Friday Night Finals

ADD SATURDAY:
DIVISION 6
Warren Michigan Collegiate 35, Marlette 0


Division 7 Football
Harbor Beach 27, Reese 21
Division 8 Football
New Lothrop 21, Ubly 8
Class C Volleyball
USA def. Bad Axe in 5 games
25-14, 22-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-12
Friday’s Scores

PREP FOOTBALL

Division 1

Ann Arbor Pioneer 28, Temperance Bedford 10

Grand Blanc 42, Midland 35

Rockford 42, Grand Ledge 14

Utica Eisenhower 13, Romeo 0

Walled Lake Central 45, Clarkston 26

Warren De La Salle 35, Warren Mott 6 

Division 2

Detroit King 41, Allen Park 0

Lowell 36, Muskegon 7

Port Huron 27, Rochester Adams 21

Walled Lake Western 3, South Lyon 0

Wyandotte Roosevelt 28, Southgate Anderson 21 

Division 3

Adrian 34, Chelsea 14

Battle Creek Harper Creek 56, Mason 31

East Grand Rapids 45, Grand Rapids Christian 27

East Lansing 23, DeWitt 14

Linden 33, Lapeer East 8

Orchard Lake St. Mary 62, Redford Thurston 20 

Division 4

Battle Creek Pennfield 14, Lansing Sexton 6

Comstock Park 28, Sparta 7

Detroit Crockett 28, Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy 8

Grosse Ile 26, Detroit Douglass 22

Marine City 55, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 31

Paw Paw 41, Plainwell 13

Zeeland West 43, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 21 

Division 5

Almont 42, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 14

Dowagiac Union 42, Hopkins 13

Flint Powers 28, Millington 7

Grand Rapids West Catholic 42, Reed City 7

Hemlock 27, Freeland 20

Jackson Lumen Christi 28, Dundee 21

Lansing Catholic 43, Portland 33 

Division 6

Grass Lake 23, Leslie 22

Ithaca 28, Montrose 13

Montague 14, Muskegon Oakridge 0

Morley-Stanwood 41, Clare 13 

Ecorse 32, Madison Heights Madison 14 

Division 7

Harbor Beach 27, Reese 21

Hudson 22, Union City 14

Pewamo-Westphalia 24, Saranac 13

Saginaw Nouvel 62, Blanchard Montabella 6

Traverse City St. Francis 29, Mancelona 12

Watervliet 21, Lawton 16 

Division 8

Climax-Scotts 15, Pittsford 7

Crystal Falls Forest Park 42, Iron Mountain North Dickinson 21

Fowler 24, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 21

New Lothrop 21, Ubly 8

Petersburg Summerfield 44, Melvindale Academy for Business And Tech 38

St. Ignace LaSalle 55, Rudyard 20 

Eight-Player

Engadine 36, Cedarville 14

Rapid River 64, Eben Junction Superior Central 26

Rematch with Rockets awaits 10-0 Pirates

HARBOR BEACH — Troy Schelke wouldn’t mind a rehash of last week’s rematch.

After beating Brown City last week for the second time this season, Schelke’s Harbor Beach squad gets another chance at another familiar foe. Reese, a 30-16 loser to the Pirates in Week 3, comes to town here Friday night for the Division 7 district championship.

“We beat them way back in the early part of the season, but they haven’t lost since then,” Schelke said. “They are a very good team. They are very athletic all over the field.”

The 8-1 Rockets (they had a bye in Week 9) come in off a hard-fought 41-27 victory over Sandusky in last week’s opening round. Reese rallied from a 21-20 second-half deficit to pull out the victory.

Reese showed off its quick-strike offense, in addition to its ability to control the line of scrimmage, against the Redskins. Quarterback Cody Peyok threw for 114 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 90 yards and a score.

“They really don’t have any glaring weaknesses,”  Schelke said. “They have a very good quarterback and a couple of pretty good running backs.”

Since their loss to the Pirates, the Rockets have rattled off six wins in a row, pitching three shutouts along the way. Defensively, they are limiting opponents to just 10.5 points per game.

