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As Americans we all remember 9-11-2001, Swami remembers that date every year. He doesn’t dwell on it, but when the day is fast approaching, it touches him the same it did on that day. He doesn’t even have to think where he was it is still vivid. Sitting in a cement building on 23 North. The day started out the same as every other one, working at his computer doing purchasing for the company. There were three others in the same room, with a small radio playing in the background. Then a news flash came over that the first tower was hit by a plane. Then minutes later, the second. Right then and there the All-Knowing-One knew it was not an accident, then third plane headed for the Pentagon had crashed. It was a terrorist attack, a short time later the four of us departed our happy surrounding just hours before. Coming towards town, there was a backup at the gas station on 23, you see long lines of vehicles filling their tanks, as the fear of a gas shortage was on the rise, another indication that things in our world were not right.
Friday night football and the sports world came to a halt, until moratorium of three days past, and even past that date sports were not in full swing. No, Swami Sez that week though he had a head start on the column. This Friday night there will be football and there will moments of silence for all that courageously faced it. The All-Knowing-One has his sights on remembering what went on that sad day, with a moment of silence, hopefully in Petoskey while being in attendance at a football game. He has his column whipped into shape days before the deadline, and if his predictions do not come out alright, it is fine because it is not a matter of life or death, compared to this sad day 25 years ago…..
ALPENA (1-1) at ESCANABA (0-2) – Friday – 7 p.m. – Alpena had to have the same mindset as it did in their opener. For the opening moments it worked to perfection, a Gavin Ross interception after being tipped by Brody Misiak, put the Wildcats with the momentum to score first. Andrew Szymoniak following his offensive line blocking made his way to the Cadillac three. Misiak then broke through the center of line for the touchdown. Things looked good for the Wildcats, but the Vikings’ offense had other ideas; they mounted a quick drive themselves, with a running game that Alpena could not contain. Cadillac used a passing game in their first game, featuring the arm of Dom Wing, instead he used his legs to put the Vikings up by seven. Which was set up by a Wildcat turnover, something Alpena did not do in the opener. The Wildcats received the ball to start the second half, but the drive stalled causing Alpena to punt, which was blocked. Wing made short work of the short Viking drive, giving the Vikings all the momentum they would need to pull out the win. There were some bright spots for Alpena, Tyler McCintic turned in a gem with an interception as once again the Vikings were driving, Szymoniak added to his touchdown total with runs of 58 and 45 yards, and quarterback Cash Moughon pulled down a fake punt and rambled for a first down. Swami says penalties and turnovers are correctable errors that the Wildcats can work in practice, so everyone is on the same page. In addition, the All-Knowing-One believes Alpena can force turnovers on the side of Escanaba this week.
Escanaba led 17-7 at halftime only to come out on the losing end, 35-25. The Eskymos’ turned two interceptions by Gaylord into two touchdowns, but would not get any closer than the final score. Senior Alex Ison has stepped into the quarterback position, replacing Nolan Bink , who was Big North Conference Quarterback of the year. Ison has found the going rough, but continues to improve, just as his offensive line. The bad thing: Escanaba plays up to their potential in the early part of the game, only to have lapses in the second half. Ison’s favorite target has been wide out Brody Levesque. Junior Bryce Bichler a short yardage back has scored in both contests. Ison also has the ability to pump fake, then take off on the run. In addition, the quarterback position tends to be where the majority of the rushing yards come from. Swami has one observation, if the Wildcats come out with the intensity that they showed in the opening win, it will set the Eskymos’ back on their heels, causing them to rethink their game strategy. There is another fact; the Wildcats are on a long losing streak against Escanaba. There would be no better time, then to break it now.
Swami Sez: Alpena 28, Escanaba 20.
