Week 5 is here

Hey All,
Happy and Wet Friday to everyone.
Adams will be covering the big Harbor Beach at Ubly game this evening.
Bogan is attending the 8-man showdown between Akron-Fairgrove and Owendale-Gagetown.
Post all your scores and comments on tonight's games on this thread.

Scores as of 10:30 p.m.

GTW

USA 30, Bad Axe 22

Reese 33, Cass City 0

EPBP 30, BCAS 20

GTE

Brown City 50, Mayville 0

Marlette 26, Sandusky 22

Harbor Beach 34, Ubly 22

NCTL

Peck 34, North Huron 20

NON-LEAGUE

Vassar 45, Memphis 14

Deckerville 56, Saginaw BV 0

Kingston 37, Arenac Eastern 12

8-MAN

A-Fairgrove 20, Owen-Gage 6

Harbor Beach & Ubly gear for showdown

Adams filed this report on Friday's GTE matchup between the Pirates and Bearcats.

UBLY — Harbor Beach was responsible for starting Ubly’s Thumb record 34-game winning streak.

The Pirates defeated the Bearcats 39-12 on Sept. 12, 2007. Since then, Harbor Beach hasn’t beat Ubly in the regular season, or even been close.

At 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Greater Thumb East, the Pirates and coach Troy Schelke believe they have the squad to reverse that trend heading into Friday night’s showdown.

“Ubly has had our number lately, so it’s a real important game for us,” said Schelke.

For Ubly (3-1, 2-1), it’s win or forget about a third straight Greater Thumb East title.

During Week 3, the Bearcats saw their streak come to an end in a 14-0 loss to Marlette, the first regular season setback since falling to Harbor Beach in 2007.

In what is shaping up to be a very balanced GTE, first-year coach Dave Kaufman knows his team can’t suffer any more losses if it expects to contend for the championship.

“We want to leave the league in our hands, which means we have to win our league games,” said Kaufman. 

Harbor Beach started its run of what looks like four straight GTE championship games with a come-from-behind 34-21 victory over Brown City last week.

Following this week’s game, the Pirates return home to host Marlette (4-0) and then travel to Sandusky (3-1).

Schelke was proud of last week’s comeback over the Green Devils.

With Brown City driving in for another touchdown, the game turned on a clutch interception from Aaron Ginther.

“Hopefully that got our attention. I feel like we kind of stole that one,” Schelke said. 

“The best thing about last week is we showed we have resilience. Things looked pretty bleak, but the guys were able to make plays when they needed to. Last week showed us we have a lot to work on. We have the potential to get better. We’re going to have to get better if we want to achieve our goals.”

Ubly’s shutout to Marlette was the first time it failed to score in a game since a 21-0 loss to Unionville-Sebewaing Area on Nov. 4, 2005 in the Division 7 pre-districts. 

The Bearcats bounced back with a season-high 52 points in a win over Mayville last week.

“We moved some people around and it made a difference,” Kaufman said.

He is hopeful the changes will also work against Harbor Beach, but knows what to expect from the Pirates’ defense.

“They like to hit and they will stack the box,” he said. “It’s nothing we haven’t seen from them before.”

Ubly’s hope is to play to the age-old adage: “The best defense is a good offense.”

Kaufman and the Bearcats are well aware of Harbor Beach’s sophomore quarterback Eli Kraft.

In the win over Brown City, Kraft tossed for 144 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, he ran for 152 yards and three more scores, including a 50-yarder to seal the game late.

“He’s an exceptional athlete who has picked up the offense very quickly,” Schelke said. “We need to develop more weapons around him.

“Our offense has shown flashes, but we need to be more consistent on the plays in between the big ones.”

Ubly has had the advantage of already seeing a dual-threat quarterback like Kraft in Marlette’s Kolby Lange.

Lange had a good deal of success against the Bearcats’ defense, running for 213 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 97-yard romp.

“We didn’t defend Kolby Lange very well, we can’t let that happen with Eli Kraft,” Kaufman said. “He’s a big part of their offense. We want to make their other players beat us.

“For us, we want to control the ball. We have to keep the ball out of their hands.”

The last time Harbor Beach and Ubly met with both teams having winning records was 2007. That season, the Pirates went on to not only win the GTE, but advance all the way to the Division 7 state semifinals.

