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Week 5 football previews
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 10:21 AM EDT
Alpena Wildcats (2-4) at Gaylord Blue Devils (2-4)
RADIO: 101. 5 FM (9:30 p.m. tape delay)
LAST WEEK: Gaylord 26, Traverse City Central 14; Gladstone 14, Alpena 0
LAST YEAR: Gaylord 41, Alpena 0
SERIES: Gaylord leads 10-4
RADIO: 101. 5 FM (9:30 p.m. tape delay)
LAST WEEK: Gaylord 26, Traverse City Central 14; Gladstone 14, Alpena 0
LAST YEAR: Gaylord 41, Alpena 0
SERIES: Gaylord leads 10-4
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OUTLOOK: It’s home sweet home for the Blue Devils, who have won both their games at the GHS field this year. Gaylord has dominated the Wildcats in recent years, but Alpena is a dangerous team, as evidenced by an earlier victory against Saginaw Heritage.
ABOUT ALPENA:
It has been an up and down season for the Wildcats, who are currently on a downslide following consecutive losses to Cadillac and Gladstone. Alpena runs a spread offense, but is definitely a running team, led by sophomore workhorse Austin Leeck, who has rushed for 579 yards. Leeck is a big back with speed who will terrorize the conference for the next three years. The leader of the show is senior quarterback Morgan Stenz, who was banged up last week. Stenz has rushed for 474 yards, while throwing for 480 yards. Alpena lost his top receiver, Tommy Atkinson, to injury a couple of weeks ago. Alpena’s strength lies with its defense, a unit is led by Stenz and senior nose tackle Jordan Isaacs.
ABOUT GAYLORD:
Gaylord’s defense was a playmaking bunch last week in a huge win against Traverse City Central. James Wagner, Joey Zaborowski, Kelton Hervela and Geoff Roney all made big plays, feeding off of frequent blitzes. The offense remains a well-oiled machine with a passing game that is rarely stopped. Quarterback Nick Freeman torched the Wildcats last season. Junior tight end Trent Donker stood out against the Trojans, catching a pair of big passes, including a touchdown. And of course there is Quinn Woodhouse, who tied a school record with three touchdown receptions.
THE LAST WORD:
After a 1-4 start, the Blue Devils actually have a decent chance to finish the season with a winning record. It will take the same type of focus displayed last week against Central, where Gaylord dominated play on all sides of the ball. Alpena, although banged up, is still capable, however.
St. Mary Snowbirds (4-2) at Pellston Hornets (1-5)
RADIO: 101. 5 FM (live)
LAST WEEK: St. Mary 42, Oscoda 20; Forest Area 62, Pellston 6
LAST YEAR: St. Mary 40, Pellston 0
SERIES: St. Mary leads 19-3-2
OUTLOOK: The Snowbirds must continue to overcome a couple of key injuries and not overlook any opponent. Pellson is a tough place to play at and the Hornets will look to feed off the home crowd.
ABOUT PELLSTON:
It hasn’t been a quick turnaround under first-year coach Dave Brines, but he is a proven leader and should have the program improved. Pellston’s only win this season came against Onaway. They are a straight-forward, physical offensive team, that looks to run hard while taking advantage of some good receivers out of a pro formation. Quarterback Josh Schmalzried threw for more than 100 yards last week and he has a pair of good targets in Andy Hamlin and Dylan Darrow. James Boelter is the leading running back for the Hornets, who have struggled on defense, allowing a league worst 34 points per game.
ABOUT ST. MARY:
Arron Sitkiewicz and Chris Churches, the team’s starting tailback and fullback and linebackers were out last week with injury and they could miss this game too. The Snowbirds, who are down to just 13 varsity players, continued to pick up the slack, as Justin Malczyk and Nick Purgiel filled in for them both on offense and defense, to some grand results. Clay Becker also stepped in a linebacker and played well. Quarterback Austin Lawnichak had the game of his life against Oscoda, passing and throwing for more than 328 combined yards. Junior Peter Spyhalski helped him out, snagging a handful of spectacular passes. The offensive line, led by center Matt Churches, had a much-improved performance against the Owls.
THE LAST WORD:
The Snowbirds again are the clear cut favorite in this road league game. If they can take care of business against Pellston and next week against Bellaire, they will be guaranteed a playoff spot heading into a clash with Johannesburg-Lewiston in week nine.
Forest Area Warriors (5-1) at Johannesburg-Lewiston Cardinals (4-2)
RADIO: 101. 5 FM (Monday 7 p.m. tape delay)
LAST WEEK: J-L 40, Onaway 12; Forest Area 62, Pellston 6
LAST YEAR: Forest Area 28, J-L 24
SERIES: J-L leads 3-1
OUTLOOK: J-L plays three consecutive winning teams to close out the season. If the Cardinals can take two of three, they’ll make the playoffs. Forest Area is now tied for first in the Ski Valley Conference and will at least share the crown if it can win out.
ABOUT FOREST AREA:
It’s no secret what the Warriors will do on offense. They are going to line up and run the football, hoping to get star runners Justin Gordon and A.J. Freeman on the edge. The two are the most feared duo in the league, and again combined for more than 300 yards rushing last week against Pellston, despite not playing for much of the second half. One wrinkle Forest Area used last week, is handing the football to 275-pound Jeff Halwick, who scored a touchdown and five two-point conversions. The Warriors do not throw the ball that much, but John Ricketts is an experienced quarterback.
ABOUT J-L: The Cardinals played arguably their best game of the season last year against the Warriors, dropping a narrow 28-24 ballgame. J-L is a much better team this time around, so they’ll look to use the same formula for this home battle. The defense, a very improved unit under coordinator John Bush, will be put to the test. Defensive linemen Keith Koronka and Steve Young are leaders, along with linebackers Ben Bush, Darren Dobbyn, Jake Graham and Adam Tack. On offense, the Cardinals have run the football with strong results all season long. A lot of the offensive success can be given to the performance of the offensive line, led by Young, the center.
