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Isn’t it interesting that pro sports and college teams are in such a disarray, this year. Swami thought only high school teams would have rocky seasons, due to the turnover in athletics, due to graduation. But, pro football week after week, showing lackluster efforts, are truly disappointing to the All-Knowing-One. If it isn’t the offensive showing up, then it is the shotty defense, case in point of the Detroit Lions. One can blame players, but it goes farther than that. Where do the players get direction from? Pure and simple, the coaching staff, it appears they are in over the heads. So, what is the answer, fire personnel, that could be a viable option. As long as you have fans filling those stadium seats, everything is fine with the owners. In Swami’s eyes, nothing will change until attendance pushes the owners to the brink. While, the All-Knowing-One is on his soap box, he might as well get everything off his chest. Let’s turn to the college scene; both Michigan State and Michigan are in a state of confusion. The Spartans have a lack of offense, and a defense that is just not in sync. Last in the Big Ten for offense, and a defense that rendered 31 points to a formable Wisconsin team has not set well, with anyone. Now, you switch to the other football team, it is unexplainable how you can win a game that you should not have, then two weeks of losing, with a quarterback that thinks everyone on the field has the same color jerseys, in addition to carrying the ball like a loaf of bread, in addition to a rushing game that is not existent as well. The only positive point, is the defense as a whole, and even that could be suspicious, like the last play against Iowa. When the All-Knowing-One was looking for any positive in the state, he came across Division 2 football, where Ferris State is currently leading the division, and has won National Championships in four of the last five years. They will face stiff competition, Saturday, against rival Grand Valley State, who is also perfect to this point. But with the other teams, it is just hard to swallow, when a man in his 70’s, can sit in front of television and can see the play evolve in front of him, seeing first handed, that someone is wide open and the quarterback makes a decision to throw it elsewhere, or into the defenders hands. Then you can add a pro defense, that is standing four feet away from the line, knowing it is going to be a pass play, letting the corners cover at least five receivers. Come on now, someone has to see the sad state of affairs and fix it, right?
Let’s switch gears to what this column is all about, high school football. It has to be said, every player on any field has given or will give it their best, there is no half heart attempts. Fans can see it, or anyone connected to the programs can also. Whether you are on a winning or losing streak, the play is all the same, giving it 100 per cent and nothing less. Begrudgingly, Swami can deal with the football affairs in the state; his real fix comes on Friday nights and that is all that matters. Let’s see what this Friday brings, before it is too late and they turn out the lights on him……..
PETOSKEY (4-2) at ALPENA (1-5) – Friday – 7:00 p.m. – Alpena just hasn’t the stamina to pull out a win, while Petoskey shook off a narrow 2-point loss in week 5 to Cadillac, to rebound to a 42-21 win over Big North Conference foe Gaylord. With the win, the Northmen are still in contention for the conference title. A win tonight, with one remaining game against leader Marquette next week, who is currently sitting in first, could be for the title. So, to put it bluntly, the Wildcats will have to pull out all the stops, while the Northmen come to town with only one thought in mind. Last week, against the Sentinels, it was a rerun, of the previous three-game losing streak. The Wildcats were right there, but just did not have the push to pull out the win. Alpena took a play out of their playbook, in what looked like a pass play, quarterback Cash Moughon, pulled the ball down, racing 78 yards for the tying score. Marquette took charge going back up by seven; the Wildcats once again responded on a 12-play drive that found paydirt, with Moughon using a short 7-yard pass to Brody Misiak. Two scores by the Sentinels boosted the lead up to double digits. The beginning of the fourth, saw the Wildcats come back once more, as Andrew Szymoniak put Alpena back in striking distance on an 11-yard run. A great defensive tackle on a 4th down play by Gavin Ross, gave the Wildcats life, but it was extinguished on a three and out. Moughon had his best night as a Wildcat, rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown, in addition to a 13 for 21 night, in the passing department, for 160, including a TD. Pass. In the end it was another of those nights; the Wildcats had hoped would have gone in their favor, but didn’t. Swami keeps hoping the ball will be on the side of Alpena, before the season ends. One thing that can be said about the Wildcats, they have a no quit attitude, regardless of the score, or position on the field; they feel they can overcome the obstacles presented to them.