COPPER ISLAND ACADEMY (1-1) at ROGERS CITY (2-0) – Saturday – 1 p.m. – Rogers City continued to roll, while Copper Island picked up its first win and it was monumental, the first in school history. The Hurons rolled to a 54-0 win over Atlanta on Thursday. It was once again the quarterback Brian McKinstry show hitting on all 11 passes as he threw for 150 yards that collimated in two touchdowns. The real story was the backfield of the Hurons, who ran rough shod over the Husky defense. Sam Whitford led the backfield barrage with 16 carries for 86 yards, while scoring twice as well. Eli Banttari was on the receiving end of one touchdown tosses from McKinstry , in addition to 63 receiving yards, Nolan Lesko had a reception that also went for a score. Swami has to say, when McKinstry wasn’t completing his perfect night, he pulled the ball down racing for three more scores. Levi Flemming was the leader on the offensive line with four pancake blocks. Defensively, the Hurons turned in a 30-tackle night, led by Florian Lemke with 5, Ethan Spens, and Vincent Jaeger accounted for four each. The defense of Rogers City has stayed fresh, only allowing 18 points. Offensively, the Hurons have put 100 points on the board. The All-Knowing – One has to say, neither the offense or defense has really been put to the test.
There is very little information on Copper Island Academy, except for the Eagles holding onto a 24-22 win against Ontonagon for their first victory while playing their first season in the short existence of the school. The opening weekend saw the Brimley Braves did not give the Eagles a warm reception, in a 36-0 loss. The Braves forced way too many three and outs for Eagles to sustain a drive. The Braves overwhelmed the defensive line of the Eagles and had them confused the entire game. The only reason this game is on the Hurons schedule is that Rogers City schedule was left with an opening on this third weekend of the season. Swami believes the Hurons should be in control of this game. It will be up to them, either come out a play for a purpose or take the Eagles for granted. If the latter, then it could put a dent in the Hurons schedule. But the All-Knowing-One has to say he is going with the Hurons, to get the job done. The offensive power of the run and the pass, will keep the Hurons rolling.
Swami Sez: Rogers City 42, Copper Island Academy 6.
ALCONA (1-1) at CHARLTON HESTON (0-2) – Friday – 7 p.m. – Alcona did not start out the season the way they wanted to. Central Lake showed why they are a rated team, by putting up 71 points. The Tigers avoided a shutout with a lone touchdown late in the contest. But last Thursday it was a complete turnaround, as the offense produced and held the offense of Pellston scoreless through three quarters. Kameron Owens and Adalai Lieber ran through gigantic holes in the defense of the Hornets. Owens galloped for 181 yards, including two touchdowns, while Lieber was very close behind with 179, also making his way to the endzone. Lochlin Gordy got into the act as well with a scamper for a score, in addition to hauling in a 73-yard pass that went for another. Grady Goddard picked apart the Hornets defense, that loosen up the rushing game, with three TD passes. Defensively, Gavin Bittman put the hammer down with 11 tackles, including a fumble recovery. When Bittman was not putting on a tackling drill, it was Gordy accumulating eight tackles, with Henrik Healy, Lieber and Evan Gehring contributing five each. Michael Burnett topped off the defensive gem with an interception.
Charlton Heston has gotten off to a rough start, in comparison to last year’s 7-2 record; they would have to win out to equal that season. Swami cannot see that in the cards. The Patriots lost valuable pieces that had given them a North Star Conference title. Charleton Heston going into the third game of the season, is still looking for that evasive first touchdown, being outscored by a total of 50 points over two games. The first game against Manistique was an 11-player game, up until this juncture they were playing strictly 8-man. It will be interesting to see if the Patriots are to make the post season, what playoff points would they have gotten if any. But before they can have aspirations about making it, they have to win games. Swami has to say the Tigers will be a prepared team, that is hungry for win number 2.
Swami Says: Alcona 35, Charleton Heston 0.
HILLMAN (0-2) at ATLANTA (0-2) – Friday – 7 p.m. – Something has to give here. Hillman is coming off losses to Inland Lakes and Mio. While Atlanta has been shut out against Mio and Rogers City by lopsided scores. The Tigers have been working sophomore Maison Tracy into the offense more and more. Going into the Husky game, Tracy is the second leading rusher; only Eddie Prue has more yardage. Junior Cameron Nowak has been the go-to receiver, with Tracy being second. Freshman Jaden Purol has led Hillman on the defensive side, with 15 tackles a team high. Freshman Robbie Olschanski and sophomore Grayden Klein also have accumulated double digit tackles. Senior Eli Schulze and Tracy scored against Mio to place them in a position for a win, but came up short. Seniors Prue and Schulze are the true leaders of the Tigers, while the underclassman continue to grow and become intracule parts of the team. The Tigers can feel good about themselves as Hillman was able to put two touchdowns on the board to go along with two 2-point conversions. Swami has to say that is pretty good, going up against the stingiest defense of the Thunderbolts.
