Drive for Detroit: Week 8 in Review
October 17, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
On one hand, this weekend was the second-to-last of a football regular season that seemed this fall to roll by as quickly as ever.
On the other, this weekend was just the start of the second half of the 14-week Michigan high school football season that finishes up in six weeks at Ford Field – and 174 teams have clinched opportunities to continue on the hunt for an MHSAA title.
This annually is one of the most important weeks of the season; more than 600 teams finish up regular-season play, and Sunday we'll announce the 256-team 11-player playoff field and 16 teams that will advance in 8-player. We'll talk about that more as this week goes on. But we'll start with the highlights of all that was Week 8 below.
Bay & Thumb
Flint Carman-Ainsworth 34, Midland Dow 27
The Cavaliers (6-2) bounced back from a 1-2 start to go undefeated in winning the Saginaw Valley League Blue title, but had to beat co-leader Dow in the final game to finish the run. Carman-Ainsworth last won a league title in 2013, but had finished fifth and then fourth in the SVL Red over the last two seasons while Dow was hoping for a third straight Blue title. Click for more from the Flint Journal.
Also noted:
Richmond 28, Algonac 13 – For the second straight season, this matchup decided at least partially the Blue Water Area Conference title; for the second straight season, Richmond (7-1) beat Algonac (7-1), this time to win the league outright.
Bay City Central 17, Saginaw Heritage 14 – The Wolves (5-3) held on against the Hawks (3-5) to edge closer to a first playoff berth since 2007, and can clinch a spot this week against rival Bay City Western.
Ubly 54, Harbor Beach 12 – The Bearcats (8-0) won the Greater Thumb Conference East title outright while guaranteeing their best season finish since 2010 and sending Harbor Beach to 4-4.
Marysville 28, St. Clair 27 – The Macomb Area Conference Gold champion Vikings (8-0) guaranteed their best record since 2011 and have a chance to go 9-0 for the first time since 2003 after just edging St. Clair (4-4).
Greater Detroit
Utica Eisenhower 38, Warren Mott 6
The Eagles (8-0) couldn’t clinch the Macomb Area Conference Red title outright until this final league game, but did so comfortably after jumping out to a 24-0 lead. Five of six teams in the league are still alive for playoff berths – Eisenhower and Mott (6-2) have clinched, and Romeo, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley and Macomb Dakota can get in with wins this week – which makes Eisenhower’s first league title since 2011 all the more impressive. Click for more from the Macomb Daily.
Also noted:
Birmingham Brother Rice 20, Traverse City Central 17 (3OT) – The Warriors (5-3) kept themselves alive to return to the playoffs by handing Central (7-1) its first loss with a marathon effort.
Dearborn 28, Dearborn Fordson 23 – This matchup of neighborly rivals also ended up as a matchup of Western Wayne Athletic Conference divisional champs; Dearborn (7-1) broke a three-game losing streak against the Tractors (7-1).
Clarkston 45, Lake Orion 16 – Despite a Week 2 overtime loss to Southfield Arts & Technology, Clarkston (6-2) stormed back to earn a share of the Oakland Activities Association Red title in part because Lake Orion (5-3) handed the Warriors a league loss in Week 5.
Warren Michigan Collegiate 34, Harper Woods Chandler Park 22 – The Cougars (7-1) clinched the Charter School Conference championship for the first time since 2011 as these two met to decide the league title for the third straight year; Chandler Park (5-3) has the week off but will make the playoffs with five wins in eight games.
Mid-Michigan
Grand Ledge 31, East Lansing 28
The Comets (7-1) jumped to an early lead and saw four players score as they stayed just ahead of East Lansing to clinch the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue title outright for the second straight season. East Lansing (5-3) had fallen to Jackson in its league opener but had a chance to create a shared championship with a victory. Grand Ledge’s only loss this season was on opening night, by seven, to Hudsonville. Click for more from the Lansing State Journal.