The 10-0 Pirates come in off an impressive 40-7 shelling of Brown City. 

Junior Sloan Klaski scored five touchdowns — three rushing, one receiving and one on an interception return — for the Pirates. He rushed 14 times for 126 yards, scoring on runs of 3, 10 and 45 yards. He also hauled in a 16-yard scoring strike from quarterback Eli Kraft, and then capped his huge night with a 28-yard interception return.

“We are obviously peaking at the right time,” Schelke said. “We have really improved throughout the season, and I still think there is more room for improvement. The guys are really playing with confidence.”

There isn’t a unit around playing with more confidence than the Harbor Beach defense, which stymied the Green Devils’ potent running attack last week. The Pirates have four shutouts this season, and have yielded one touchdown or less in six of 10 games.

“Defensively, we have been playing really well,” Schelke said. “The biggest thing is they keep moving their feet. Earlier in the season, we weren’t doing that. Right now, we are moving so much better.”

The Harbor Beach secondary had three interceptions last week, and the interior line had several tackles for losses.

Schelke has used film to scout the Rockets from the Week 3 matchup, as well as recent games.

“When we played them earlier, we got down 8-0, but we just kept playing,” he said. “We eventually were able to move the ball on the ground late in the game. 

“They have been playing very well lately. We know they are going to be gunning for us.”

 Schelke is proud of this team for its hard work and dedication so far this season. He hopes it continues.

“This is the type of group that enjoys playing football,” he said. “Hopefully, we can keep it going for a few more weeks.”

The winner of this game will take on the winner of the Saginaw Nouvel vs. Blanchard Montabella game next week for the regional championship.

Reese (8-1) at Harbor Beach (10-0), 7 p.m.

Reese

W1: Hou. Lake 41-12

W2: Bad Axe 46-0

W3: H. Beach 16-30

W4: Vassar 28-12

W5: Cass City 33-0

W6: EPBP 36-0

W7: USA 45-14

W8: BCAS 50-0

W9: OPEN NA

W10: Sandusky 41-27

PF: 336 (37.3)

PA: 95 (10.5)

Harbor Beach

W1: Bad Axe 42-0

W2: N. Huron 48-0

W3: Reese 30-16

W4: Brown City 34-21

W5: Ubly 34-22

W6: Marlette 12-8

W7: Sandusky 26-12

W8: Mayville 47-0

W9: USA 56-0

W10: Br. City 40-7

PF: 369 (36.9)

PA: 88 (8.8)

  BOGAN SAYS: The Rockets have a lot of players who have a lot of playoff experience.

  PICK:  Harbor Beach 28, Reese 20

Bearcats facing major test vs. New Lothrop

Adams filed this report on the D8 district championship game between Ubly and New Lothrop

NEW LOTHROP — New Lothrop and Ubly have been down this road before — twice actually.

But it’s the first time that people from both communities still talk about.

That first meeting came nearly a decade ago in 2003, when the highly ranked Hornets hosted the underdog Bearcats.

The game turned out to be a blowout, but not the one most people were expecting. Ubly came away with a convincing 52-22 victory to appear in its first-ever state semifinal.

It’s the win that put the Bearcats on the map.

At 7 p.m., Friday, they return to the site of that win to take on New Lothrop once again for a Division 8 district championship. 

“They’re fast, athletic and have a lot of size,” said Ubly coach Dave Kaufman. “They’re a really good team.”

The Hornets had an easy time last week with Kingston in a 54-6 win. The Bearcats had to hold off Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary in a 22-15 decision.

Last week’s win continued a trend for New Lothrop as it got out to a quick start, leading 21-6 after the first quarter.

In 10 first quarters so far, the team has scored an astounding 260 points — and 580 overall.

Ubly has scored 292 for the season.

During Week 7, the Hornets racked up 44 points in the first quarter on their way to a 68-0 win over Morrice. 

“They’ve scored a lot of points in the first half,” Kaufman said. “A lot of their games have been over with by halftime.

“It’s going to have coach (Chuck) Wright working hard this week to prepare our team. He will do a good job and have them ready for Friday night.”

Kaufman hopes he has the solution to slow down the Hornets’ offense.

