Confidence and swagger carry Golden Eagles into playoff opener
By Mike Moore Staff Writer Brooklyn — He stood in the end zone with his team, still beaming from the previous 10 minutes and what had transpired. A roll of the dice had come up perfect for Josh Kubiak, as the Columbia Central football coach elected to go for two when trailing by one. His decision gave way to a slow developing but drama-filled pass to the end zone. And a 29-28 come-from-behind victory over Hillsdale. So as he stood there, still a bit of welcome shock in the home crowd after a 7-2 regular season, and was asked how he and his team have to remove themselves from a win in Week 9 while preparing for a Week 10 battle in the playoffs. “I don’t know if we want to forget it,” Kubiak said smiling. “I want to use this momentum going into next week.” Well, next week has arrived, and speaking Thursday about this team’s Division 5 opener with Southfield Bradford, not much had changed in Kubiak’s approach. “We’re hoping to carry the momentum from last week over into this one,” Kubiak said. “We have a real good vibe going…
Manchester 5-4 at Grass Lake 8-1 Game Notes
Manchester 5-4 at Grass Lake 8-1 This is Grass Lake’s 12th straight trip to the playoffs while Manchester is making its 9th consecutive appearance. Last year, Grass Lake got in at 5-4 and Manchester had the 8-1 mark. The two teams met in the pre-district in 2015 with the Flying Dutchmen coming out on top 43-40. Manchester Flying Dutchmen 5-4, 5-2 in Cascades Enrollment: 378 Last year 9-2 lost to Lumen Christi 45-28 in D6 district final 2016 Game Results L Clinton 48-12 W Addison 21-8 W Hanover-Horton 42-28 L Grass Lake 26-0 W East Jackson 47-28 W Michigan Center 20-6 L Napoleon 35-17 W Vandercook Lake 49-14 L Homer 40-27 Offense Scoring 26.1 PPG Defense Allowing 25.8 PPG Grass Lake Warriors 8-1, 6-1 in Cascades Enrollment: 363 Last year 5-5, lost in D6 pre-district to Manchester 43-40 2016 Game Results W Stockbridge 32-18 W Napoleon 36-18 W East Jackson 53-0 W Manchester 26-0 W Vandercook Lake 44-18 W Hanover-Horton 27-12 W Addison 50-6 L Michigan Center 24-22 W Springport 43-27 Offense Scoring 37 PPG Defense Allowing 13.6 PPG The game will be played at Grass Lake High School Friday night at 7:00pm. …
Lumen defense on alert as Watervliet brings its high-powered offense to town
By Mike Moore Staff Writer Jackson — Nearly 500 points in nine games. An offense averaging more than 55 points per contest. A team that put up 58 or more points five different times in 2016. That begins to sum up what the Lumen Christi football team’s defense has heading to town Friday night in the opening round of the Division 6 playoffs. “They run a high-risk, high-reward offense,” Lumen coach Herb Brogan said of Watervliet, the Titans’ opening-round opponent. “They’re going to be quicker than anyone we’ve seen. They get to the line and go. They don’t punt. They kick onside. You have to find ways to get them off the field and make plays.” The Panthers closed the regular season 7-2, earning a spot on the postseason for the sixth year in a row and the seventh time in the past eight seasons. And if you’re still trying to figure out Brogan’s comments, about the high-risk, high-reward attack the Panthers have, consider this, in the team’s two losses this year, they scored 30 and 58 points. “Very impressed with what we’ve seen (on film),” Brogan said of the Panthers’ offense…
Springport (7-2) at Concord (7-2) game notes
Springport (7-2) at Concord (7-2) Concord is entering the post season following its best regular season since 2001, the year the Jackets advanced to the state semifinal in Division 7. Springport is back in the playoffs for the 2nd straight year and is responsible for Concord’s only conference loss on the year. Springport Spartans 7-2, 6-1 in Big 8 Enrollment: 259 Last year 5-5 lost to Homer 47-28 in D7 pre-district 2016 Game Results W Vandercook Lake 40-7 W Reading 48-20 W Union City 48-26 W Athens 52-20 L Homer 28-28 W Concord 20-16 W Jonesville 59-28 W Quincy 46-34 L Grass Lake 43-27 Offense Scoring 40.6 PPG Defense Allowing 24.6 PPG Concord Yellow Jackets 7-2, 6-1 in Big 8 Enrollment: 258 Last year 7-3, lost in D7 pre-district to Dansville 28-6 2016 Game Results W Hanover-Horton 22-0 W Homer 28-26 W Jonesville 31-8 W Reading 26-22 W Athens 33-27 L Springport 20-16 W Quincy 41-24 W Union City 15-6 L Napoleon 25-20 Offense Scoring 29 PPG Defense Allowing 17.5 PPG The game will be played at Concord High School Friday night at 7:00pm. The game will be broadcast on JTV Sunday at 1:00pm and 7:00pm. The winner will…