Also noted:
Clare 31, Beaverton 14 – The Pioneers (7-1) earned a share of their ninth Jack Pine Conference championship in 10 seasons while putting the Beavers (5-3) in a must-win situation this week.
Fowlerville 30, Corunna 15 – The Gladiators (6-2) secured their first playoff berth since 2010, also the last season they won at least six games; Corunna fell to 6-2 as well but had already clinched a spot.
DeWitt 48, Menominee 14 – In a battle of annual Ford Field hopefuls, DeWitt (7-1) became the first this season to hold the Maroons (7-1) to fewer than 28 points.
Brighton 41, Howell 20 – The Bulldogs (7-1) staved off the Highlanders (5-3) to win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West outright and earn this week’s Lakes final berth against Walled Lake Western.
Northern Lower Peninsula
Frankfort 28, Charlevoix 0
The Panthers (8-0) repeated at Northern Michigan Football Conference Legends division champions with their second straight shutout and third this season. They earned a share and can clinch outright this week against Onekama. The win also extended Frankfort’s best start since 2004, the last time the team finished a perfect regular season. Charlevoix (6-2) still can finish with its most wins since 2006 with another this week against Mesick. Click for more from 9&10 News.
Also noted:
Johannesburg-Lewiston 30, East Jordan 28 – The Cardinals (4-4) kept themselves in the hunt for a sixth straight playoff berth while also forcing East Jordan (4-4) into hoping for an at-large bid.
Harbor Springs 38, Gaylord St. Mary 24 – In what could be considered an upset, Harbor Springs (4-4) actually moved past St. Mary (6-2) in the NMFC Legacy standings with a third straight win.
Cadillac 26, Manistee 22 – With one-loss Traverse City Central and a shot at a share of the Big North Conference title up this week, Cadillac (6-2) was wise to get playoff qualification out of the way with a close win over Manistee (4-4).
Whittemore-Prescott 14, Hillman 0 – The Cardinals (5-3) kept themselves alive for an automatic berth to their 10th straight playoffs, but Hillman (4-4) will need a win and some help to qualify for the 11th straight season.
Southeast & Border
Ottawa Lake Whiteford 48, Sand Creek 20
Whiteford (8-0) closed out its first perfect run through the Tri-County Conference since joining the league in 1975 and set itself up for its first perfect regular season since 1965. The Bobcats have won five straight over Sand Creek, which still is enjoying its best season since 2005. Click for more from the Toledo Blade.
Also noted:
Brooklyn Columbia Central 28, Dundee 26 – The Golden Eagles (6-2) clinched back-to-back playoff berths for the first time in program history while eliminating Dundee (3-5) from postseason consideration.
Ida 52, Hillsdale 13 – The Bluestreaks (7-1) came up big against a dangerous opponent in Hillsdale (4-4) to remain tied for first with Hudson in the Lenawee County Athletic Association with a game to play.
Monroe Jefferson 20, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central 14 – The Bears (4-4) guaranteed their best finish since 2011 and gave themselves a chance at making the playoffs for the first time since 2006 while also putting the Falcons (4-4) in a tougher spot as they go for a 13th berth in 14 seasons.
Michigan Center 24, Grass Lake 22 – In arguably the night’s biggest upset statewide, Michigan Center (5-3) gave itself a chance to earn a playoff berth this week and gave Napoleon a share of the Cascades Conference title by dealing co-champion Grass Lake (7-1) its first loss.
Southwest Corridor
Berrien Springs 33, Buchanan 27 (OT)
A two-point loss to Buchanan kept Berrien Springs from winning the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph White title last season, but the Shamrocks finished the run this time after coming back from nine down in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Berrien Springs (5-2) also clinched a playoff berth because it has an eight-game schedule; Buchanan (4-3) also is playing eight games and must beat Niles Brandywine this week to get in automatically. Click for more from the South Bend Tribune.