“Our main focus is keeping the ball away from them with long consuming drives,” he said. 

“We don’t want to get into a shootout with them. We can’t score 50 points in a game. We have to slow the game down and make them play our style of football.”

As impressive as New Lothrop’s offense has been, it’s defense has been stingy, only allowing 39 points for the season.

In fact, Kingston was just the second team this season to come away with points in the first quarter.

Ubly may have to call on its bench again.

During the first quarter last week, running back/linebacker Jason Kaufman was hurt.

It was another in a long line of injuries the team has had to overcome this season. Kaufman’s injury allowed the likes of Nick Sweeney, Austin Bischer and David Rutkowski to step up.

They all answered the call.

“We were very happy with the three guys coming in and contributing the way they did,” Kaufman said. “We’re hoping that we have (Jason), but we’re planning for him and without him.”

Coach Kaufman said a decision on Jason Kaufman and fellow injured running back Jesse Franzel will likely be made today.

New Lothrop runs a number of different formations, getting many players involved in the action.

Last week, Spencer Gross torched Kingston for 181 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Quarterback Austin Newman completed 5-of-6 passes for 121 yards and two scores.

Wade Erhardt hauled in three balls for 112 yards and two TDs.

“They run a lot of different people,” Kaufman said. “Their quarterback is a big guy, he runs well, throws well.

“They have a lot of different weapons that can contribute.”

This will be Ubly’s seventh meeting in the playoffs against a team from the Genesee Area Blue Conference. In that stretch, the Bearcats have played Genesee three times (2006, 2008, 2009), New Lothrop (2003, 2004) and Burton Bendle (2001).

All of the previous games produced wins, and only one was within single digits.

The league sent three teams to the playoffs, including Burton Bendle and Byron.

Meanwhile, the Greater Thumb East was represented with five teams in the postseason. Three are still vying for district championships.

“We played some tough competition this year, some really hard-nosed football, but I don’t know if we’ve played anyone with as much team speed,” Kaufman said.

“Our kids, with the football that we’ve played, should be well prepared. We have to contain them. We can’t let guys get to the outside.”

Ubly will have to leave the friendly confines of Herp Field much earlier than it has in the past.

Due to its Thumb-record 34-game regular season winning streak, the Bearcats haven’t had to travel.

Their last true road playoff game came on Nov. 2, 2007 at Harbor Beach.

“These kids have played in some hostile environments before,” Kaufman said. “When you get out there on the football field, it’s you against them, it doesn’t matter what the crowd is doing.”

The winner of this game will host the winner of the Melvindale Academy at Petersburg-Summerfield contest for the regional championship.

Ubly (8-2) at  New Lothrop (10-0), 7 p.m. Friday

Ubly

W1: USA 28-0

W2: Sandusky 14-6

W3: Marlette 0-14

W4: Mayville 52-6

W5: H. Beach 22-34

W6: Bad Axe 44-0

W7: Brown City 46-14

W8: Deckerville 20-0

W9: N. Huron 44-0

W10: Sag. MLS 22-15

PF: 292 (29.2)

PA: 89 (8.9)

New Lothrop

W1: Bendle 63-13

W2: Atherton 56-6

W3: Hamady 56-6

W4: Dryden 63-0

W5: Bentley 61-0

W6: Web’ville 68-0

W7: Morrice 68-0

W8: Genesee 56-0

W9: Byron 35-8

W10: King. 54-6

PF: 580 (58.0)

PA: 39 (3.9)

  ADAMS SAYS: All of the blowouts are impressive, but I guarantee New Lothrop hasn’t played a team tougher than Ubly. 

  PICK:  Ubly 28, New Lothrop 20       

Volleyball Districts — Day 1

BAD AXE — A hard-fought victory in Game 1 of the Class C district opener here Monday night was all Bad Axe needed to build confidence and knock out the Greater Thumb East champion.

The short-handed Hatchets rallied from a 19-23 deficit in the opening game against Ubly, then took off, rolling to a 26-24, 25-19, 25-17 decision over the Bearcats.