Michigan Center (6-3) at Napoleon (7-2) Game Notes
Michigan Center (6-3) at Napoleon (7-2) Napoleon is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2005 and Michigan Center is making its first appearance in the post season since the 2013 season. Michigan Center Cardinals 6-3, 5-2 in Cascades Conference Enrollment: 406 Last year 4-5 2016 Game Results L Climax-Scotts 48-14 W Hanover-Horton 30-6 L Napoleon 33-20 W East Jackson 48-6 W Addison 34-12 L Manchester 20-6 W Vandercook Lake 26-6 W Grass Lake 24-22 W Quincy 28-12 Offense Scoring 25 PPG Defense Allowing 18 PPG Napoleon Pirates 7-2, 6-1 Cascades Enrollment: 380 Last year 4-5 2016 Game Results L Columbia Central 34-14 L Grass Lake 36-18 W Michigan Center 33-20 W Addison 50-8 W Hanover-Horton 34-20 W Vandercook Lake 42-0 W Manchester 35-17 W East Jackson 48-6 W Concord 35-20 Offense Scoring 33 PPG Defense Allowing 17.8 PPG The game will be played at Napoleon High School Friday night at 7:00pm. The game will be broadcast on JTV Saturday at 1:00pm and 7:00pm and again on Sunday at 3:30pm. The winner will advance to play the winner of Manchester (5-4) vs. Grass Lake (8-1).
Watervliet (7-2) at Lumen Christi (7-2) Game Notes
Watervliet (7-2) at Lumen Christi (7-2) Division 6 pre-district Lumen Christi is in the playoffs for the 19th straight year while the Panthers of Watervliet have made the postseason 6 years in a row. Friday marks the first ever meeting between these two schools. Watervliet Panthers 7-2, 4-1 in SAC Lakeshore Enrollment: 380 Last year 9-2, lost in District Final to Constantine 49-48 2016 Game Results W Hartford 86-0 L Schoolcraft 51-30 W Coloma 66-26 W Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic 34-19 W Fennville 50-12 L Constantine 60-58 W Delton Kellogg 64-34 W Decatur 48-24 W Bangor 60-6 Offense Scoring 55 PPG Defense Allowing 25 PPG Lumen Christi Titans 7-2, 6-1 in Interstate 8 Enrollment: 380 Last year 8-4, lost in Regional to Clinton 49-20 2016 Game Results L Grand Rapids West Catholic 30-13 W Hastings 41-14 L Battle Creek Harper Creek 24-14 W Jackson Northwest 33-0 W Marshall 28-20 W Coldwater 21-20 W Parma Western 49-14 W Battle Creek Pennfield 35-20 W Flint Beecher 41-7 Offense Scoring 30.5 PPG Defense Allowing 16.5 PPG The game will be played at Crowley Field on the campus of Lumen Christi High School Friday at…
Columbia rolls the dice on 2-point conversion, ends Hillsdale’s playoff streak
Photos by Ryan Kerwin, JTV Sports By Mike Moore Staff Writer Brooklyn — He was mentally preparing for overtime, the coaching wheels spinning as to what choices would have to be made in the extra session, assuming the coming extra point would be good. But Josh Kubiak never got the chance to work the overtime, because the extra point never got the chance to be kicked. “The guys came running off the field saying, ‘let’s go it,’” the Columbia Central football coach said Friday night. “So, I looked at my coaches and said we were going to go for it.” Go for it they did. Win they did. “It wasn’t the most logical decision, but that’s what they wanted to do,” Kubiak said with a smile following his team’s dramatic 29-28 victory over Hillsdale in the regular-season finale. The Golden Eagles scored with 20 seconds remaining in regulation to pull within one point on a 12-yard scoring strike from Khol Partridge to Connor Davenport. Instead of playing for overtime, Kubiak listened to his team, and his sophomore quarterback. “Khol said he wanted to roll out, so we designed the play for…