Also noted:
Battle Creek Harper Creek 21, Marshall 20 – The Beavers (7-1) bounced back from their only loss to just edge Marshall (4-4) and keep a share of the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference championship, with Jackson Lumen Christi securing the other half.
Benton Harbor 47, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 21 – The Tigers (8-1) tied their highest win total since 1985 in sending Notre Dame Prep to 4-4.
Schoolcraft 20, Constantine 10 – The Eagles (8-0) got by far their best game of the season from the old rival Falcons (5-3) in a matchup of Southwestern Athletic Conference divisional champions.
Edwardsburg 38, Three Rivers 0 – Make that 28 straight Wolverine Conference wins, four straight league titles (after clinching a share), and three straight shutouts for Edwardsburg (8-0), which has beaten Three Rivers (6-2) in five straight.
Upper Peninsula
Norway 25, Gwinn 2
Norway will need help to claim a share of the Mid-Peninsula Conference title – leader Negaunee can clinch outright this week against two-win Ishpeming Westwood. But the Knights (7-1) have equaled their most victories since 2010 and with another will guarantee their best finish since 2006. Gwinn (5-3) must beat Ishpeming this week to clinch a first playoff berth since 1999. Click for more from the Iron Mountain Daily News.
Also noted:
Iron River West Iron County 34, Hancock 7 – The Wykons (5-3) remain alive for an automatic berth with L’Anse (2-6) up next; Hancock (4-4) lost that automatic berth chance and must beat rival Houghton (3-5) this week to have an at-large shot.
St. Ignace 24, Ishpeming 16 – The Saints (7-1) avenged last season’s six-point loss to the Hematites (3-4), who must win this week to have a chance at extending their 14-season playoff streak.
Lake Linden-Hubbell 24, Felch North Dickinson 6 – The Broncos (8-0) clinched a share of the Mid-Eastern Conference title and sent North Dickinson (5-3) out of second place and into a must-win situation.
Kingsford 43, Gladstone 14 – The Flivvers (6-2) clinched their second straight playoff berth and fourth in five seasons while knocking Gladstone (3-5) out of consideration.
West Michigan
Muskegon Oakridge 31, Montague 28
Oakridge is another that enjoyed revenge and a league title celebration Friday. The Eagles (8-0) dominated the West Michigan Conference last season before losing to Montague (6-2) by seven in the final league game and finishing second to the Wildcats. This time, Oakridge hung on by scoring the final 17 points including the winning field goal with 25 seconds to play to claim the championship outright. Click for more from the Local Sports Journal.
Also noted:
Byron Center 62, Zeeland East 14 – One of the most competitive league races in all of Michigan will go at least in part to Byron Center(7-1), which clinched a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title while sending East (6-2) into a tie for third.
Grand Rapids West Catholic 20, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 3 – By many accounts, this was closer than the score indicates; West Catholic now owns a share of the O-K Blue title and has given up only 17 points over five league games after holding GRCC (7-1) 18 below its previous season low.
Lowell 41, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 34 – The comeback Red Arrows (8-0) were down 11 this time before coming back to clinch the O-K White championship and send Forest Hills Northern to 4-4.
Wyoming 20, Greenville 13 – The Wolves (5-3) pulled to within a win of clinching the first playoff berth in the program’s five-year history and kept Greenville (5-3) from clinching as well.
8-Player
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 8, Fife Lake Forest Area 6
Tri-unity (8-0) assuredly will make the MHSAA playoffs for the first time – the Defenders have the second-highest playoff point average in 8-player. This win also gave them the Midwest Central Conference championship outright over second-place Fife Lake Forest Area (6-2), which is now playing for one of the final spots in the postseason field. Click for more from the Cadillac News.
Also noted:
Powers North Central 76, Rapid River 18 – Well, the reigning champion Jets look ready for the playoffs with three straight games with more than 75 points, although Rapid River (5-3) did score more than any opponent had since Sept. 9.
Pickford 44, Cedarville 14 – The first-season 8-player Panthers (7-1) handed Cedarville (6-2) the latter’s second straight loss to move into second in the Bridge Alliance.
