By Mike Moore Photo Ryan Kerwin, JTV Sports
Staff Writer
Jackson — Should he have to, Herb Brogan can reference the 2013 playoff opener, or go back to 2012 or 2010 or even as far back as 2006.
The years are all different, but the outcome the same.
In each of those seasons, Brogan and his Lumen Christi football team entered the postseason as favorites to go on a run.
In each of those postseasons, the Titans were on the outside looking in after one week.
“We know it can happen, because it’s happened to us before,” Brogan said of pre-district upsets. “In games like this, the focus has to be on what we do well and how we execute. If we do that, we should have a good chance to move on.”
Lumen Christi rolled to another state title last year, and begins its title defense at home against Quincy Friday night in a Division 6 opener.
The Titans went 7-1 in their eight-game schedule, and will host a Quincy team that went 5-4 and is in the playoffs for just the second time (2014) since 2005.
Quincy’s last playoff appearance ended abruptly in a 53-16 loss to, well, Lumen.
“They’re a team we don’t know a ton about, other than what we’ve seen on tape and watching one game against Grass Lake,” Brogan said. “They have a pretty good quarterback and a good receiver and a line that is pretty good. I think we’re deeper than they are, and we have to play our ball game.”
The Lumen-Quincy winner will take on the winner of the Michigan Center and Hillsdale opener.
Lumen is fresh off a “bye” week last weekend, after failing to find an opponent to conclude the regular season against.
“We’re healthy,” Brogan said. “We needed some time, and now we’re in good shape. The first few days of practice have been real good this week.”
The Titans enter the postseason as the team to beat, a target on its back after winning it all in 2016.
None of that matters to Brogan.
“We’re not going to talk about playing for a state title, other than you need this step to get there,” he said. “We know this division has eight or nine teams that can win it all. We have some solid teams on our side of the bracket, so we’re looking at one week and one game at a time.”
Mike Moore is a play-by-play commentator and Sports Writer for JTV Sports.
He’s also a Realtor with Real Estate One, specializing with buyers and sellers throughout Michigan, from the Jackson area to metro Detroit. You can reach him at mmoore@realestateone.com or by calling (313) 770-6365 with any inquiries.
