Manchester vs Grass Lake Football – Photo Gallery
Manchester at Grass Lake football, September 16, 2016. Photos by Andy Hawley, JTV Sports. Manchester at Grass Lake football, September 16, 2016. Photos by Andy Hawley, JTV Sports.
Big win has Western football looking to build on confidence and momentum
Photo by Ryan Kerwin, JTV Sports By Mike Moore Staff Writer Jackson — In the simplest of terms, this was a season ender turned to a season saver. The Parma Western football team was starring into the abyss last Friday night, with an 0-2 record and facing a Marshall team that anyone not wearing a Panthers uniform expected to run the score up from start to finish. And then a funny thing happened. The Panthers were the ones that ran the score up early, and hung on late. The Panthers were the one who laughed at said abyss, and came out on the other end with a thrilling, and surprising, 32-30 victory. Season saved. “It was huge. It meant the world to us, really,” coach Dave Mifsud said of the two-point win. “We were 0-2 and making a lot of rookie mistakes. They were mistakes due to inexperience and youth. Then we’re faced with the team that had just beaten Coldwater, a Marshall team I picked to win the conference.” So what did the Panthers do? “We saw it as an incredible challenge,” Mifsud said. Western jumped out to a…
Week 4 High School Football Schedule
Manchester (2-1) at Grass Lake (3-0) - JTV Napoleon (1-2) at Addison (1-2) Vandercook Lake (0-3) at Hanover-Horton (0-3) Michigan Center (1-2) at East Jackson (1-2) Lumen Christi (1-2) at Northwest (0-3) - JTV Jackson (2-1) at Lansing Sexton (1-2) Coldwater (2-1) at Western (1-2) Reading (0-3) at Concord (3-0) Ida (3-0) at Columbia Central (2-1) - JTV
Taylor, Suddeth, Defense Carry Jackson to 21-14 Victory over East Lansing
Photo by Ryan Kerwin, JTV By Mike Moore Staff Writer Jackson — This was one of those gutsy efforts, at every turn and in every way. Whether it was three touchdown passes from a quarterback who hadn’t thrown the ball much all year, a veteran running back taking over the second half when needed most, or a defense that bent, but in the most critical moment, refused to break. A gutsy effort. A needed win. “I’m just real proud of our guys. That’s a one-touchdown game against a very good football team,” Jackson coach Scott Farley said after his team hung on to beat East Lansing 21-14 Friday night at home. “I think we showed the maturity of the program. We’re winning these close games now.” “Big win. Big conference win,” quarterback Lance Taylor said after tossing three touchdown passes in the win. “Now we’re tied for first place. We’re going to work hard and keep pushing and keep getting better.” After starting the season 1-1, Farley said it was imperative to begin conference play on the right foot. And his guys came out playing like a team determined to do just that. On East Lansing’s opening drive, Jackson cornerback…
East Lansing presents steep challenge as Vikings look for 1-0 start in conference
By Mike Moore Staff Writer Jackson — It was nearly a year ago to the date when the Jackson High football team took on East Lansing in Week 3, and by the end of the night had a 2-1 record. The Vikings are looking for the identical scenario to play out in 2016, although with a much different journey along the way. After falling to Coldwater to begin the season, the Vikings bounced back last week in a 20-14 victory over Ypsilanti Lincoln. Young as the year may be, the game was an unofficial must win for Jackson, who was on the brink of an 0-2 start. “We just played better,” Farley said of his guys in Week 2. “We played our scheme better. It really came down to that. I think a lot of the success Coldwater had on us was a result of us not doing our thing, and not tackling.” Tackling has to be at the forefront Friday night. East Lansing — which defeated Jackson 28-21 last year in Week 3 after the guys in orange and black started 2-0 — comes in having scored just 49 points this season,…
High-powered Harper Creek another early test for Lumen football
