Prep Football Week 9 Showdowns: St. Francis, Boyne City going after perfect regular seasons
Oct. 20—Country Day at TC St. Francis
RECORDS: Detroit Country Day 5-2; Traverse City St. Francis 8-0
WHEN: Saturday, 2 p.m.
SERIES: Saturday's matinee matchup will be the first time the Gladiators and Yellowjackets square off on the gridiron.
BACKGROUND: Traverse City St. Francis is riding a 20-game win streak in the regular season as the Division 7 top-ranked Gladiators welcome in Division 5 No. 7 and perennial state championship contender Detroit Country Day into Thirlby Field. This will no doubt be a test, and St. Francis head coach Josh Sellers said last week that his team will have to put in a perfect effort to come out on top. Win or lose, expect deep postseason runs from both the Glads and Jackets.
Roscommon at Boyne City
RECORDS: Roscommon 3-5; Boyne City 8-0
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
SERIES: The Bucks lead the Ramblers in a tight series 3-2-1.
LAST MEETING: Boyne City won via forfeit last season, but Friday marks the first time the Ramblers play Roscommon in live action since a 25-20 win on Oct. 26, 2001.
BACKGROUND: Boyne City is on the hunt for its first undefeated regular season since 2017. If the Ramblers complete a pristine 9-0 regular season, they will certainly hope for better postseason luck than the '17 squad, which lost to Glen Lake in the pre-districts by a final of 28-7. Boyne City has a pretty good shot at perfection Friday. The Ramblers and their 43.3 points-per-game offense are at home and facing a Roscommon team that has allowed 97 points in the last two weeks.
Forest Area at Central Lake
RECORDS: Forest Area 1-6; Central Lake 6-2
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
SERIES: The Trojans are a perfect 16-0 against Forest Area.
LAST MEETING: Central Lake shut out Forest Area 46-0 in the 2021 regular-season finale.
BACKGROUND: After back-to-back losses in Weeks Two and Three, Central Lake has been on an absolute tear and taking down some big opponents in the process — topping 2021 state runner-up Suttons Bay by a 52-34 final on Sept. 30 and previously unbeaten Farwell by a 26-20 tally last week. The Trojans have only been to the playoffs once since their 2017 state championship, and a win Friday would pretty much lock up a postseason slot for Central Lake.
Inland Lakes at Mesick
RECORDS: Inland Lakes 5-3, Mesick 5-3
WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m.
SERIES: The Inland Lakes Bulldogs lead the Mesick Bulldogs 2-0 in the brief all-time series.
LAST MEETING: Inland Lakes topped Mesick 36-28 on Sept. 25, 2020.
BACKGROUND: In the battle of the Bulldogs, one pack will march forward and the other likely will slink away with its collective tail between its legs. Both Inland Lakes and Mesick sit on the precipice of the Division 1 playoffs for 8-player football — with Inland Lakes in the 16th and final spot with 28.054 points and Mesick on the outside looking in at 19th with 26.607 points. Mesick also has Deckerville (27.625) and Pickford (27.411) to leapfrog over to get in the playoffs.