Petoskey doubled up the effort of Gaylord in terms of the score and plays, taking a 42-21 easy win, taking back the Jaycees trophy, on homecoming night. In the loss to Cadillac, it was the inability to finish off drives. On this night, it was a different story; quarterback Lukas Nemec saw to that, scoring four times, while garnering 92 yards on 16 attempts. Nemec was also spot on, in the passing department completing seven of 11 for 180 yards. Defense, played up to its name also, allowing a single touchdown by the starters. There were also interictal parts on the offense that played into the scheme, Luke Pike with 77 yards of rushing, and two scores, to go along with 49 yards in the pass catching department, while Jace Shaw had three receptions for 104 yards. Trevin Boyce did his share with 10 carries for 79 yards. Gaylord could help out Petoskey, with an upset of Marquette, setting up a winner takes all conference crown. Before that can happen, they have to get past Alpena. The Wildcats have not be pointing to any one game this season, taking them one at a time, and improving along the way, even though the wins have not come. But a win would certainly make their season, after a 24-0 shut out against the Northmen last season.
Swami Sez: Petoskey 28, Alpena 14.
MORRICE (1-5) at HILLMAN (2-3) – Saturday – 3:00 p.m. – Hillman definitely needs this win for a chance of 500 season or better. Morrice having played a murderous schedule just needs a win to make their season. The Tigers 28-24 loss to Whittemore-Prescott did nothing to help Hillman, in a variety of ways. Morrice also came up short of pulling out their second victory of the year, a last second 30-28 loss to Coleman. The expectations following last season’s 8-2 record, were extremely high coming into this season for the Orioles. The Orioles only graduated three seniors, but they had exceptional playing ability. Senior quarterback Griffin Long, has taken over the signal calling, came back for the first time after being out with an injury, doing remarkably well in the tight loss. Rallying the Orioles from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter only to come up two points short for the win. He has shown to be valuable in the rushing department, as he scored a rushing touchdown against Coleman, of 53-yards that put Morrice up 20-16 in the back-and-forth game. Tyler Ash, when called upon in the backfield, is considered a valuable player when it comes to the rush, especially in short yardage situations. Long’s favorite receiver has been Wyatt Valentine, who hauled in two touchdown passes, in the game. Alex Smith is considered to be the Orioles’s deep threat, and he proved it hauling in a 65-yard that led to another score. Valentine is another valuable cog, on defense playing corner. Ethan Cole, Derek Gordon, Keigan Edington and Zander Robu are strong suits on the defensive side of the ball. Overall, the Orioles are a few players short of being a winning team. It maybe not the result the Orioles were looking for, but it does give them hope that they can turn future games into wins.
It all came down to one last play, for Hillman it was not one that they had drawn up. The back-and-forth contest had its ups and downs for both Hillman and Whittemore-Prescott. The Tigers drove down the field setting up a goal line play, in the 28-24 contest, but an interception by Aiden Bell, left Hillman with a loss. Anytime is not a good time for a loss, but at this stage of the season, it was detrimental. The offense of the Tigers has seen a dramatic shift, especially in the rushing game. Senior Eddie Prue has become the leader at 155.5 yards per game, in addition to leading the way in total touchdowns with eight. Prue has sought his go to receiver Cameron Nowak for a reception average of 18.8 yards per catch. Defensively, Hillman has stopped drives with the sure hand tackling of Eli Schulze with 10 per game; sack leader Jaden Purol can be seen in the backfield most of the time, recording 1.5 per contest. Maison Tracy has two interceptions to his credit as well. A win tonight, will reignite the Tigers to finish out the season including the two games remaining, to end at 5-3. Giving them a shot at postseason something they couldn’t envision in the early going.
Swami Sez: Hillman 35, Morrice 6.
ROGERS CITY (5-1) at ALCONA (1-5) – Friday – 7:00 p.m. – Rogers City just could not be stopped against Pellston, in the lopsided win. Alcona had to play errorless football against some stiff competition in Mio. After the opening minutes errors and penalties took a toll on the Tigers, in a 58-14 game. The Hornets knew they were in for a long night as the score mounted on the board, resulting in a running clock. Ethan Spens found open spaces on his eight carries, resulting in 149 yards of rushing, to lead the Huron attack with three touchdowns. Sam Whitford took the load off Spens, gaining 87 more yards, leading to two more scores. Rogers City basically used the ground game to chew up the yardage and the clock, with 277 total yards. It was the second-best rushing game, since early last season when they racked up 306. Even with the one loss this season, the Hurons average still average a shade under 44 points per contest. Alcona on the other hand, is a shade below half of those points per game. The Tiger offense has had a difficult maintaining an offensive flow in six games.