Webberville 46, Morrice 14 – The Spartans (6-2) battled through a heart-wrenching Friday to win a key game that may have cemented their spot in the playoff field.
PHOTO: Muskegon Oakridge players celebrate during Friday's West Michigan Conference title-clinching win over Montague. (Photo by Tim Reilly.)
Northmen Stadium Opens to Excitement, 'Awe'
September 1, 2016
By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half
PETOSKEY – Petoskey kicked off a new era in football last Thursday with the unveiling of Northmen Stadium, a multi-use facility that will be home for football, soccer, lacrosse, band and track & field.
More than 4,000 spectators turned out on a beautiful late August night to watch Petoskey open its season against Ada Forest Hills Eastern. School officials believe it was the largest home football crowd in Petoskey history.
Even a 35-14 setback could not dampen the enthusiasm and pride displayed by those in attendance.
“To see the stadium from the road is one thing – and that excited people,” Superintendent John Scholten said. “But once they got inside and saw it first-hand, there was an awe factor. It was like, ‘Wow!’”
Northmen Stadium replaces Curtis Field, which was built in 1927 and served as the home for Petoskey football for 88 years.
“Our community is very tradition-oriented, very values-oriented,” Dan Ledingham, president of the football boosters, said. “Curtis Field means a lot to us. It’s very symbolic – the roots from where we started. Multiple generations played on that field. I know families who go three to four generations deep. But it was time.”
“It’s time” was actually the theme for the $10 million bond proposal that the electorate approved by a 64 to 36 percent vote in 2014.
“It (Curtis Field) served the community well, but it was pretty tired,” Scholten said.
In addition to the $10 million bond, the school received significant donations and coordinated efforts with other sinking fund projects.
“The whole (campus) renovation is closer to $15 million,” Scholten said.
The project includes the stadium, reconstruction of six tennis courts, a rebuilt softball field, two new soccer practice fields, and a cross country 5K trail that ties into a community walkway and includes three culvert tunnels under realigned Northmen Drive.
It’s all part of a concerted effort to bring the school’s athletic facilities – once scattered around the city – to the campus location. The school had already built a stunning new high school gymnasium and an on-site baseball field.
“When I moved up here (from Maple City Glen Lake) two of the old icons from the Glen Lake days, Denny Dame and Ivan Ford, said you’re moving to the nicest gym in the north,” Scholten said. “I’m a little biased, but I think we now have one of the nicest football facilities in the north, too.”
The stadium is the centerpiece of the latest project. The property’s topography featured a “semi-natural bowl” on the southeast side. Construction workers moved 300,000 cubic yards of dirt to build up the other side, creating a complete bowl appearance.
“The fact it sits down in a bowl makes it unique,” athletic director Dave Smith said. “There are lots of places that have nice stadiums, but they’re flat and the bleachers go up. With this, there’s not a bad seat in the house because it sits down in that bowl.”
The main entrance is near the mezzanine in the north end zone, which is where the concessions and restrooms are located. It features a plaza that overlooks the field. A tunnel runs underneath the mezzanine where the players and band enter and exit the field.
“It’s a very cool place to see a game,” football coach Kerry VanOrman said. “When the band marches through the tunnel, it’s like you’re at Michigan State or Michigan.”
Team rooms, a training room and an officials room are located off the tunnel.
A 40-foot video scoreboard anchors the south end zone. There’s also a messaging board attached to the mezzanine.
The synthetic turf is lined for football, soccer and lacrosse. The soccer team opens its home season Tuesday.
The stadium seats 2,950, but there is additional lawn seating on the hillside. Plus, based on opening night, fans seem to enjoy watching from the mezzanine.
“That elevation overlooking the field gives you the best view,” Ledingham said. “You can see everything, and you can feel the energy coming from the crowd.”
Workers scrambled to get the stadium ready for opening night. In fact, just 48 hours beforehand Ledingham wondered if it would be game ready.
