first win of the season. Atlanta has been known to score enough points to win, but Alcona did not allow them to do so last week. Thanks to the defensive specialty of Keegan Ritchie and Gavin Dellar, who had 20 tackles between them. The Huskies did score 26 points, but it was nowhere close to previous outings. The Husky defense had no way of stopping Ritchie and Brandon Fogle from finding their way to the endzone for a combined six touchdowns. Leaving plenty of scoring opportunities for quarterback Grady Goddard to hook up with Dellar, Ritchie, Lochlin Gordy with receiving touchdowns. Adalai Lieber also got into the scoring act with a rushing TD.

Mio had to hang on for dear life against the Patriots of Charleton Heston for a 22-20 win. It would come down to a 2-point conversion that would be the difference. The Thunderbolts kept plugging away, taking what the Patriots would give them. The Thunderbolts will use this game to improve not only the offense, but the defensive scheme for upcoming games.

Swami believes the Thunderbolts will work on the passing game led by Brody Fox getting the ball to receivers Gauge Spitzer, Atreyu Burden, and Noah Boright. A good passing game will free up the run, in the hands of Burden and Spitzer. Whereas, the Tigers must get together a game plan of rushing the ball, to limit the passing attack of the Thunderbolts.

Swami Sez: Mio 28, Alcona 12.

OSCODA (1-3) at TAWAS (1-3) Tonight at 7 p.m.

Oscoda has seen what a top-notch team in Charlevoix can do, and the reason why they are rated 7th in division 7. The Owls can take the hard-learned lessons back to the practice field in preparations for Tawas. The Braves may not be on the same level as the Rayders were, but they can be explosive given the chance. Hunter Vincenty-Cole and Casey Nelson found it rough to get the rushing game going, picking up about 80 yards between the two of them. Defensively, Brett Travis did what he could do with 12 tackles in the 49-0 loss.

Tawas gave up 46 points to Benzie Central, and in doing so the offense was flat and could not get anything going. The Braves did have the pleasure of playing Charlevoix the week prior. The Braves did accomplish something that not too many teams have done, scoring a touchdown. The Braves felt good only being down 14-7 to the Rayders, that was until Charlevoix ran off 40 straight points. Quarterback Aidan Smith laid out a 40-yard pass to Sean Donaghy for the points. Smith did have a good passing game, going 12 of 22 for 144 yards. Donaghy had 95 yards as a receiver. Smith also found Carson Selman and Bell for three receptions each, in addition to Dominyk Harrison-Knox having a catch. Steven Yarema did what he could do in the running game. The Rayders worn down the defense of the Braves, but Bell and Yarema held their own leading the defense, Donaghy and Owen Warner also contributed heavily on defense. Preston Muckenthaler had a fumble recovery to his credit.

Swami says Oscoda will have to revert back to week one, when they took an opening win, in addition to the knowledge they picked up from last week, to convert it into success. Tawas must shore up its defense and get the offense back on track in this big rivalry game. The Owls have an eight-game winning streak against rival Tawas and wanting to make it nine. The Braves say there is no time like the present to break it.

Swami Sez: Oscoda 14, Tawas 8.