MHSAA Football - District Finals Preview
It’s trophy time! Every win from here until Thanksgiving weekend will produce a larger and larger Michigan shaped trophy. There are SO many games this week could pass for the state championship game because of the strength of the teams. In a bizarre scheduling quirk, some of the top rated teams are slated to play very early in the playoffs. That’s great news for my column though!
Division 4 Capital Area
Saginaw Swan Valley (10-0) at Lansing Sexton (10-0) (Friday November 7, 7pm)
This has got to be one of the top games in the state. Last year, Sexton beat Swan Valley 26-21 in the regional championship before falling to state champ Marine City. This year, both teams are undefeated once again and the winner could find themselves at Ford Field for the Division 4 state title game. Swan Valley is led by running back and Western Michigan commit Alex Grace. Grace broke a state record last week with his eighth consecutive 200 yard rushing game. He rushed 23 times against Goodrich for 298 yards and three scores. Quarterback Nick Call completed three of his four passes for 38 yards and ran twice for 21 and a pair of touchdowns. Ben Hart caught two passes for 28 yards. Trey Williams rushed eight times for 37 yards.
Lansing Sexton is a very good team. The Big Reds have played all Class A competition this season and still went undefeated. They have stud two way player Avonte Bell. Backfield mate JaVon Wray gives them a one-two punch that is hard to defend.  Last week, both rushed for over 100 yards. Bell finished with 115 yards on 12 carries and scored three times. Wray rushed 15 times for 197 yards and a score. Quarterback Malik Mack completed two of his five passes for 29 yards and a score. RJ Parker caught two passes for 29 yards and that aforementioned touchdown. This will be a great game between the number one and number two teams in Division 4. Both will try to run the ball down the other’s throat and impose their will. Basically, it comes down to which defensive line can neutralize the opposing offensive line.
Division 1 Northern Detroit
Lapeer (10-0) at Clarkston (10-0) (Friday November 7, 7pm)
This is another game with two undefeated teams. Lapeer opened this year after they combined Lapeer East and Lapeer West high schools. Last week in their 23-15 win over Romeo, they needed to score twice in the fourth quarter to come away with the win. Brian Bach led the Lightning rushing attack with 76 yards on 18 runs. Brant Beck scored and had 71 yards on 10 carries. People have told me that Lapeer looks very good up front on both the offensive and defensive lines. Those lines will need to have a huge game if they want to beat the defending champs.
Clarkston had a big win over Oxford last week. They won 31-8. Quarterback DJ Zezula completed two of his three passes for 33 yards while running 19 times for 162 and a pair of scores. Nolan Eriksen rushed for 214 yards and two scores on 25 carries. Clarkston is a tough team. They are the defending Division 1 champions and have been picked to win it again this year. This is another step for them along the way, but the players have been here before and know what to expect for the most part.
Division 3 West Side
Stevensville Lakeshore (8-2) at Zeeland West (10-0) (Friday November 7, 7pm)
I don’t know how I missed writing up a game about Stevensville Lakeshore this season. Usually, they get some press from me before this point. They won the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West Division with a perfect 5-0 conference record. Their only two losses came to Battle Creek Lakeview and Mattawan. Now they have won their first round playoff game and better be ready for the defending Division 3 champions in Zeeland West. Last week, they beat Coldwater 21-14 when Sam Effa busted off a 50 yard touchdown run with under four minutes to play. He finished with 189 yards and two scores on 27 tries. Quarterback Chayse Magrane had 15 runs for 77 yards and a score while also completing five of his 11 passes for 72 yards. Zeeland West will be a tough test for everyone in Division 3 so the Lancers better come to play and bring their lunch.
The Dux of Zeeland west smoked Byron Center 50-0 in their playoff opening win. As a team, they rushed for 353 yards. Exactly zero of their plays were passes. Darius Perisee led the team with 14 carries for 149 yards and a score. Nick Jasch rushed for 86 yards and three scores on 12 runs. Dakota Geurink toted the rock nine times for 47 yards and a pair of scores. Casey Brinks rushed four times and gained 30 yards and a score. This team is built to play smash mouth football. They probably won’t spread it out and pass on you. It’s a three yards and a cloud of dust type of team…unless they are breaking a long yardage play on you!
Division 7 Traverse City
Traverse City St. Francis (8-2) at Suttons Bay (9-1) (Friday November 7, pm)
The Gladiators of Traverse City St. Francis are well known in the Spartan Nation. For quite some time, they played deep into November and were a threat to play at Ford Field for a state title. They have won their first round playoff game and are ready to take on Suttons Bay. Last week, the Gladiators beat Onekama 35-7. They fell behind early, but answered the Onekama score with a 78 yard kickoff return to tie the game by Gabe Callery. He ended up with 105 yards on two returns and had a 24 yard touchdown on a reverse. Jake Kingelsmith paced the team with 170 yards on 21 carries and scored twice. The Gladiators and the Norsemen haven’t met since the 2007 season.
Suttons Bay won the inaugural Northern Michigan Football League II title. They only lost one game early in the year and went on to beat everyone in their league. Last week, they smoked Mancelona 51-14. The weather was bad so they kept the ball on the ground for the most part. Zack Rice led the attack with 19 runs for 172 yards and four scores. Mason Rohrback rushed for a score and 66 yards on 12 attempts. The defense came away with five fumbles. The line played well on both sides, but especially the offense considering they put up 337 rushing yards. This game will be a battle. Neither team has a lot of playoff experience, but both have a playoff win this year.
