Football Preview Week VIII

Tigers Push For Postseason; ’Yotes Can Claim Title Share With Win Over Lions; Panthers Host Unbeaten OV; Pack Hopes To Stop CH; Devs Hit The Road To Face Ramblers

Reed City (5-1, 5-2) at Newaygo (4-2, 4-3)
Newaygo is coming off a disheartening loss to their long time rivals and this week the Coyotes come into town, a newer rivalry but one that has simmered for a few years now. 
The Reed City players looked up after week three and saw a 1-2 record including the first conference loss since their players were roaming the halls of the middle school, a whopping 32 game streak .Was it to be the year someone other than the ‘Yotes held the top spot?
Not so fast.
Since then Reed City has rolled through their schedule and last week knocked off  previously unbeaten Central Montcalm to join them atop the league standings.
The Lions fell short in a winnable opener then collected wins in  4 out of 5 conference games before being ambushed by the vaunted Tiger defense last week. Their play has been inconsistent and they’re coming off that emotional loss but this game means a lot. A shot at the playoffs and the opportunity to deny the Coyotes a title would seem to be pretty good motivators.
The Coyotes have averaged 48 points a game at home and 14 points a game on the road.
The Lions should put up points. They stalled out against Grant but so has everyone else this season.
Tough one  to call. It should be close but RC has a way of exploiting mistakes that can lead to a rout. Early mistakes would be disastrous for the hosts and catching a break here and there certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Big Rapids (1-5, 1-6) at Grant (4-3, 5-2)
The Tigers are on the prowl for a posteason spot and clipping the Cardinals would get that card punched. Homecoming game, coming off winning their rivalry game, and boasting what is likely the best defense in the league the Grant gridders should be able to send their fans home happy. The only team the Cards have beaten this season is Fremont who has yet to notch a win.
The Tiger offense that went on hiatus in their loss to Chip Hills has roared back during their current 3 game winning streak. A lot would have to go BR’s way for them to stop the Tiger Train.

Chip Hills (3-3, 3-4)  at Fremont (0-6, 0-7)
The Packers have 2 chances at not finishing the season without a win for the 4th time in 5 years.
The first is when they host Chip Hills at home this week. The Warriors team hasn’t fared well against the top tier teams in the conference with the exception of a baseball score win over Grant (7-2). They have handled the teams that reside in the lower half of the standings.
The Packers rest in the bottom spot of the conference.
Maybe the Packer seniors playing their final game on their home field will bring the inspiration needed to pull off an upset. A couple of Warrior mistakes here, a breakaway play there, maybe a little lucky bounce or two and it could happen.
If not there’s always the road game against Lakeview next week for their last shot at a W.

Central Montcalm (5-1, 6-1) at Tri County (2-4, 3-4)
Did the Coyote rout take some of the sting out of the Hornets? We’ll see how they bounce back after their first loss led to falling into a tie for the top spot in the Gold. A win over the Vikes will guarantee them a share of the crown but it won’t be easy. TC was able to extend their season with 5 wins last year so taking this one and finishing up with a win over Holton and they could  be hanging out together in front of a TV and looking for their name to be called on selection Sunday.

Orchard View (4-0, 7-0) at Hesperia (1-3, 2-5)
This is a pretty strong OV squad. They already nabbed the Lakes 8 crown and a playoff berth while remaining unbeaten on the season while the Panthers have won a single game on the field. 
The Cards are averaging 50 points in their last four games. Hesperia has scored once in their last three games.
This might be a rough final home game for the Panther seniors unless a whole lot of things go the Hespo way early and even then  squads with smaller numbers like the Panthers wear down against teams blessed with a cadre of bench players.
They’ll have one more after this one when they visit Shelby.
That’s 0-7 Shelby.

Holton (0-4, 1-6)  at Perry (1-3, 3-4)
It hasn’t been an easy season for the Red Devils. Combining a low turnout of players with a rash of early injuries makes for a long season and a lengthy bus trip to Perry pits them against a team that defeated their only common opponent, Carson City Crystal. The C3 Eagles shut down the Devs earlier this year. Here’s hoping the Holton squad holds their own against the Ramblers.

Morley Stanwood (4-0, 5-2)  at Carson City Crystal (3-1, 4-3)
The ‘Hawks need one more win to secure a playoff spot but it won’t come easy.The Eagles need to win out and they are coming of a shellacking in a conference title game. Prior to that shutout they were averaging 5 TDs a game so they have some offensive firepower.
The Mohawk defense has turned things around for the team since Hopkins dropped 45 on them earlier this season. That was the first week of September and MS hasn’t lost a game since. 

Kent City (3-1, 5-2) at Calvin Christian (1-6)

The Squires have a really good soccer team. Their only loss was to Lee early in the season. The CC football team has won just one game. They beat Lee early in the season. Their defense has a lot of holes and they yield a boatload of points every week. If you give the Eagles the opportunity they will score. 
A lot
With Grant looming ahead in the season finale this one should propel KC into the playoffs.