Scouting Report: Harper Creek, Climax-Scotts set for high school football playoffs
BATTLE CREEK - Scouting reports for all the key high school football games in the Battle Creek readership area for Week 1 of the playoffs:
Division 3: Harper Creek (6-3) at Parma Western (8-1), 7 p.m. Friday
Scouting Report: A rematch of a Week 6 Interstate 8 Conference game where Parma Western beat Harper Creek, 21-6. Also a rematch of the last playoff game the Beavers were in when Parma Western defeated Harper Creek in the second round in 2021.
In that 2021 season, Harper Creek had beaten the Panthers in the regular season. In the first meeting this year, Parma Western had a balanced attack with Alex Trudell getting 105 yards rushing to lead the team and Reed Myers had 124 yards passing. In that contest, the Beavers lost starting quarterback Jesus Macedo on the first series of the game. Chase Nichols took over in his first action at the position on the season. Harper Creek relied on the running game in the loss with Bronson Carpenter coming up with 132 yards on 15 carries and Nichols added 32 yards on 11 carries.
In recent games, Macedo has returned from injury and the two have shared the spot. The last three times Harper Creek has made the playoffs, the Beavers have advanced to the second round or beyond. Parma Western has become a perennial playoff team and is in its seventh straight postseason.
What's Next: If Harper Creek wins, it will play winner of Stevensville-Lakeshore (5-4) at St. Joseph (6-3)
MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL:
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Broderick: My message to senior football players
With maybe the shortest QB and tallest receiver in the state, Climax-Scotts is undefeated
Division 6: Olivet (3-6) at Constantine (8-1), 1 p.m. Saturday
Scouting Report: One of the last teams to make the postseason field, Olivet slips in with a 3-6 mark based on its strength of schedule playoff points. The appearance in the playoffs keeps Olivet streak alive of making the postseason every year since 2008.
The Eagles lost their first four games of the year under a new coaching staff and a lot of new faces after the program suffered heavy graduation losses from a league title team of a year ago. Gabe Priddy, who was the Olivet coach from 2013-19, returned this year to lead the Eagles. Olivet won two of its last three games to get in the postseason.
Constantine is ranked No. 2 in Division 6 and is a perennial playoff contender, having gone to the postseason every year except once dating back to 1999. The Falcons advanced to the state semifinals in 2020 and have advanced to the second round in each of the last two years.
What's Next: If Olivet wins, it will play winner of Buchanan (6-3) vs. Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic (5-4).
Division 7: Union City (6-3) at North Muskegon (9-0), 1 p.m. Saturday
Scouting Report: Union City is in the playoffs for the fourth straight season. However, the Chargers are limping in with two straight losses after opening the year at 6-1. The Big 8 champs this season, Union City was undefeated in league play.
Union City has shown the ability to throw the ball and run this season as junior Eli Payne is a two-year starter at quarterback with back-to-back 1,000-yards passing seasons. His main target is junior Rick Austin, who has big-play potential when he touches the ball. The Chargers also have good size and leadership on defense with two-way starter in senior Hunter Gillies on the line and senior all-league linebacker Owen Jackson.
Through the first six games of the year, Union City had three shutouts. North Muskegon is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Division 7. It is the first undefeated regular season for the Norseman since 1986. North Muskegon went 8-1 a year ago, but lost in the first round to a 6-3 Ravenna squad.
What's Next: If Union City wins, it will play the winner of Schoolcraft (7-2) at Lawton (8-1).
8-Player Division 2: Pittsford (7-2) at Climax-Scotts (9-0), 7 p.m. Friday
Scouting Report: This is a rematch of a game that happened last Friday when Climax-Scotts held off Pittsford, 38-30, in Week 9. The victory for the Panthers kept their undefeated season alive as C-S is ranked No. 3 in 8-player Division 2. Pittsford, which lost its last two games of the year to undefeated teams No. 1-ranked Lenawee Christian and C-S, is ranked No. 9 in the state. It is just the second season in 8-player football for Pittsford as they averaged 46 points a game through the first seven weeks of the season. The Wildcats defense had only given up 7.1 points per game until Lenawee Christian and Climax-Scotts scored a combined 79 points on them in the last two weeks.
Climax-Scotts is enjoying its first undefeated regular season since back-to-back 9-0 years in 2015-16. The Panthers continue to be more balanced offensively than in past years as quarterback Logan Gilbert had four touchdown passes in the win over Pittsford and 219 yards through the air. C-S has one of the top receivers in the area in 6-foot-7 Miles Shannon, who caught two touchdown passes a week ago. The running game is strong as usual behind juniors Luke Lawrence, Ashton Matrau and Jackson Bagwell in the Panthers' wing-T full house backfield.
What's Next: If Climax-Scotts wins, it will play the winner of Camden-Frontier (6-3) at Adrian Lenawee Christian (9-0)
Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Scouting Report: Harper Creek, Climax-Scotts set for first round of playoffs