THE LAST WORD:
This is a big game for the Cardinals, who are eyeing their first playoff bid since 2005. There will be a lot of good running backs and rushing yards in the game, but which team makes less mistakes will be the one who emerges victorious.
ABOUT ALPENA:
It has been an up and down season for the Wildcats, who are currently on a downslide following consecutive losses to Cadillac and Gladstone. Alpena runs a spread offense, but is definitely a running team, led by sophomore workhorse Austin Leeck, who has rushed for 579 yards. Leeck is a big back with speed who will terrorize the conference for the next three years. The leader of the show is senior quarterback Morgan Stenz, who was banged up last week. Stenz has rushed for 474 yards, while throwing for 480 yards. Alpena lost his top receiver, Tommy Atkinson, to injury a couple of weeks ago. Alpena’s strength lies with its defense, a unit is led by Stenz and senior nose tackle Jordan Isaacs.
ABOUT GAYLORD:
Gaylord’s defense was a playmaking bunch last week in a huge win against Traverse City Central. James Wagner, Joey Zaborowski, Kelton Hervela and Geoff Roney all made big plays, feeding off of frequent blitzes. The offense remains a well-oiled machine with a passing game that is rarely stopped. Quarterback Nick Freeman torched the Wildcats last season. Junior tight end Trent Donker stood out against the Trojans, catching a pair of big passes, including a touchdown. And of course there is Quinn Woodhouse, who tied a school record with three touchdown receptions.
THE LAST WORD:
After a 1-4 start, the Blue Devils actually have a decent chance to finish the season with a winning record. It will take the same type of focus displayed last week against Central, where Gaylord dominated play on all sides of the ball. Alpena, although banged up, is still capable, however.
St. Mary Snowbirds (4-2) at Pellston Hornets (1-5)
RADIO: 101. 5 FM (live)
LAST WEEK: St. Mary 42, Oscoda 20; Forest Area 62, Pellston 6
LAST YEAR: St. Mary 40, Pellston 0
SERIES: St. Mary leads 19-3-2
OUTLOOK: The Snowbirds must continue to overcome a couple of key injuries and not overlook any opponent. Pellson is a tough place to play at and the Hornets will look to feed off the home crowd.
ABOUT PELLSTON:
It hasn’t been a quick turnaround under first-year coach Dave Brines, but he is a proven leader and should have the program improved. Pellston’s only win this season came against Onaway. They are a straight-forward, physical offensive team, that looks to run hard while taking advantage of some good receivers out of a pro formation. Quarterback Josh Schmalzried threw for more than 100 yards last week and he has a pair of good targets in Andy Hamlin and Dylan Darrow. James Boelter is the leading running back for the Hornets, who have struggled on defense, allowing a league worst 34 points per game.
ABOUT ST. MARY:
Arron Sitkiewicz and Chris Churches, the team’s starting tailback and fullback and linebackers were out last week with injury and they could miss this game too. The Snowbirds, who are down to just 13 varsity players, continued to pick up the slack, as Justin Malczyk and Nick Purgiel filled in for them both on offense and defense, to some grand results. Clay Becker also stepped in a linebacker and played well. Quarterback Austin Lawnichak had the game of his life against Oscoda, passing and throwing for more than 328 combined yards. Junior Peter Spyhalski helped him out, snagging a handful of spectacular passes. The offensive line, led by center Matt Churches, had a much-improved performance against the Owls.
THE LAST WORD:
The Snowbirds again are the clear cut favorite in this road league game. If they can take care of business against Pellston and next week against Bellaire, they will be guaranteed a playoff spot heading into a clash with Johannesburg-Lewiston in week nine.
Forest Area Warriors (5-1) at Johannesburg-Lewiston Cardinals (4-2)
RADIO: 101. 5 FM (Monday 7 p.m. tape delay)
LAST WEEK: J-L 40, Onaway 12; Forest Area 62, Pellston 6
LAST YEAR: Forest Area 28, J-L 24
SERIES: J-L leads 3-1
OUTLOOK: J-L plays three consecutive winning teams to close out the season. If the Cardinals can take two of three, they’ll make the playoffs. Forest Area is now tied for first in the Ski Valley Conference and will at least share the crown if it can win out.
ABOUT FOREST AREA:
It’s no secret what the Warriors will do on offense. They are going to line up and run the football, hoping to get star runners Justin Gordon and A.J. Freeman on the edge. The two are the most feared duo in the league, and again combined for more than 300 yards rushing last week against Pellston, despite not playing for much of the second half. One wrinkle Forest Area used last week, is handing the football to 275-pound Jeff Halwick, who scored a touchdown and five two-point conversions. The Warriors do not throw the ball that much, but John Ricketts is an experienced quarterback.
ABOUT J-L: The Cardinals played arguably their best game of the season last year against the Warriors, dropping a narrow 28-24 ballgame. J-L is a much better team this time around, so they’ll look to use the same formula for this home battle. The defense, a very improved unit under coordinator John Bush, will be put to the test. Defensive linemen Keith Koronka and Steve Young are leaders, along with linebackers Ben Bush, Darren Dobbyn, Jake Graham and Adam Tack. On offense, the Cardinals have run the football with strong results all season long. A lot of the offensive success can be given to the performance of the offensive line, led by Young, the center.
THE LAST WORD:
This is a big game for the Cardinals, who are eyeing their first playoff bid since 2005. There will be a lot of good running backs and rushing yards in the game, but which team makes less mistakes will be the one who emerges victorious.
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