“This is a big game, it gets pretty heated,” Kaufman said. “A lot of pride goes into this.”

Added Schelke: “It always takes on a little extra importance when we play Ubly.”

Playoff points listing

Here is the football playoff listing right from the MHSAA.
11-Player Playoff Listing

1.  Utica Eisenhower, 2825, 3-1, 70.750
2.  Rockford, 2587, 3-1, 76.750
3.  Grand Blanc, 2563, 3-1, 76.750
4.  Lake Orion*, 2516, 3-1, 70.250
5.  Macomb Dakota, 2507, 3-1, 72.750
6.  Holland West Ottawa, 2260, 3-1, 58.500
7.  Northville, 2229, 4-0, 86.000
8.  Monroe, 2196, 4-0, 86.000
9.  Canton, 2127, 4-0, 96.000
10.  Brighton, 2118, 3-1, 66.500
11.  Detroit Cass Tech, 2114, 3-1, 66.750
12.  Plymouth^*, 2088, 4-0, 82.000
13.  Detroit Catholic Central, 2046, 4-0, 76.000
14.  Troy Athens, 1922, 3-1, 72.250
15.  Warren Mott, 1886, 3-1, 66.500
16.  Grand Haven, 1836, 3-1, 70.500
17.  Walled Lake Central, 1823, 3-1, 66.750
18.  Roseville, 1810, 3-1, 64.250
19.  Warren Cousino, 1792, 3-1, 66.750
20.  Dearborn, 1753, 4-0, 94.000
21.  Saginaw Heritage, 1706, 3-1, 64.500
22.  Temperance Bedford, 1656, 3-1, 66.500
23.  Grand Ledge, 1650, 4-0, 90.000
24.  Kalamazoo Central, 1646, 3-1, 64.250
25.  Midland, 1598, 3-1, 66.750
26.  Warren DeLaSalle, 1594, 4-0, 98.000
27.  Grosse Pointe South, 1593, 3-1, 66.500
28.  Rochester Adams, 1560, 4-0, 92.000
29.  Milford, 1553, 3-1, 62.500
30.  Ypsilanti Lincoln, 1530, 3-1, 60.250
31.  Southgate Anderson, 1519, 4-0, 86.000
32.  Walled Lake Western, 1515, 4-0, 92.000
33.  Port Huron, 1493, 4-0, 94.000
34.  Garden City, 1412, 4-0, 82.000
35.  Detroit Finney, 1404, 3-1, 54.500
36.  Farmington, 1384, 3-1, 68.750
37.  Okemos, 1371, 3-1, 66.750
38.  Detroit Martin Luther King, 1370, 3-1, 64.500
39.  Birmingham Brother Rice, 1366, 3-1, 72.750
40.  Southfield*, 1364, 3-1, 66.750
41.  Detroit Henry Ford, 1362, 3-1, 66.500
42.  Birmingham Groves, 1335, 3-1, 66.500
43.  Birmingham Seaholm, 1297, 3-1, 68.500
44.  Wyandotte Roosevelt, 1289, 4-0, 84.000
45.  Muskegon, 1273, 4-0, 94.000
46.  Farmington Hills Harrison, 1261, 4-0, 98.000
47.  Swartz Creek , 1244, 3-1, 64.250
48.  Lowell, 1227, 4-0, 94.000
49.  Bay City Western, 1224, 4-0, 80.000
50.  Fenton, 1212, 3-1, 64.250
51.  Allen Park, 1194, 4-0, 84.000
52.  Ortonville-Brandon, 1190, 3-1, 62.500
53.  Greenville, 1171, 3-1, 58.750
54.  Grand Rapids Northview, 1152, 3-1, 62.750
55.  Mattawan, 1147, 3-1, 58.250
56.  Marquette, 1131, 3-1, 56.500
57.  East Lansing, 1103, 4-0, 82.000
58.  Holland, 1100, 4-0, 92.000
59.  Auburn Hills Avondale, 1093, 3-1, 60.000
60.  Redford Thurston, 1080, 3-1, 60.750
61.  Lapeer West, 1077, 3-1, 74.500
62.  Zeeland East, 1070, 3-1, 60.750
63.  Mt. Pleasant, 1063, 4-0, 92.000
64.  St. Johns, 1060, 4-0, 74.000
65.  Lapeer East, 1053, 3-1, 64.500
66.  Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 1015, 3-1, 56.500
67.  Detroit Pershing, 1007, 3-1, 70.500
68.  Cedar Springs, 983, 3-1, 58.250
69.  Bloomfield Hills Lahser, 981, 3-1, 70.250
70.  Mason, 974, 3-1, 56.500
71.  Petoskey, 972, 4-0, 78.000
72.  St. Clair , 965, 4-0, 82.000
73.  DeWitt, 958, 4-0, 76.000
74.  Trenton, 954, 3-1, 64.750
75.  Grand Rapids Christian, 951, 4-0, 90.000