“There were tractors and trucks, concrete and tiles,” he said. “Everything was everywhere. It looked like a true construction site that maybe in a month would be close (to done). I was wondering, ‘What’s Plan B?’ Kent (Cartwright, the school’s chief financial officer) said, ‘There is no Plan B. We are on this field.’ It was neat to see it all come together.”
Smith agreed.
“It was unbelievable the number of people there, from the construction crew to the subcontractors, working extra hours, late hours, that last month to make sure we could get in there and play on that (Thursday),” he said. “Two days out, I was also wondering how this is going to happen. But it did.”
The school received a temporary occupancy permit to open the stadium. Finishing touches were still being completed this week.
The opening culminates nearly 10 years of work. A bond proposal to fund separate football and soccer stadiums was rejected by voters in 2007.
“We had a nice plan,” Scholten said, “but it was just when the recession was starting. We did all the pre-work with the surveys and it looked like the confidence was there, but when the economy went south, (the vote) went south, too.”
Officials regrouped and, after the lingering recession ended, pared back the plan and took it to the voters.
“It was unfortunate timing (in 2007),” VanOrman said. “They were smart in waiting for things to pick up. They did a good job planning it, locating it and even tying it into the city walkways. It kind of includes everybody into it.”
Officials changed the location of the stadium, building it on what was two practice fields so it could utilize existing locker rooms and showers at the school. Two additional locker rooms will be added.
“We listened to the community,” Scholten said. “We were a little extravagant (in 2007) so we came back with a different plan. We worked real hard to say, ‘We listened to you, we trimmed it back, we feel we’re being responsible.’ We worked hard to build that confidence back up.”
The cross country trail will facilitate skiers as well as runners and walkers. The new eight-lane track replaces the outdated six-lane version at Curtis Field.
“We couldn’t host anything big because of that,” Scholten said.
Scholten expects the new facility will make Petoskey an attractive choice for hosting MHSAA tournaments.
Parking, an issue at Curtis Field, was addressed, too. Spectators can now use the high school and middle school lots, as well as new parking spaces near the stadium.
The improvements now leave hockey and downhill skiing as the only sports played off campus, Smith said.
“From an athletic director’s standpoint, I love how most of our facilities are now on school grounds,” he said.
He also loves the positive buzz the stadium’s generated. Ledingham called opening night “surreal.”
“It was amazing to see our community come together to enjoy it,” he said.
The unveiling attracted fans from nearby communities as well.
“The energy and support was great,” junior kicker Noah Ledingham said. “You run on to that field, see the lights, see (the crowd) and it just makes you want to play harder.
“To be the first team to play on that field is an amazing feeling because it’s a new chapter (in Petoskey football) and you know you’re making history.”
The Northmen, with just two key returnees back, struggled early, falling behind Forest Hills Eastern 28-0 before rallying to make it a game.
“I was pleased with the way we played in the second half,” VanOrman said. “It was 28-14 with 3:30 left in the game. We went for an onside kick and it blew up in our face. They recovered and ran it back to our 15 and then scored. (Eastern’s) a good football team. It was a good measuring stick for us to see where we have to get better.”
The night might also pay dividends. Forest Hills Eastern officials are talking about extending the two-year deal with Petoskey that is set to expire after the Northmen travel down there next season.
“They liked it so much they want to come back in two years,” Smith said. “I would say that’s a compliment right there.”
Dennis Chase worked 32 years as a sportswriter at the Traverse City Record-Eagle, including as sports editor from 2000-14. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Petoskey's stadium, at dusk, hosted Ada Forest Hills Eastern for its debut. (Middle above) The Northmen take to their new field for the first time. (Middle below) Fans packed the home stands, which are part of a "bowl" circling the playing surface. (Below) The new football field is just one part of the renovated Petoskey athletic complex. (Aerial photos by Charles Dawley/Up North Imaging. Game photos by Scott Moore.)