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Everything will come full circle in one’s lifetime. You might not think so, but it’s true. Swami did not realize that until his oldest son John took a job in Boyne City. The All-Knowing-One went back in his memory bank back fifty years ago and remembers going there on a school bus. Now he’ll be making that trip again, but not on a bus.
It will be interesting to compare the town now to what it was in the 60s. The town was full of life. It was a little laid back town and the people were extremely friendly. Being a part of the Catholic Central High School football, basketball and track teams, Swami had a chance to travel throughout Northern Michigan, including to Boyne City. Even now, his job takes him down the same roads as back then, visiting six of the eight original Huron Conference cities.
SAULT STE. MARIE (0-1) at ALPENA (0-1) – Friday – It was not the type of opener either Sault Ste. Marie or Alpena envisioned last week. The Wildcats withstood Escanaba for the most part, only to cave in on three drives.
Neither team moved the ball in the first half, until the Eskymos broke the plane late in the second quarter. The Wildcats brought it back to a one score game with an 18-yard run by Alex Arch. Lars MacArthur threw quite a bit for Alpena, but the running game struggled. Swami says there must be more cohesiveness between the running and passing games this week to keep the defense guessing.
Sault Ste. Marie ran into a punishing 42-14 loss at the hands of Petoskey. A touchdown by Justin Fountain on a 30-yard run and another score in the waning seconds was all Sault could muster.
Swami is hoping for a better outcome for the Wildcats Friday. True, the Blue Devils scored more points, but one must take into consideration when those touchdowns were scored. The Wildcats were right there, but it was a few mistakes they made that made the difference.
The All-Knowing-One says tonight will be a different story.
Swami Sez: Alpena 24, Sault Ste. Marie 8.
POSEN (1-0) at PELLSTON (0-1) – Thursday – The thrill of playing 8-man football had mixed reviews for Posen and Pellston. The Vikings were down to Stephenson 26-24 at half. Skyler Tulgetske convincingly put the Vikings’ first win in their back pocket, amassing 301 yards on 13 carries to go with five touchdowns in what seemed to be an easy win. Travis Sharpe also showed his athleticism with 184 rushing yards on just 18 carries for Posen.
The Vikings are hoping the work they have put in will pay off with another win this week.
Pellston did not experience the same feeling, having ended 11-man play last season. The Hornets’ excitement vanished with the opening kick off in a 54-0 thrashing.
Swami says the Hornets have to put that behind them, but it will be hard to do as the Vikings are fast and explosive. The All-Knowing-One might have taken the Vikings too lightly in the opener, but feels they will be on his radar all season long now.
Swami Sez: Posen 42, Pellston 6.
HILLMAN (1-0) at EAST JORDAN (0-1) – Thursday – The depth of Hillman may not be as strong as last season, but it did not stop them in a 37-0 whitewashing of Rudyard. East Jordan was on the other end of the spectrum, fighting back from a deficit before losing.
The opening five minutes was primarily all Hillman needed, when Caine Hunt found the end zone and Hillman’s defense followed up with an interception. The Bulldogs compounded that drive with turnovers, negative yardage and costly penalties against Hillman’s defense.
The Tigers used 450 yards to good advantage as a trio of Hillman backs did most of the damage, led by Dylan Steinke with 177 and a pair of TDs. Hunt catapulted into the end zone three times to finish with 101 yards and quarterback Billy Kolcan got into the act by adding another 103 to go with a score.
There was more evident signs of improvement from East Jordan, even though it is only game one of the season. The Red Devils came with 15 yards of capturing the win over Inland Lakes.
Inland Lakes made the Red Devils pay early en route to an 18-0 lead. The Red Devils came to life in the second half on a 63 yard run by Donny Cutier and quarterback Collin Shepard followed up with a two-yard sneak. Swami says taking a team that made two straight playoff appearances down to the final seconds is a marked improvement.
Swami also says don’t look for that improvement to continue against the Tigers.
Swami Sez: Hillman 28, East Jordan 22.
AU GRES (0-1) at ALCONA (1-0) – Friday – Alcona had little trouble last week, while Au Gres made life interesting against Rogers City.. The Tigers took the opening kickoff and never looked back. Alcona put together 428 rushing yards on only 36 touches. Brock Franklin took advantage of his offensive picking his way to three touchdowns, while putting together a 190 yard performance. The All-Knowing-One has to say he picked up right where he left off last season.
Au Gres gave the Hurons all they wanted then some, only a single yard was the difference in a 14-8 loss. The Wolverines have an up-and-coming star in freshmen quarterback Cade Zein as he made the most of his 20 completions for 222 yards.
Swami says it will be interesting to see if Franklin can turn in his usual ground game that led to 1,308 yards last season against the stingy defense of the Wolverines. Or will he see Zein continue his hot hand in the passing game?
The All-Knowing-One is leaning toward going with the veteran. But on the other hand, it might be an all-out shootout to see who can come up with the most yards. He has a sneaking feeling Franklin will find a way to lead the way for the Tigers. Take nothing away from Zein; but his day will come, but just not tonight.
Swami Sez: Alcona 18, Au Gres 14.