76.  St. Joseph, 948, 4-0, 84.000
77.  East Grand Rapids, 944, 3-1, 62.750
78.  Stevensville Lakeshore, 941, 3-1, 66.750
79.  Adrian, 940, 3-1, 64.500
80.  Fruitport, 939, 4-0, 76.000
81.  Riverview, 928, 3-1, 58.500
82.  Carleton Airport, 920, 3-1, 54.500
83.  Orchard Lake St. Mary's, 904, 3-1, 62.750
84.  Chelsea, 890, 3-1, 70.750
85.  Bay City John Glenn, 889, 3-1, 60.000
86.  Battle Creek Harper Creek, 883, 4-0, 84.000
87.  Parma Western, 860, 3-1, 42.250
88.  Escanaba, 855, 3-1, 66.267
89.  Sparta, 850, 4-0, 80.000
90.  Detroit Southwestern, 842, 3-1, 56.250
91.  Plainwell, 833, 3-1, 54.750
92.  Marysville, 811, 3-1, 66.750
93.  Vicksburg, 807, 3-1, 58.500
94.  Edwardsburg*, 784, 3-0, 63.333
95.  North Branch, 780, 3-1, 50.750
96.  Croswell-Lexington, 755, 4-0, 79.333
97.  Zeeland West, 741, 4-0, 84.000
98.  Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 723, 3-1, 60.500
99.  Hudsonville Unity Christian, 717, 3-1, 56.500
100.  Marine City, 715, 4-0, 82.000
101.  Fremont, 714, 3-1, 54.750
102.  Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 712, 4-0, 80.000
103.  Otsego, 711, 3-1, 56.750
104.  St. Clair Shores South Lake, 711, 4-0, 72.000
105.  Comstock Park, 706, 3-1, 46.500
106.  Detroit Crockett, 696, 3-1, 68.500
107.  Grand Rapids South Christian, 685, 3-1, 68.750
108.  Battle Creek Pennfield, 676, 4-0, 60.000
109.  Paw Paw, 675, 4-0, 84.000
110.  Grosse Ile, 674, 4-0, 72.000
111.  Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 671, 4-0, 88.000
112.  Armada, 670, 3-1, 50.250
113.  Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy, 648, 4-0, 78.000
114.  Whitehall, 643, 3-1, 52.750
115.  Detroit Douglass, 642, 3-1, 64.500
116.  Alma, 624, 4-0, 76.000
117.  Clinton Township Clintondale, 623, 3-1, 54.000
118.  Portland, 591, 4-0, 74.000
119.  Clawson, 588, 3-1, 44.750
120.  Berrien Springs, 584, 4-0, 64.000
121.  Menominee, 584, 3-1, 56.600
122.  Dowagiac, 582, 3-1, 52.500
123.  Wyoming Kelloggsville, 577, 3-1, 42.667
124.  Freeland, 576, 3-1, 56.750
125.  Kingsford, 568, 3-1, 59.417
126.  Almont, 563, 4-0, 78.000
127.  Grayling, 553, 4-0, 68.000
128.  Grand Rapids West Catholic, 537, 3-1, 66.500
129.  Benzie Central, 536, 3-1, 46.000
130.  Lake Fenton, 535, 3-1, 50.500
131.  Stanton Central Montcalm, 530, 3-1, 52.500
132.  Ida, 525, 3-1, 46.000
133.  Frankenmuth, 517, 3-1, 50.750
134.  Manistee, 511, 3-1, 58.500
135.  Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 506, 3-1, 44.750
136.  Carrollton, 500, 4-0, 58.000
137.  Parchment, 499, 3-1, 42.500
138.  Olivet, 494, 4-0, 52.000
139.  Dundee, 493, 4-0, 56.000
140.  Millington, 492, 4-0, 72.000
141.  Kingsley, 480, 3-1, 40.500
142.  Buchanan*, 478, 3-0, 68.667
143.  Jackson Lumen Christi, 477, 3-1, 56.250
144.  Lansing Catholic, 477, 4-0, 68.000
145.  Reed City, 475, 4-0, 66.000
146.  Hemlock, 471, 4-0, 82.000
147.  Muskegon Oakridge, 466, 4-0, 68.667
148.  River Rouge, 459, 3-1, 50.500
149.  Delton Kellogg, 455, 3-1, 38.500
150.  Vassar, 451, 3-1, 36.500
151.  Tawas Area, 448, 4-0, 52.000
152.  Negaunee, 444, 3-1, 48.750
153.  Kalkaska, 437, 3-1, 38.000
154.  Montrose , 434, 4-0, 72.000
