It is time for a change with fall fast approaching. Time to put away those summer toys and concentrate on the job at hand. The same can be said about football season.

Most of the non-conference games are done and now it is time for teams to make their mark conference play and put themselves in playoff position. This season is not your typical year as teams like Hillman and Mio, who are playoff regulars, will have to just about win out to make it in. Alcona is in better position, but not completely out of the woods. Alpena’s early season wins help them, but they’ve still got the Big North Conference schedule ahead of them. Three more wins would give them a winning season; the Wildcats’ first since 2004.

Swami figures tonight will be the turning point in everyone’s schedule as the road only gets harder from here on out.

ALPENA (2-1) at CADILLAC (2-1) -Things are looking up for the Wildcats, but there is still a lot of work to be done, beginning tonight with the start of the conference schedule.

Coach Aaron Sims is taking it one game at a time, not looking forward to any one team. His goal is improve from the week before. Judging by last week’s performance of 623 rushing yards, he would like to maintain that consistency. Alex Arch not only ran for four quick touchdowns, but amassed 286 yards. Swami has said the Wildcats could have been 3-0 at this point, but that is history. The Wildcats will gladly take the start they have. The Vikings are an offensive team that is very similar to the Wildcats, in that they are a predominately a rushing team.

Swami’s proof is last week’s win over Petoskey, where a trio consisting of quarterback Kegan Brooks, Connor Flint and Kaden Dennis combined for the majority of the rushing yardage. The Vikings will put the ball in the air an average of six times per contest. The All-Knowing-One has to put the deciding factor in this game on the defenses. With this in mind, Swami has to say if the Wildcats’ bend-but-not-break defense, shores up, they could walk away with the win. He can not picture Alpena’s offense stumbling against the Vikings’ front four.

Swami Sez: Alpena 28, Cadillac 21.

ATLANTA (0-3) at WHITTEMORE-PRESCOTT (2-1) -Atlanta is looking to build some type of momentum it can hang its hat on while Whittemore-Prescott is reeling from its first loss.

Huskies’ quarterback Austin Corbin didn’t have an effective night passing, but it was good enough to find Reese Wood for a touchdown. Dallas Robertson accounted for the other on a rushing play. Swami has to say the point production last week is a step in the right direction for the Huskies. Now they have to take advantage of more scoring opportunities. For every positive there has to be a negative and the turnovers have to be eliminated.

Whittemore-Prescott struggled to put 14 points on the board last week. Playing banged up and without Joe Lauria did not help their cause either. The Cardinals’ defense led to their first score of the night as Kyle Colton took an interception back 50 yards. Dakota Kinney was one of the few bright spots on offense as he converted a fourth down play for the Cardinals final score.

One of Swami’s preseason picks to make a run at the North Star League Big Dipper division crown isn’t in trouble yet. But if the offense can’t recover, the situation might change, especially with Alcona picking up steam.

Swami Sez: Whittemore-Prescott 42, Atlanta 14.

AU GRES (3-0) at ALCONA (2-1) – This should be the game of the night between Au Gres and Alcona.

Alcona is building momentum after a lopsided win and Au Gres had a tough time with Hillman in a high scoring affair. The Wolverines were able to build a three touchdown lead, but played even with Hillman for the remainder of the game.

The key to the Tigers’ win over Rogers City was the steady ground game of Brock Franklin. There was nothing flashy in his three touchdown night. Consistently breaking runs of 10 to 15 yards, Franklin finished the night with 182 yards. Tim Hutchinson added 117 yards in addition three scores.

It was the defense of the Tigers that would not let Rogers City to do much. Cody Schram and Ray Betz led the defensive blitz that led to three Huron turnovers.

Au Gres quarterback Caden Zeien ripped Hillman’s defense with pinpoint accuracy, connecting on 29 of his 40 attempts for 330 yards and five touchdowns. Thirteen of them went to Cade Steelman for 129 yards. Swami says the defense was a little suspect in the win, but Ramsey Forton and Zeien held up their end.

The All-Knowing-One has reviewed the scores of these two teams over the first three weeks. He says the Tigers dominated the opposition over compared to Au Gres’ early success.

Swami Sez: Alcona 35, Au Gres 18.

ONAWAY (2-1) at CEDARVILLE (3-0) -We’ll see if an extra week of practice was worth it for Onaway after a forfeit win last week. Now comes the task of facing the number three team in the 8-Man poll.

Cedarville pitched a second straight shutout over Bellaire. The Trojans cruised to the win after taking a 34-0 half time lead. The Trojans racked up 260 yards in the win. Jordan Bailey set the tone with two touchdown scampers, while Trey Norris threw for two and ran for one.

The Cardinals may have a hard time moving the ball against the Trojans. Cedarville has a trio of defensive specialists that collect tackles in double digits. Swami says the Cardinals will have to really hold their blocks against the likes of Gunnar Fountain, Derek Burger and Grant Plowman.

The Cardinals found that out against Engadine. Onaway ate up the clock with 60 rushing plays for more than 200 yards. Swami feels that the Cardinals will be on the giving end once again. The Trojans nickname stands for a reason: they are able to slice through defenses with a wall of blockers.

Swami Sez: Cedarville 56, Onaway 20.