November 19, 2010
With one of the most anticipated weekends upon us, of course WMA had to give it’s insight to the semi-final football match-ups tomorrow. With seven of the eight divisions featuring teams from West Michigan this is an amazing chance for the west side to prove it’s dominance over the foes from the east.
The biggest game of the weekend kicks off at Lansing Everett High at 1 as “new money” meets “old money.” The Plymouth Wildcats come to town as the new kid on the block as their program began in 2004 and has quickly risen to the top of the food chain over in Wayne County. Coach Mike Sawchuk has given the Wildcats their first playoff win in program history this year including a win two weeks ago over Canton who at the time was the #1 ranked team in the state.
Rockford comes into this one as a perennial contender winning three state titles since 2004 and Coach Munger has the Rams hungry for a fourth. The Rams lone loss came on the road to Grand Haven and after rolling through the rest of the OK Red including West Ottawa twice. The Rams can beat you on the ground as well as through the air as we saw last week with QB Mark LaPrairie and WR Neil VanderLaan nearly single handily taking down Howell.
WMA Prediction: Rockford 34 Plymouth 24
Central Michigan will play host to the Division 2 match-up between Lowell 10-2 and Walled Lake Central 11-1 at 1pm tomorrow. The Red Arrows are paced by QB Gabe Dean who has carried the Lowell offense all season with jaw dropping numbers week after week and he will need to continue his run for the Red Arrows to advance tomorrow. Walled Lake Central will prove to be a tough foe however in their first trip to the state semi-finals. This squad can put up points in bunches and will try to grind the clock to keep Dean on the sidelines.
The Vikings racked up over 400 yards on the ground last week and Lowell will need to prove yet again that they can win a tough close battle if they are to defend their Division 2 state title. If Lowell can get off the field on defense look for the Red Arrows to move on to Ford Field, if not then we could be in line for a down to the wire finish at CMU.
WMA Prediction: Lowell 24 Walled Lake Central 22
In the only semi-final match-up pitting two undefeated teams, East Grand Rapids looks to win a fifth straight state title… I’m just gonna try to soak that in for a minute. Okay, I’m back, The Oilers of Mount Pleasant look to derail EGR and will be sure to have a strong following at Ferris State University tomorrow. 2007 and ‘08 featured playoff match-ups between these two squads with EGR wining both in one sided match-ups on the way to Ford Field.
Things appear to be different this year however, Mt. Pleasant has yet to have a playoff game come within ten points and seem to have things together to jump the Pioneer hurdle. EGR has appeared vulnerable many times this year yet always seem to find a way to get the W (Zeeland East and photographic evidence would argue). This game may be the most talked about come Saturday afternoon and don’t be shocked if the run ends here for East Grand Rapids.
WMA Prediction: East Grand Rapids 45 Mount Pleasant 42 (I just couldn’t do it)
Division 4 appears to be a rather easy game to break down and we recommend that people get to Vicksburg High School early because the clock may not stop. Edwardsburg has yet to have a close playoff game as their Wing-T offense appear to be running on all cylinders and Grand Rapids Catholic Central is led by Bronson Hill who runs for 200 yards plus without breaking a sweat.
GRCC has gone for 45, 50 and 45 in the three playoff contests to date yet have only won once in the semi-finals and that was in 2005. The Eddies will grind the clock and still wear out the scoreboard on you if you’re not ready for the Wing-T.
WMA Prediction: Whoever has the ball last wins. Grand Rapids Catholic Central 35 Edwardsburg 38
West Catholic 11-1 will make the long trip up to Northern Michigan tomorrow to face off with Menominee 9-3 in the Division 5 semi-final game. Coach Ken Hofer is in his 42nd season at Menominee and thanks to a roughing the kicker penalty, in double overtime, on a missed extra point the Maroon’s were able to move on with a one point victory. West Catholic looked impressive again in defeating Muskegon Oakridge and short of QB Lance Buitendyk’s injured ankle lingering and causing him issues we see this as a great opportunity for the Falcons to make Thanksgiving day plans in Detroit.
WMA Prediction: West Catholic 37 Menominee 13
Ravenna is searching for its fifth state title in Division 7 on Saturday at Traverse City and standing in their way is undefeated Ishpeming who is beating opponents 44-9 on average this season. The Bulldogs have dropped three regular season contests but have flipped a switch this postseason and have surprised us all. Ravenna RB/DB Josh VanderWagen led the way last week on both sides of the ball but we wonder when the Cinderella run must come to an end.
WMA Prediction: Ravenna 16 Ishpeming 34
If you’re looking to catch a game close to home tomorrow look no further than Division 8. Saugatuck comes in at 9-3 and Middleton Fulton shows up at 8-4 to do battle at Grand Rapids Christian High School at 1pm. Fulton has been on the road for the entire playoff run against conference champions while Saugatuck failed to win a game from 2000-03. If Saugatuck can hang on to the ball which plagued them last week against North Adams-Jerome then look for the Indians to move on in a feel good story for the west side of the state.
WMA Prediction: Saugatuck 28 Middleton Fulton 17
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