155.  Leslie, 432, 4-0, 68.000
156.  Detroit PEC, 430, 3-1, 44.750
157.  Clare, 428, 3-1, 50.500
158.  Hanover-Horton, 425, 4-0, 58.000
159.  Morley Stanwood, 423, 3-1, 44.750
160.  Ithaca, 420, 4-0, 69.333
161.  Maple City Glen Lake, 418, 3-1, 40.500
162.  Shelby, 417, 4-0, 72.000
163.  Niles Brandywine, 412, 3-1, 36.750
164.  Ecorse*, 407, 3-1, 44.500
165.  Montague, 407, 3-1, 48.750
166.  Sanford Meridian, 404, 3-1, 48.250
167.  Grass Lake, 395, 4-0, 60.000
168.  Manchester, 394, 4-0, 52.000
169.  East Jackson, 392, 3-1, 42.750
170.  Calumet, 386, 3-1, 49.300
171.  Byron Area, 382, 4-0, 54.000
172.  Iron Mountain, 381, 4-0, 66.000
173.  Warren Michigan Collegiate, 381, 4-0, 76.000
174.  Hartford, 380, 4-0, 50.000
175.  Grandville Calvin Christian, 377, 4-0, 66.000
176.  Flint Beecher, 375, 3-1, 58.000
177.  Schoolcraft, 368, 3-1, 46.750
178.  Marlette, 362, 4-0, 58.000
179.  Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, 360, 3-1, 38.500
180.  McBain, 357, 3-1, 52.750
181.  Watervliet, 354, 3-1, 40.750
182.  Sandusky, 353, 3-1, 42.500
183.  Saranac, 353, 4-0, 52.000
184.  Reese*, 351, 3-1, 52.750
185.  Burton Bendle, 350, 3-1, 42.750
186.  Saginaw Nouvel^*, 339, 4-0, 72.000
187.  Lake City, 336, 4-0, 52.000
188.  Whittemore-Prescott, 335, 4-0, 48.000
189.  Union City, 333, 4-0, 60.000
190.  Pewamo-Westphalia, 319, 4-0, 52.000
191.  Springport, 318, 4-0, 54.000
192.  Ishpeming*, 316, 3-1, 50.083
193.  Lawton, 316, 3-1, 42.750
194.  Detroit Loyola, 312, 4-0, 72.000
195.  Mancelona, 312, 4-0, 50.000
196.  Reading, 302, 3-1, 36.750
197.  Brown City, 301, 3-1, 30.750
198.  Sand Creek, 295, 3-1, 44.750
199.  Traverse City St. Francis, 294, 3-1, 46.750
200.  Unionville-Sebewaing, 294, 3-1, 34.500
201.  Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, 291, 3-1, 32.750
202.  Lincoln Alcona, 287, 4-0, 51.600
203.  Genesee, 282, 3-1, 38.000
204.  Gobles, 282, 4-0, 50.000
205.  Hudson, 279, 4-0, 62.000
206.  Iron River West Iron County, 278, 3-1, 38.750
207.  Decatur, 275, 3-1, 40.750
208.  Royal Oak Shrine, 273, 4-0, 74.000
209.  Coleman, 267, 3-1, 38.500
210.  Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 267, 3-1, 30.250
211.  Britton Deerfield, 263, 3-1, 40.250
212.  Blanchard Montabella, 262, 3-1, 46.250
213.  Harbor Beach, 260, 4-0, 58.000
214.  Merrill, 256, 3-1, 50.750
215.  Ubly, 251, 3-1, 48.750
216.  Saugatuck, 250, 4-0, 64.000
217.  Mendon, 242, 4-0, 60.000
218.  New Lothrop, 242, 4-0, 60.000
219.  Vestaburg, 241, 3-1, 34.000
220.  St Ignace, 230, 4-0, 48.000
221.  North Adams-Jerome, 229, 3-1, 28.750
222.  Johannesburg-Lewiston, 219, 3-1, 38.750
223.  Beal City, 216, 3-1, 42.500
224.  Pickford, 215, 3-1, 34.500
225.  Pittsford, 215, 3-1, 37.833
226.  Deckerville, 199, 3-1, 28.750
227.  Morenci, 199, 3-1, 40.750
228.  Climax-Scotts, 198, 3-1, 36.500
229.  Munising, 197, 3-1, 38.667
230.  Muskegon Catholic Central, 184, 4-0, 72.000
231.  St Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic, 177, 3-1, 28.750
232.  Crystal Falls Forest Park, 174, 3-1, 34.800
233.  Hillman, 156, 4-0, 40.000
234.  Lake Linden-Hubbell, 154, 3-1, 34.800
235.  Iron Mountain North Dickinson*, 127, 3-0, 48.933