By Mike Moore Staff Writer Jackson — There are no breaks early on, no down times or down weeks. So it goes in the first third of the 2016 football season for Herb Brogan and his Lumen Christi squad. After opening the season against the three-time defending state champs from Grand Rapids West Catholic, and disposing an athletic squad from Hastings last week, the Titans now face the task of a Battle Creek Harper Creek team that’s 2-0 on the young year and has outscored its opponents by a 74-10 total. “It’s going to be a dog fight,” Brogan said simply. “We have to be at our best.” Lumen is 1-1 entering the game, and it should be noted that Harper Creek’s opponents thus far are a combined 0-4. Still, Brogan and his guys aren’t taking anything lightly. “That’s a very veteran team,” he said of the Beavers, who were just 3-6 last year. “They brought back almost everyone from last year. They are very athletic with good team speed, and they play an aggressive defense that’s going to send guys inside and bring guys off the edge. As far as their offense,…
Northwest football looks to get on track at school Homecoming event
By Mike Moore Staff Writer Jackson — There’s a chance here, and for Corey Slater and his guys, that’s all they can ask. A chance to get the season back on track. A chance to grab the first win after two rough setbacks. A chance to finally play a home game, and put on a show in front of the 2016 Homecoming crowd. For Slater and his Northwest football team, the chance comes Friday night against Hastings. “We want to get that first win, get these kids feeling good about themselves,” Slater said late Wednesday night. “Our motto is to play one drive, one quarter, one half and one game. This is a group that is resilient and ready for this challenge.” The Mounties opened the 2016 season with a 20-17 loss at Eaton Rapids, and then last week, were no match for Battle Creek Harper Creek in a 35-0 defeat. “In that Eaton Rapids game, we did some things to self implode a few times,” Slater said. “In the Harper Creek game, we lost to a good team. That’s a force to be reckoned with, really. Now it’s on us to…
Week 3 High School Football Schedule
Michigan Center (1-1) at Napoleon (0-2) East Jackson (1-1) at Grass Lake (2-0) - JTV Addison (0-2) at Vandercook Lake (0-2) Hanover-Horton (0-2) at Manchester (1-1) Hastings (0-2) at Northwest (0-2) - JTV Lumen Christi (1-1) at Harper Creek (2-0) Western (0-2) at Marshall (1-1) East Lansing (1-1) at Jackson (1-1) - JTV Columbia Central (2-0) at Hudson (2-0) Concord (2-0) at Jonesville (0-2)
Coolbaugh hopes East Jackson can build from shocking Week 2 victory
By Mike Moore Staff Writer Jackson — The mission was a simple one, or simply said, anyway. To this point in the game, not much had gone right. And on a night Tra Coolbaugh said his team had a shot to get the season’s first win, the East Jackson football coach took his guys to halftime trailing Vandercook Lake 14-0. So, he instructed them, hit the reset button. “We calmed down and talked about playing the game as if it was 0-0,” Coolbaugh said Friday. Somehow, someway, it worked, and if the Trojans are able to make anything of the 2016 season, Thursday’s 30-28 come-from-behind victory could be the spring board this program oh-so badly needed. “It’s a huge win, especially at the start of the season,” Coolbaugh said the next morning. “You look at what we’ve been through, from our numbers to rebuilding to everything.” The numbers, the rebuilding, anything and everything associated with the recent past within the East Jackson program has been ugly. In 2011, the Trojans went 5-4, marking the first winning season for the program since 1999. In 2012, they went 2-7. In 2013, 1-8…
East Jackson has big chance to gain confidence with home date against Vandercook Lake
(File Photo Above from the 2015 Season) By Mike Moore Staff Writer Jackson — The struggles of the past few years have been noted. For the East Jackson football program, it’s been a battle with numbers, injuries, forfeits and an abundance of losses on the gridiron. As Thursday’s home date approaches, though, coach Tra Coolbaugh sees a monumental opportunity starring his guys in the face. “This is a winnable game, and our guys know that,” Coolbaugh said. “To go out and actually find a way to do that would be huge, especially this early in the season.” The Trojans went 1-8 a year ago, earning a win in the final week of the season. Whether or not momentum carried over, or a youthful team has started to mature, Coolbaugh had very little to complain about after Week 1. His guys battled to the end in what was an eventual 12-6 loss against Whitmore Lake. “We drove right down the field with two minutes remaining,” Coolbaugh said. “And then we fumbled around the 15-yard line. That was tough. It was a game we had a chance to win.” Asked if there was anything…