Bad Axe advances to Wednesday’s district semifinal showdown against Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port, a winner over Sandusky in another opening-round match Monday.

“The first game went back and forth, with them coming out on top,” said Ubly coach Andy Gusa. “That's all it took to get them going. They played very well in the final two (games) and we were unable to match their play.”

Bad Axe relied on some of its younger players to pull it through the match, including four who were called up from the 30-5 overall junior varsity squad. Kayla Kokotovich, Lexie Shemka, Sarah Butch and Jordan Grigg all made major contributions.

“I am just so proud of the way these girls overcame some of the adversity,” said Bad Axe coach Mindy Breault. “We asked some of them to do some things they had never done before. The kept their cool. They really came through for us.”

Kokotovich chipped in 16 digs and seven kills while Shemka added 15 digs and two kills, Butch 12 digs, and Grigg a pair of aces.

Bad Axe’s usual big guns also did their jobs, including Rachel Breault and Emily Sisco. Breault had 16 kills and 20 digs while Sisco added 11 kills and 12 digs. Setter Alyssa Kociba notched 31 assists and 14 digs.

“We know Ubly has good blockers, so we know when we play them we have to hit the ball,” Breault said. “They are a very good defensive team and they will pick up any tips you have. We went in with the plan of hitting the ball. 

“We tried to run the offense from antenna to antenna and make their blockers move. It seemed to work.”

 Nicole Kubacki paced the Bearcats with 11 kills, 12 digs and 8-of-8 serving. Brittany Forman, who battled a leg injury during the match, added seven kills while Alyssa Briolat had 32 digs and was 14-of-14 serving, and Ashley Kubacki had 21 assists and was 7-of-7 serving.

In other Class C district matches Monday, Cass City beat Harbor Beach (25-10, 25-10, 25-10) and EPBP beat Sandusky (25-22, 13-25, 25-22, 25-23).

Megan Parrish led the Red Hawks in the win over the Pirates with 14 assists, seven digs and four aces. Logan Rowell added eight kills and three aces. Stephanie Leeson had seven assists, six kills and three aces, Shania Chambers had seven digs and Carley Hendrick had five kills.

For the Lakers in their win over the Redskins, Gala Shivley had 25 assists and three kills to lead the way. Kayla Deering added 13 kills, Taylor Volrich had 17 assists, Krissia Krohn had 10 assists, Rebecca Chambers six kills and Kacy Shetler four kills.

“It was a really good match,” said EPBP coach Karen Smith. “We are so evenly matched that it could have gone either way.”

EPBP will play Bad Axe at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Cass City will take on Unionville-Sebewaing Area in the late match. Both of those matches will be played at Bad Axe.

Class D at Caseville – A-F tops Port Hope

CASEVILLE — Akron-Fairgrove needed four games to get by Port Hope (25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 25-23) in the opening round of Class D district action on Monday.

For the Bluestars, Kristen Kowaleski had 25 digs, nine points and five aces, Otyllia Abraham added 21 digs and five aces. Jessica Schuh had 22 digs, eight points, six blocks and six aces, Caitlyn Popour 16 digs seven points and four aces, Marissa Mascarro 23 digs 13 points and four aces and Marissa Schave 15 digs and four assists.

Class D at Peck – Deckerville rallies

PECK — Deckerville came back from a two-game deficit to defeat Carsonville-Port Sanilac (19-25, 19-25, 25-12, 25-13, 15-9) on Monday. 

Jenna Varosi-Garavaglia was 16-of-16 serving with 24 assists and 20 digs to lead the Eagles. Teila Kreiner was 12-of-12 serving with 37 digs and 11 assists. Kori Nunn chipped in 56 digs, Tanessa Talaski had 13 digs and Kaleigh Spaetzel was 21-of-21 serving with 21 kills.

Here are some photos from the Ubly vs. Bad Axe match

Second round playoff games...