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8-Player Playoff Listing

1.  Cedarville, 195, 4-0, 40.000
2.  Carsonville-Port Sanilac, 188, 3-1, 40.500
3.  Marine City Cardinal Mooney, 186, 2-2, 29.000
4.  Owendale-Gagetown, 170, 3-1, 24.250
5.  Bellaire, 165, 3-1, 26.750
6.  Tekonsha  164, 2-2, 17.000
7.  Brimley, 141, 1-3, 10.250
8.  Eben Junction Superior Central, 125, 4-0, 40.000
9.  Rapid River, 121, 4-0, 36.000
10.  Litchfield, 114, 3-1, 28.500
11.  Engadine  108, 3-1, 26.750
12.  Akron-Fairgrove, 101, 3-1, 36.917
13.  Traverse City Christian, 95, 0-4, 2.500
14.  Ewen-Trout Creek, 90, 1-3, 9.750
15.  Rock Mid Peninsula, 86, 0-4, 1.750
16.  Posen, 80, 0-4, 2.250
17.  Burr Oak, 76, 0-4, 1.250
18.  Eastern Washtenaw Multi Cultural Academy, 65, 1-2, 11.667
19.  Flint Michigan School For The Deaf, 41, 0-2, 1.000
20.  Jackson daVinci Institute, 0, 0-3, 1.250

NOTE – Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian, 341, 3-1, 31.667, is not eligible for the 8-player playoffs as its co-op enrollment exceeds the Class D limit 

Sports Blog Contest - Week 5

Here are the games for Week 5 of the Tribune Sports Blog Football Contest...
Another $20 to the winner.
We will have the updates later.... Thanks for the patience...

1 Pointers
Bad Axe at USA
Cass City at Reese
Mayville at Brown City
Memphis at Vassar
Saginaw BV at Deckerville

5 pointers
North Huron at Peck
Arenac Eastern at Kingston
San Diego State at Michigan
CMU at MSU
Lions at Vikings

10 pointers
EPBP at BCAS
Harbor Beach at Ubly
Sandusky at Marlette
A-Fairgrove at Owen-Gage
Northwood at SVSU

Tiebreaker - Harbor Beach at Ubly, total points

News and Views from the area sports scene

NEWS: Harbor Beach rallies with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to stay undefeated and beat Brown City, 34-21.

VIEWS: The Pirates certainly earned this victory.

Brown City led 21-20 after three quarters, and was driving for another score in the fourth quarter, when Harbor Beach’s Aaron Ginther picked off a pass and stalled the Green Devils’ drive.

Moments later, Sloan Klaski scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Pirates. 

Eli Kraft sealed the game for the Pirates with another interception in the fourth quarter. He later scored on a 50-yard run to make for the winning margin.

Kraft was a difference maker, throwing for 144 yards and rushing for 152 of Harbor Beach’s 260 yards on the ground.

Harbor Beach’s offense has all sorts of big play potential. 

Defensively, though, this was the first week the Pirates were pushed — and the Green Devils certainly did a lot of pushing.

Brown City racked up 325 yards on the ground, including 252 yards from tailback Nate Primeau. 