The Hurons continue to pile up yardage in all categories of the offense. In the contest against Pellston, quarterback Bryan McKinstry had to unleash the ball just nine times, with five going for completions, to gain 117 yards. McKinstry’s total yardage both rushing and passing is 1241, for the year. Nolan Lesko has 569 yards in pass receptions, while Daryl Hawley and Eli Banttari are coming in at 338 and 246. Sam Whitford is still leading in the rushing department with 302, while McKinstry and Spens are closing in with 252 and 249.
Alcona has been working hard on offense and defense, in hopes of gaining wins, but the schedule for one has been against them. Rogers City can be mentioned as another quality team, with the same attributes as the Thunderbolts had going for them. The Tigers scored first against the high-powered Mio Thunderbolts, and in that instant the Tigers had a glimmer of hope; this might be their night. At that point the glimmer, but all disappeared. Alcona offense came up with another score, but after that drive Alcona could do little in forms of offense. The defense of the Tigers could not contain the high-power Thunderbolts, running off 36 straight to take a commanding lead at half, which was the game for all practical purposes. Alcona will face the same type of aerial assault, with a bone crushing running game. Defensively, Locin Gordy, Kameron Owens and Gavin Bittman have been the leaders on defense, but it will take a total team effort to bring down the Hurons. The offense primarily falls into the hands of Grady Goddard, Adalai Lieber and Owens.
Swami Sez: Rogers City 32, Alcona 8.
ONAWAY (3-3) at GAYLORD ST. MARYS (6-0) – Friday – 7:00 p.m. – An upset win by Onaway over St. Mary’s, would put an exclamation point on the season with two games to go. The Snowbirds are looking to continue their winning way, by dominating the Cardinals. Onaway is coming off a 30-14 win over Cedarville. The Snowbirds on the other hand, were handed a forfeit from Engadine, as they could not field enough players to play. Swami thinks it would not have been a game. Due to the fact, Gaylord St. Marys has not given up a point on defense, through six games. On the offensive side, they have the luxury of scoring 308, which equates to 51 points per outing. The All-Knowing-One does not only know what the Cardinals have to do, to win, but how they would have to do it. Win the coin flip, have ball control drives, eat up the clock by doing so, and ultimately score every time. Can it be done? Sure, under the right circumstances, but it will take perfection. To show you how hard it will be, Cedarville played the Snowbirds on their home field, getting shellacked 57-0.
The defense of the Cardinals is coming alive over the last two games, but it is going to take a stellar effort, to keep the Snowbirds at bay, tonight. The Cardinals Chris Pauly continues to play well, as he did in a recent game, rushing the ball 14 times going for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Kayson Jarvis has been able to find the holes, making the two of them a one-two punch that has been hard to bring down. Quarterback Jackson Green’s completion rate and attempts maybe down, but when he is called upon, he has delivered a needed strike. The defense of Onaway with leaders Max Green, Phineas Benson, Caleb Booms and Zach Schmoldt has been the wall the opposition that has not been able to be penetrated.
Gaylord St. Mary’s confidence continues to grow on both offense and defense. Quarterback Nathan O’Connell has been able to look off receivers to find one that is to his advantage. Calvin Skowronski, Joe Jacobson, and Cash Wcisel have run their routes that usually finish in the end zone. The passing game has helped the backfield of Logan Greenier and Cal Royce allowing the duo to find holes and yardage all in the same play. O’Connell’s ability to find an open receiver has made for an incredible completion rate of 48 of 53 attempts for 898 yards. Swami has to say, the Snowbirds are on par the hold the opposition for the year to the fewest points scored against them. Not to jinx them, but there still are three games they have to hold serve. Looking at it, the Cardinals will have to really pull a rabbit out of the hat, for the big upset. The All-Knowing-One believes the Snowbirds are just to strong on both sides of the ball to let this happen.
Swami Sez: Gaylord St. Marys 42, Onaway 12.