NEXT WEEK’S GAMES

DIVISION 1

R1-D1: Grand Ledge (8-2) 82.778 at Rockford (9-1) 103.444 - F 7:00 PM

R1-D2: Midland (9-1) 93.333 at Grand Blanc (8-2) 97.778 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D1: Temperance Bedford (7-3) 76.333 at Ann Arbor Pioneer (8-2) 87.333 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D2: Canton (8-2) 88.444 at Detroit Catholic Central (9-1) 96.667 - S 1:00 PM

R3-D1: Walled Lake Central (7-3) 71.556 at Clarkston (7-3) 78.667 - F 7:00 PM

R3-D2: Romeo (8-2) 81.333 at Utica Eisenhower (9-1) 102.111 - F 7:00 PM

R4-D1: Dearborn Fordson (6-4) 62.444 at Detroit Cass Tech (7-3) 73.556 - S 1:00 PM

R4-D2: Warren Mott (7-3) 75.000 at Warren DeLaSalle (8-2) 96.556 - F 7:00 PM

DIVISION 2

R1-D1: Okemos (7-3) 74.778 at Fenton (8-2) 83.778 - S 7:00 PM

R1-D2: Muskegon (8-2) 85.111 at Lowell (9-1) 103.111 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D1: South Lyon (7-3) 72.111 at Walled Lake Western (9-1) 94.889 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D2: Rochester Adams (7-3) 73.222 at Port Huron (9-1) 102.889 - F 7:00 PM

R3-D1: Birmingham Brother Rice (6-4) 69.333 at Farmington Hills Harrison (10-0) 117.333 - S 7:00 PM

R3-D2: Farmington (6-4) 60.333 at Southfield (7-3) 72.444 - S 1:00 PM

R4-D1: Southgate Anderson (8-2) 86.222 at Wyandotte Roosevelt (9-1) 96.667 - F 7:00 PM

R4-D2: Detroit Martin Luther King (7-3) 72.889 at Allen Park (8-2) 83.889 - F 7:00 PM

DIVISION 3

R1-D1: Petoskey (9-1) 90.319 at Mt Pleasant (10-0) 108.444 - S 1:00 PM

1-D2: East Lansing (8-2) 87.222 at DeWitt (9-1) 94.111 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D1: East Grand Rapids (7-3) 70.778 at Grand Rapids Christian (10-0) 113.778 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D2: Holland (8-2) 78.444 at Zeeland East (9-1) 82.667 - S 7:00 PM

R3-D1: Mason (9-1) 91.667 at Battle Creek Harper Creek (10-0) 102.222 - F 7:00 PM

R3-D2: Adrian (6-4) 55.556 at Chelsea (8-2) 82.000 - F 7:00 PM

R4-D1: Linden (6-4) 61.333 at Lapeer East (8-2) 84.778 - F 7:00 PM

R4-D2: Orchard Lake St Mary's (8-2) 90.778 at Redford Thurston (9-1) 94.000 - F 7:00 PM

DIVISION 4

R1-D1: Escanaba (7-3) 62.306 at Alma (8-2) 71.444 - S 1:00 PM

R1-D2: Comstock Park (8-2) 72.111 at Sparta (8-2) 84.000 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D1: Grand Rapids Catholic Central (9-1) 89.444 at Zeeland West (10-0) 98.667 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D2: Plainwell (7-3) 60.889 at Paw Paw (9-1) 85.222 - F 7:00 PM

R3-D1: Lansing Sexton (7-3) 73.778 at Battle Creek Pennfield (10-0) 83.556 - F 7:00 PM

R3-D2: Grosse Ile (8-2) 74.444 at Detroit Douglass (9-1) 97.556 - F 7:00 PM at Detroit Northwestern HS

R4-D1: Harper Woods Chandler (8-2) 72.444 at Detroit Crockett (9-1) 101.889 - F 7:00 PM at Detroit Renaissance HS

R4-D2: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (10-0) 98.222 at Marine City (10-0) 109.333 - F 7:00 PM

DIVISION 5

R1-D1: Grayling (9-1) 68.333 at Menominee (8-2) 79.667 - S 2:00 PM

R1-D2: Grand Rapids West Catholic (8-2) 85.000 at Reed City (10-0) 89.778 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D1: Hopkins (7-3) 59.097 at Dowagiac (9-1) 86.778 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D2: Portland (9-1) 90.222 at Lansing Catholic (10-0) 95.111 - F 7:00 PM at Holt JH

