Inland Lakes-St. Ignace showdown highlights Week 4 area football slate

INDIAN RIVER – Oh, it’s go time.

Week 4 of the Cheboygan area high school football season is upon us – and there’s one colossal matchup that stands high above the rest.

That would be undefeated Inland Lakes and St. Ignace – a pair of teams currently tied for seventh in the most recent Associated Press 8-Player Division 1 rankings – squaring off in St. Ignace on Friday.

Other area matchups include Cheboygan heading to Ogemaw Heights on Friday, while Onaway hosts Mio on Saturday and Pellston heads to Central Lake on Saturday.

As we get ready for Week 4, let’s break down each game for each area team.

WEEK 3 TAKEAWAYS: Inland Lakes, Onaway building momentum going into tough Week 4 contests

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Vote for the Cheboygan Daily Tribune Athlete of the Week for Sept. 4-9

Inland Lakes (3-0) at St. Ignace (3-0), 7 p.m. Friday

This epic showdown is one of those games that feels like it's years in the making.

At least it feels that way to the Bulldog players.

“We’ve got a game plan and we’re going to stick to it – and this is the same (St. Ignace) seventh and eighth grade team that we tied with,” said Inland Lakes junior quarterback Aidan Fenstermaker following the Bulldogs' win over Central Lake last week. “That’s the only game we tied for six years. We’re excited about the matchup.”

Fenstermaker, along with other play-making teammates Grant Blumke, Payton Teuthorn and Jake Willey, lead the Bulldogs to take on a Saints team that’s rolling right now.

Led by QB Ethan McLean and dangerous running back Kordell KillsCrow, the Saints could be a problem for the Bulldogs’ defense. In each of their three victories, the Saints scored 42 points or more against their opponents.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have manufactured 44 or more points in wins over Lake Linden-Hubbell and Central Lake.

It’ll be a big challenge for the Bulldogs, but they’re excited to see how they stack up against a solid foe.

“St. Ignace is a successful program, they’re a heck of a team, and we know that we’ve got a challenge in front of us,” said Inland Lakes head coach Travis Meyer after last week’s win over Central Lake. “Our guys are pretty excited to have the opportunity to prove that we’ve got a solid team.”

WEEK 3: Breaking down Cheboygan football's home loss to high-powered Kingsley

1993 CHEBOYGAN FOOTBALL: Confidence, togetherness pivotal in Cheboygan football's thrilling 1993 season

Cheboygan (0-3, 0-1 NMFL Legends) at Ogemaw Heights (2-1, 2-0), 7 p.m. Friday

Nothing went right for the Chiefs in a lopsided home loss to Kingsley in Week 3, and it won’t get any easier against an Ogemaw team that just blew out Traverse City St. Francis.

In their last two games, the Falcons combined to score 116 points in wins over Grayling and the Gladiators. That’s not good news for a Cheboygan defense that’s struggling to get stops, while the offense has had its own problems in manufacturing points.

This is the first of three straight games away from home for the Chiefs, who follow their Ogemaw clash with a Saturday matchup against Pewamo-Westphalia at Central Michigan University next weekend, and then a trip to TC St. Francis one week later.

That’s quite the gauntlet.

ENGADINE GAME: Brewbaker, Onaway football improve to 2-1 with hard-fought home win over Engadine

WEEK 2 ROUT: Onaway football smashes Bellaire in Szymoniak’s coaching debut

Mio (1-2) at Onaway (2-1), 7 p.m. Saturday

The Cardinals continued to ride the wave of momentum by earning a 22-16 home triumph over Engadine last week.

Things are looking good so far for interim Onaway head coach Eddy Szymoniak and a team that seems to be improving by the week. The Cardinals have been boosted by seniors Brendon Brewbaker, Justin Kramer-St. Germain and Jackson Chaskey, as well as the strong quarterback play of Brady Gapczynski, during their run of success.

Saturday is a unique challenge for the Cardinals, as the Thunderbolts have featured a potent offense over the years. The Thunderbolts might be 1-2, but you never want to overlook any opponent. That’s something the Cardinals likely won’t do, especially with a chance to be 3-1 going into a difficult clash with Gaylord St. Mary next week.

RANDY BRICKER, SR: ‘It’s all about the kids’: Bricker begins 54th year as Pellston football PA announcer

OPENING GAME: Takeaways from Pellston football’s season-opening home loss to Posen

Pellston (1-2, 1-0 Ski Valley 8-Player) at Central Lake (1-2, 0-2), 1 p.m. Saturday

It took a dramatic late touchdown and two-point conversion for the Hornets to capture their first win last week, but they got the job done at Bellaire.

Now comes a tricky matchup with a Central Lake team that has a quality rushing attack, as shown by the Trojans having some success at Inland Lakes. This will be a test for a Pellston defense that showed improvement a week ago.

Offensively, big plays will be key for the Hornets if they want to pull off an impressive road win.

Getting back to 2-2 would feel pretty nice for the Hornets, especially after the slow start they had to the campaign.

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Inland Lakes, St. Ignace battle highlights Cheboygan area Week 4 football slate