Atlanta has a 16-player roster, with half of them being seniors, from last year’s squad. The Huskies are anchored in the center of the offensive line, with Ryder Carigon. Cian McIllaney is in charge of the defensive backfield, playing corner back, who is counted on to go up against the best receiver the opposition has. Sophomore MacGregor Curwin plays opposite McIllaney, also at corner back. Senior Richard Zedan and sophomore Sawyer Schoening have been the center of the defensive line. Offensively, Parker Schoening has been counted on to be in the backfield, along with being the Huskies wide receiver. One of the holdbacks that Atlanta has faced is that oppositions offensive line has opened holes in it, and account for the halfbacks to gain yardage, that the Huskies can ill afford to give up. On offense, Atlanta is missing some key ingredients that move the needle in their favor. With that in mind, the Tigers will gain victory number 1.
Swami Sez: Hillman 30, Atlanta 8.
WHITTEMORE-PRESCOTT (1-1) at MIO (2-0) – Friday – 7 p.m. – This maybe the game of the night, Mio coming in with two wins, while Whittemore-Prescott bounced back after an opening night loss, against Bay City Academy. The Thunderbolts crossed the goal line first, on a run by Landon Fritz. Hillman answered back quickly with a TD, with the two-point conversion, putting them up 8-6. This is the first time in this young season; the Thunderbolts had to overcome a deficit. The sluggish Thunderbolt offense would score the only points of the second quarter on a rushing score by Atreyu Burden. The Thunderbolts continued to struggle, scoring the only points of the third quarter, thanks to Logan Fox hitting Garrett Fox in stride. Mio secured the win when Burden scored his second touchdown, giving the Thunderbolts the win. Quarterback Logan Fox hit on 6 of his 9 passing attempts for 132 yards, while breaking free for 48 yards. Burden did more than his share of rushing, picking up 154 yards on 15 attempts. Garrett Fox was responsible for half of the receptions, that went for 62 yards. Burden also had a game on defense, recording 10 tackles and an interception. Logan Fox was close behind with 9; Garrett Fox finished with seven solo tackles, two tipped passes and an interception. Garrison Kann had an interception, while Brock Stewart scooped up a fumble on the defensive side of the ball. Overall, the defense of the Thunderbolts has been solid, with the exception of the first two quarters against Hillman.
Whittemore-Prescott lost a high scoring affair against St. Charles, and they scored enough for a win, but their defense just had a bad night overall. The Cardinals did not waste any time against Bay City Academy to wrap up the shut out win. Even though the Cardinal defense played much better, there are a few things that need to be worked out, according to the coaching staff. Whittemore-Prescott put this game in the win column in the first quarter, with Aiden Bell on carries of 40 and one yard, gave the Cardinals a two-touchdown lead. But it did not end there; Blaine Zuchnik tip toed in from a yard out, before Bell would score his third racing 63 yards to close out the scoring. The second quarter saw Zuchnik going back to work for two more touchdowns, before Carson Vohwinkle hauled in an interception to end the quarter. Bell would cross the goal line one more time to secure the blowout win. Bell rushed for 140 on only six carries; Scout Holshoe, Hunter Clayton and Tyler Page all worked out of the backfield for 51 and 20 yards respectively. Holshoe was also instrumental on defense with eight tackles and an interception; Zuchnik and Emerson Sheehan finished with five. While Bell and Page recorded four apiece, in addition to Nathan Cloum with three.
Swami feels this game is going to be a real test for both the offense and defense of the Thunderbolts. There are a lot of variables in this contest. If the Thunderbolts have another sluggish start, the Cardinal offense could get the jump on them. Mio’s rock-solid defense must prove it one more time. On the Cardinal side, can they produce their third straight high scoring game, and produce the defense that shut out Bay City. There is a lot for the All-Knowing-One to consider here. He believes it will be not as a high scoring game as some might think, instead he thinks will be tight down to the end.
Swami Sez: Mio 38, Whittemore-Prescott 35.