R3-D1: Dundee (8-2) 61.111 at Jackson Lumen Christi (7-3) 65.000 - F 7:00 PM

R3-D2: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard (8-2) 77.556 at Almont (9-1) 83.444 - F 7:00 PM

R4-D1: Hemlock (8-2) 75.889 at Freeland (8-2) 78.875 - F 7:00 PM

R4-D2: Flint Powers Catholic (6-4) 62.986 at Millington (10-0) 90.667 - F 7:00 PM

DIVISION 6

R1-D1: McBain (9-1) 76.333 at Iron Mountain (9-0) 81.667 - S 1:00 PM

R1-D2: Morley-Stanwood (9-1) 73.778 at Clare (9-1) 75.333 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D1: Montague (8-2) 66.444 at Muskegon Oakridge (9-1) 79.111 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D2: Ithaca (10-0) 84.889 at Montrose Hill-McCloy (10-0) 93.333 - F 7:00 PM

R3-D1: Schoolcraft (7-3) 50.222 at Constantine (8-2) 60.222 - S 1:00 PM

R3-D2: Leslie (8-2) 68.111 at Grass Lake (10-0) 86.222 - F 7:00 PM

R4-D1: Marlette (8-2) 58.333 at Warren Michigan Collegiate (10-0) 92.444 - S 7:00 PM

R4-D2: Ecorse (8-1) 68.333 at Madison Heights Madison (8-2) 80.000 - F 7:30 PM

DIVISION 7

R1-D1: Ishpeming (8-1) 64.653 at Iron River West Iron County (9-1) 66.653 - S 1:00 PM

R1-D2: Mancelona (10-0) 70.222 at Traverse City St Francis (9-1) 74.653 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D1: Blanchard Montabella (9-1) 61.778 at Saginaw Nouvel (9-0) 101.683 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D2: Reese (8-1) 63.333 at Harbor Beach (10-0) 81.667 - F 7:00 PM

R3-D1: Lawton (8-2) 59.333 at Watervliet (9-1) 64.000 - F 7:00 PM

R3-D2: Saranac (9-1) 63.111 at Pewamo-Westphalia (10-0) 74.667 - F 7:00 PM

R4-D1: Union City (10-0) 75.111 at Hudson (10-0) 88.889 - F 7:00 PM

R4-D2: Royal Oak Shrine Catholic (9-1) 75.111 at Detroit Loyola (10-0) 89.556 - S 1:00 PM

DIVISION 8

R1-D1: Crystal Falls Forest Park (8-1) 54.111 at Felch North Dickinson (8-1) 59.194 - F 7:00 PM

R1-D2: Rudyard (7-3) 42.778 at St Ignace La Salle (10-0) 70.222 - F 7:00 PM

R2-D1: Beal City (7-3) 48.556 at Frankfort (8-2) 60.778 - S 1:00 PM

R2-D2: Mt Pleasant Sacred Heart (6-4) 47.042 at Fowler (8-2) 54.111 - F 7:00 PM

R3-D1: Muskegon Catholic Central (9-1) 83.556 at Mendon (10-0) 87.111 - S 1:00 PM

R3-D2: Pittsford (8-2) 47.667 at Climax-Scotts (9-1) 57.222 - F 7:00 PM

R4-D1: Ubly (8-2) 55.778 at New Lothrop (10-0) 78.222 - F 7:00 PM

R4-D2: Melvindale Academy for Business & Tech (6-4) 45.542 at Petersburg-Summerfield (7-3) 49.667 - F 7:00 PM

8-PLAYER

R1: Eben Junction Superior Central (8-2) 48.333 at Rapid River (9-1) 55.000 - F 7:00 PM

R2: Engadine (6-4) 30.333 at Cedarville (9-1) 55.778 - F 7:00 PM

R3: Bellaire (7-3) 37.778 at Carsonville-Port Sanilac (9-1) 61.063 - S 3:00 PM

R4: Litchfield (6-4) 29.556 at Marine City Cardinal Mooney (5-5) 33.429 - S 1:00 PM