“It came down to a fourth-down play late in the fourth quarter and Harbor Beach made a play to move the chains,” said Brown City coach Scott Banks. “Kraft is tough to defend and we did not get enough pressure on him. 

“I thought our kids played their hearts out. Primeau had one of the best games I have seen from a high school running back. Harbor Beach had trouble bringing him down.”

NEWS: Marlette moves to 4-0 overall with an easy 52-8 victory over Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port.

VIEWS: Marlette quarterback Kolby Lange has been a man among boys so far this season.

Against the Lakers, he rushed for 90 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. He also was 13-of-19 passing for 171 yards and two more scores.

Overall so far this season, Lange has completed 71 percent of his passes for 616 yards and six touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 573 yards and 10 TDs.

Defensively against the Lakers, Marlette allowed just 33 yards rushing on 26 attempts. 

NEWS: A pair of important Greater Thumb East games are on tap this Friday when Marlette hosts Sandusky and Harbor Beach travels to Ubly.

VIEWS: To date, these are the two biggest games in the Thumb.

The Marlette-Sandusky game pits two of the area’s best quarterbacks in Lange and Sandusky’s Justin Mills. 

Like Lange, Mills has put up some impressive numbers, including last week’s performance against Memphis when he threw for 260 yards and three TDs.

The Harbor Beach-Ubly game features the Pirates’ high-powered offense against the Bearcats’ stingy defense.

The Bearcats own a mini three-game winning streak over the Pirates. We will preview this game later this week.

NEWS: Unionville-Sebewaing Area is atop the GTW standings after a hard-fought 20-13 win over Cass City.

VIEWS: The Patriots trailed 13-6 at the half, but rallied with two third-quarter touchdowns. 

USA has a pair of excellent running backs in Brandon Harper and Tim Zube. Harper had 117 yards on 20 carries against the Red Hawks while Zube chipped in 114 yards on 22 totes.

Quarterback Jake Beachy was impressive, as well, throwing a pair of touchdown passes to Dan Rieck.

Honestly, I am not sure how good any team in the GTW really is. USA narrowly beat Bay City All Saints, and was blanked by Ubly in the season opener. Reese was dominated by Harbor Beach a few weeks ago, but the Rockets then came back and beat up Vassar, 28-12, this past Friday.

Who’s the best in the West? I really don’t know.

NEWS: Bad Axe picks up its first win since Week 7 of the 2009 season with a 40-0 shelling of Bay City All Saints.

VIEWS: Congratulations to Mark Manenti and his Hatchets. They endured quite a bit of scrutiny over the first three weeks of the season, but came out last Friday and ran all over the Cougars.

In talking with many people in the Bad Axe community, they all say Manenti is the right person for the Bad Axe job. It may take a year or two, but they say the Hatchets will turn the corner soon.

NEWS: Deckerville leads the North Central Thumb League after a 53-0 blanking of North Huron.

VIEWS: Until someone knocks off the Eagles in NCTL play, it’s not even close.

Up next for Deckerville is Saginaw Buena Vista, which has yielded 199 points in three games this season, including 75 against Lincoln Alcona last week.

NEWS: Volleyball is in full swing, with several teams starting the season strong.

VIEWS: The GTW is loaded with volleyball talent, with at least four teams figuring to battle for the top spot.

Right now, USA seems to be the early favorite, but Cass City, Bad Axe and Reese all have the potential to take the title.

In the GTE, it seems like Ubly and Marlette are the teams to beat. They actually have an important showdown Thursday night in Ubly.

In the North Central Thumb League, Caseville and Port Hope are tied atop the North Division at 2-1. Deckerville and Carsonville-Port Sanilac are both 3-0 in the South Division.

NEWS: Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port and Marlette have staked their claim for the top spots in the GTC soccer races. 

VIEWS: The Lakers lead the GTC North Division at 5-0 while the Red Raiders are atop the South Division at 3-0-1. Those two teams actually play at EPBP today.

Meanwhile, Harbor Beach, Bad Axe and USA are still in contention in the North Division, but will need some help to catch the Lakers.

NEWS: Area cross country teams are off and running, as well.

VIEWS: We will have our first listing of our area cross country honor roll in the paper Wednesday.

Mike Bogan is the Daily Tribune’s editor. He also serves as sports editor.