Week 6 recap
SMAC
The top teams keep rolling with no changes at the top of the standings. The biggest surprise might have been in the east division where Sturgis lost on the road at Lakeview. Maybe it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise after the week that Sturgis had with their head coach resigning. The two Portage schools continue with their steady play, both now needing just one win to get back to the playoffs. Mattawan also continues their great play punching their ticket to the playoffs with a big road win at St. Joe. Stevensville Lakeshore also got their sixth win of the season to make sure they will be playing at least 10 games this year.
Week 7 Games:
West
Mattawan @ Portage Central
Portage Northern @ Kalamazoo Central
Benton Harbor @ Niles
St. Joseph @ Stevensville Lakeshore
East
Lakeview @ Loy Norrix
Coldwater @ Battle Creek Central
Marshall @ Harper Creek
Gull Lake @ Sturgis
Wolverine
No surprises in the Wolverine for week six. Two teams qualified for the playoffs as Paw Paw and Dowagiac both know they will be playing extra football this year. Dowagiac’s defense dominated once again as they pitched their third straight shutout and have now outscored opponents 238-26 this season. Plainwell, Otsego and Edwardsburg are all within one win of the post season.
Week 7 games
North
Plainwell @ Paw Paw
Otsego @ Vicksburg
Comstock @ Allegan
South
Berrian Springs @ Edwardsburg
Coloma @ South Haven
Dowagiac @ Three Rivers
KVA
Biggest game of the week was Schoolcraft putting themselves in the driver seat for the conference title with their 19-16 win over Pennfield. I am not sure if anyone outside of Schoolcraft still had this team undefeated at this point in the season, but now with their toughest part of the schedule over nobody will be surprised to see this team 9-0 entering the playoffs. Pennfield on the other hand has a remaining schedule that includes all teams on the top half of the conference including big games with Olivet and Constantine. They should still make the playoffs, but it might be at battle to the finish for their regular season.
Week 7 games
Olivet @ Pennfield
Constantine @ Galesburg-Augusta
Hackett @ Maple Valley
Parchment @ Delton
Schoolcraft @ Kalamazoo Christian
SAC
There were big games and one upset from the past weekend. The biggest game saw Watervliet flex their muscles with a 56-21 win over Marcellus. It has been a very impressive season so far for the Panthers who are outscoring opponents 301-63. That gives them the best scoring offense and defense in the conference. Harford pulled off the biggest upset taking down Lawton 27-24. It has been a good run for Lawton who endured just their third regular season loss in the last two years. It also made the South division that much more exciting with five out of the six teams with at least five wins.
Week 7 Games
North
Bloomingdale @ Bangor
Gobles @ Martin
Saugatuck @ Fennville
South
Hartford @ Decatur
Lawton @ Marcellus
Watervliet @ Lawrence
Players of the week
- Trevor Sweeney, Mattawan RB
Mattawan improved to 6-0 on the season with their 49-14 win on the road at St. Joe and Sweeney was a big reason why. He rushed for 179 yards and five TDs and also had 109 yards receiving with two TDs. He accounted for all seven Wildcats touchdowns. On the season Sweeney leads Mattawan in rushing, rushing touchdowns, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
- Jesse Ring, Bangor RB
Ring rushed for 238 yards and 4 TDs in leading Bangor to a 46-0 win over Fennville to pick up their first win of the season
- Jon Pincus, Portage Northern QB
Pincus accounted for five out of the eight Huskies touchdowns in their 55-22 win over Niles. On the night he rushed for 124 yards and four TDs and passed for another 61 yards and one TD.
- Grant Pell, Plainwell QB
The senior QB for Plainwell did it with his legs on Friday night’s 31-14 win over Vicksburg. He rushed for 203 yards and two TDs scoring on runs of 86 and 52 yards.
- Corey Olkowski, Decatur, RB
Olkowski rushed for 201 yards and 2 TDs as Decatur improved to 5-1 on the season with a 44-14 win over Lawrence
Big Games for Week 7
Plainwell (5-1, 3-0) @ Paw Paw (6-0, 3-0)
These two will clash with the Wolverine North Division crown on the line. Paw Paw dealt Plainwell two of their four losses last season including a season ending 41-13 defeat in the second round of the playoffs. Paw Paw has lost just one regular season game in the last three years and has yet to be tested this season with their closest game being a 24-13 win over Vicksburg in week five. Plainwell is a team on the rise. After going winless in 2010, they enjoyed a turn-around year last season going 6-3 and advancing to the second round of the playoffs. These two met twice last season and it may be headed that way again this year as they could meet in the playoffs again.
Plainwell is a team that is run heavy going out of their I-form offense led by Junior running back Ryan Britton and Senior quarterback Grant Pell. They are a team that does not rely on the pass at all. The only team that has thrown the ball less than the Trojans in the Wolverine this season is Edwardsburg. If Plainwell gets the lead they could be very tough to beat. If Paw Paw can get the lead in the second half they could get the Trojans out of what they do best.
Paw Paw is a high powered offense led by do everything quarterback Justin McCauley. He has thrown for over 1,000 yards and rushed for over 600 and accounted for 16 TDs in six game. They are averaging 45.3 ppg but also have not faced a defense as good as Plainwell will bring.
My Pick: Paw Paw 26, Plainwell 21
Mattawan (6-0; 4-0) @ Portage Central (5-1; 3-1)
Mattawan is undefeated and now qualified for the playoffs which may be a relief when you look at their finishing schedule. Following the Mustangs they will face Stevensville Lakeshore and Portage Northern to end their season. While they may have been a surprise last year they are on everyone’s radars this year and they are still punishing opponents. They lead the SMAC in ppg at 43.2 by using their rush heavy attack. They have won every game by at least 20 points.
Portage Central is having a bounce back year. After claiming only three wins last season they are already 5-1 and one win away from returning to the playoffs. They also don’t have an easy path the rest of the season with games with Niles and Portage Northern still remaining on the schedule. It would look like Mattawan and Lakeshore are on a collision course for next week, but the Mustangs are very capable of putting a damper on next week’s showdown.
My Pick: Mattawan 33, Portage Central 27
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