Can Tigers stop Cardinal express and open the door for Packers?
Lions looking to keep rolling Boys Big Rapids at Grant Deep and fast. The twin threats known as the Dunn brothers can stuff the stat sheet but the Cards go deep into their bench and have been stellar at finding the right combinations to win with. Few teams in the Gold have a good shot at beating the Cards. They’ve only lost one conference game, a 3 point loss to Fremont in the Packer (and packed) gym. Grant is one of those few. When the Tigers are on fire they can light it up like nobody’s business as illustrated in the 92 points they dropped on Newaygo on Friday. Four times they've scored more than 75 in a game and they are 7-0 when topping the 65 point mark. And while not in the race for the title they will have done much to determine the conference champs since they knocked Fremont off the top and can elevate them back into a tie with a win over the Cards and a Packer win in Remus. Schuitema has been pouring them in most of the season but there are a lot of points on the Tiger team as evidenced by the 32 Barnhart tallied in the Newaygo game. Newaygo at Reed City The Coyotes hope for a share of the title are razor thin but they go away with a loss to Newaygo or a Big Rapids win. They’re a good team headed for a brutal district up in Manistee that will involve BR, Cadillac and Ludington. The Lions were playing well of late, mixing in a pair of wins with close matchups against the top two conference teams but at Friday’s debacle they could not stop Grant from scoring at will. Combined with how the Coyotes dropped 80 on them in Newaygo it doesn’t bode well for the Lions And this game will be in Reed City a tough venue on any night (and apparently the scene of a late game melee last week). Still, this is a team that has shown in spurts that they can play with the best the conference has to offer so…. Fremont at Chip Hills The Packers need a win here and a loss by BR to have a shot at sharing the title. They will get the win. Chip Hils doesn’t score and they can’t keep opponents from scoring a lot. McDonald et al should light it up. Holton at West Mich Christian As the Devils wind up the regular season this matchup might likely be repeated in District play. These are 2 good teams that should be pretty evenly matched, but the RD’s have struggled to finish close games all season and need to shake off that 4th quarter meltdown in Friday's loss to Kent City. Fruitport Calvary at Hesperia The Panthers wind down their season facing three pretty good teams beginning with this one. They’re averaging around 36 points a game with a high game of 53 The Eagles average over 60 with a high mark of 81. Girls Reed City at Newaygo The Coyotes fielded a young team last year and that season spent in the cellar has paid off with a big turnaround. Their current 5 game win streak, including a big win over rival Big Rapids, gives them a tie for second in the Gold. Their last loss? To Newaygo in the Reed City gym where they were dismantled by the stifling Lion pressure. The team lost by 20 points to Big Rapids first time around and beat them by 10 last week The Lions won their first matchup with the ‘Yotes by 21. Newaygo had an interesting game with Grant. With a combination of Newaygo players shaking off a flu bug and a relentless Grant squad in high octane mode the Lions hit the half ahead by just a pair. They were able to regroup and stretch the lead in the second half but it didn’t come easy. Reed City did a 30 point turnaround in their games with the Cardinals.They might make a stronger showing against Newaygo this time around, but the Conference champion Lions have their eye on the prize and aren’t about to get distracted as they prime their game for what looks to be tough upcoming Districts and an even tougher Regionals should they advance. Big Rapids at Grant The winner here will stand alone in second place, unless Reed City somehow manages to pull off a huge upset in Newaygo and I’d not wager the homestead on it happening. The Cards loss to RC hurt but in their next game with Chip Hills they shook off a close first quarter and ran away with the win. The Tigers have a fun group to watch. They thrive on speed and thus their success is anchored in getting a few hot hands going early on. These teams will be competing for the title next year. Chip Hills at Fremont CH can score in bunches but go through some painful offensive droughts a condition Coach Zerlaut has been all too familiar with this season Winnable game for the Packers if the offense they’re capable of putting on the court shows up. Senior guard Zerlaut gets some help in this department from time to time particularly from Witte and Bennett and like always she will see a lot of attention so scoring help would be a big plus. Fruitport Calvary at Holton For the second time in a row the Red Devils face a high scoring Eagle team. Only this one isn’t Kent City. FCC has a good team that had a 10 game win streak before dropping 3 of their last 4. The Devs are still a young team prone to offensive slumps. If they play this one as they can it would be a good win against a good team for a team that has faced some awfully good ones this year. They’ll see another in Districts should they be able to complete the trifecta over Hesperia in their next pair of games.
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