By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY — Seven of the eight local football teams that made the MHSAA football playoffs will try to run the gauntlet toward a state title beginning this weekend with district play.
All games will be played tonight at 7 p.m. Mendon’s game, which would have taken place in Mendon on Saturday, was forfeited Thursday by their opponents, Grand Rapids Sacred Heart.
Top-ranked Mendon, who finished 9-0, was supposed to play sixth-ranked and 8-1 Grand Rapids Sacred Heart Saturday at 1 p.m., however on Thursday morning, Mendon was informed that Sacred Heart would be forfeiting the game, advancing Mendon to the regional finals against the winner of Marion vs. Portland St. Patrick, with a kickoff date and time to be determined. No reason was immediately given for the forfeit by press time.
In Division 4, Three Rivers and Vicksburg will be in the same district, but facing different opponents in the first round of district play. Three Rivers will go on the road to take on Paw Paw, while Vicksburg will head to Cass County to take on Edwardsburg.
The 5-4 Wildcats played the 6-3 Red Wolves two weeks ago, but ended up taking a 43-0 loss at home, part of a four-game losing streak for the ‘Cats, and a streak of three straight games the Wildcats failed to score a point. The Wildcats finished 25th in playoff points in Division 4 with 46.389, while Paw Paw was 13th in those ratings with 56.111.
Vicksburg, who also finished 5-4 on the year, took down the 6-3 Eddies previously in a very close game at home two weeks ago, winning 38-35, one of four Wolverine Conference wins for the Bulldogs. Vicksburg finished 22nd in playoff points in Division 4, racking up 48.556 points, while Edwardsburg notched 51.222 points, good for 17th.
The winners of both those matchups will play for a district title next week.
In Division 7, Constantine and Schoolcraft made their way into the playoffs, and will also end up in the same district. Constantine will be facing Lawton on the road in their first-round matchup, while Schoolcraft will stay home to take on Galesburg-Augusta.
It is a bit of an oddly familiar matchup for 6-3 Constantine, as the Falcons played the 7-2 Blue Devils just this past Friday in both teams’ regular season finales, with Lawton coming out on top in Constantine, 23-14. Both teams finished right next to each other in the playoff points standings, with Constantine finishing 11th at 38.667, and Lawton finishing 10th with an even 39 points.
No. 7 Schoolcraft, who come in with a 7-2 record, will also be facing a familiar conference foe, having defeated the Rams 53-28 on Sept. 19. Schoolcraft will be favored in the contest over their 4-5 foes, as Schoolcraft comes in ninth in playoff points in Division 7 with 39.333, while Galesburg-Augusta was one of the last two teams to make it into the D7 playoffs, finishing 31st with 26 playoff points.
The winners of both matchups will face off against each other in a District Finals match next week.
In Division 8, White Pigeon and Centreville will be eyeing deep runs as they will also be in the same district for the first two rounds. Both teams will have tough matchups, as White Pigeon will take on Decatur, while Centreville will take on top-ranked Hudson, with both teams traveling to their opponents.
Decatur will be a familiar opponent for the 7-2 Chiefs, as they lost to the 7-2 Raiders on the road two weeks ago, 22-14. Both teams finished in the top half of playoff points, with White Pigeon standing in 12th with 35.222 points, and Decatur coming in ninth place with 38.222 points.
Centreville will have a tough task when they travel to the No. 1 team in Division 8, who finished the regular season with a 9-0 record. The 5-4 Bulldogs will look to pull off the upset over the Tigers, who average 49.5 points per game, and have only given up 77 points on the entire season. Last year, Hudson lost in the regional finals to Schoolcraft in Division 7 and moved down to Division 8 for this year. Hudson has the most playoff points in D8 with 49.857, while Centreville is 21st with 29.778.
In the first round of the eight-man football playoffs, Marcellus will go on the road to undefeated and top-ranked Martin to open up Division 1 play.
The 6-3 Wildcats already faced the perennial eight-man juggernaut Clippers earlier this season, losing by a 38-14 score on Sept. 5, the second-closest game Martin has competed in this year by two points (Sacred Heart was the closest, in which the Clippers merely won by 22 points) and the fewest points the Clippers have scored in a win this season. Marcellus was the last team to sneak into the Division 1 playoffs, notching 28.417 points to round out the 16-team field, while Martin had the most playoff points, with 38.667.
The winner of Marcellus-Martin will face the winner of the Gobles vs. Climax-Scotts matchup in the Division 1 regional finals next week.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
