Week 1 primer: High school football is back and we are ready
· Yahoo Sports
STURGIS — High school football is finally back. In Michigan, it tends to happen before Labor Day for the boys of fall and this year, we're looking at a couple of games for each team prior to the first Monday in September.
Visit zeppelin.cool for more information.
Most of the games will take place on Thursday, Aug. 27 this week. Most of the games will kick off next Thursday as well as the MHSAA likes to have the Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday void of as many prep sports as possible. For this year, I will be posting a weekly lookahead for football stuff in the area with a schedule and other bits and bobs, including thoughts from coaches and photos from the week before and who knows what else.
For starters, you're probably wondering where are local teams are playing and what day. The first portion of this weekly story will feature the prep football schedule for the week. That list for this week is directly below. On the lower part of the article, you'll see some thoughts from coaches on an handful of games. We will not be featuring each school every week, but will strive to bring you some thoughts prior to kickoff from area games.
This week's schedule:
- Coldwater at Sturgis, 7 p.m. Thursday
- Hartford at White Pigeon, 7 p.m. Thursday
- Kalamazoo United at Constantine, 7 p.m. Thursday
- Charlotte at Three Rivers, 7 p.m. Thursday
- Lawrence at Marcellus, 7 p.m. Thursday
- Burr Oak at Colon, 7 p.m. Thursday
- Centreville at Comstock, 7 p.m. Thursday
- Marlette at Mendon, 7 p.m. Friday
- Bronson at Springport, 7 p.m. Friday
Coach Stewart and the Trojans host Coldwater
Sturgis is looking to get into the win column. The Trojans have a tall task during the opening week of the season on Thursday as they host the rival Cardinals from down the road on U.S. 12. Sturgis and Coldwater have met on the gridiron plenty of times, crossing over into the triple digits. This year marks the 101st time the two will meet up, the Cardinals won 44-6 last year on their home turf.
Trojan head coach Chance Stewart and his team know they will have to keep Dracyn Foster from bringing the fireworks to the corner of Congress and Vinewood. Foster is a big-play threat at quarterback and can make things happen with both his arm and his feet.
Sturgis needs to score points in this one. The Trojans struggled offensively last year, but there is optimism heading into this year with Beckett Lamb leading the way at quarterback.
"It’s time for our offense to finally catch up and deliver," Stewart said.
Sturgis wants to get things moving in the right direction. Stewart said his team has put themselves in a position to go and compete against a rival like Coldwater, Thursday's game gives them an excellent opportunity to end a losing skid and get things back on track.
Bronson at Springport
The Bronson football team found itself in the playoffs last year. Head coach Tony Myers, a 2010 graduate of the Vikings, said his team plans on being a regular contender in the post season. They'll start this year with revenge on their minds as the hop on the bus and head to Springport.
In fact, the Vikings will be getting some quality time on the bus quite a bit this year as they play exactly zero home games. With the recent Bronson school millage passing, athletic fields are being given an upgrade. The football complex is on that list.
Bronson dropped a 7-0 decision to the Spartans last year, a game they feel they should have won.
"The biggest thing for us is we have to overcome the nuances we've been thrown. We're on a new practice field, having to deal with no home games, all that," Myers said. "But we are excited about it. I have not had one single one of my guys complain. We have a chip on our shoulders from last year, so we're excited for Week 1."
Bronson won eight games last year and the numbers jumped dramatically. The 389 points scored by the Vikings was the most points since the 2009 team and the defense allowed the fewest amount of points (140) since that 2009 season as well.
"We have a lot of returners and we're excited for what we're gonna do and where we are going," Myers said. "We have depth on both sides of the ball, number are up. Viking football continues to be on the rise.
Springport has been solid in recent years, piling up a record of 19-4 the last two seasons combined.
Centreville at Comstock
Centreville won its final three games of the regular season last year. It allowed them to get into the playoffs, but unfortunately the Bulldogs were paired up with Hudson, which ended up losing in the Division 8 state finals.
This year, head coach James Phillips and the Bulldogs want to have solid execution as they open the year on the road.
"We need to play sound, fundamental football and execute the foundational pieces of our offense and defense at a high level," he said. "Our focus as a program is always to go 1–0 each week and that starts with trusting our preparation, doing our jobs, and playing together."
Centreville will need to hang onto the football on Thursday. The Bulldogs know taking care of the rock gives them a better chance to win, especially on the road. Phillips said they will also look to limit mistakes, which are probably going to happen — and trust in themselves and their fundamentals.
"Ultimately, we want our performance on Thursday night to reflect the 'Gold Standard' we’ve established for our program," Phillips said.
Kalamazoo United at Constantine
Kalamazoo United has beaten Constantine two years in a row. This game is typically played later in the season, so seeing it show up in Week 1 is a bit of a surprise. This year, the Falcons are looking to get back into the playoffs for an impressive eighth year in a row.
In order to do that, Constantine will have to hang onto the football throughout the season. Shawn Griffith teams are known for running the rock and having a multitude of strong backs coming out and bulldozing their way into opponents. This year should be no different.
In Thursday's matchup with United, Constantine will look for ball control once again. The Falcons know they have to avoid turnovers in the game and Thursday's game is a big game with both teams having expectations. Griffith said avoiding turnovers in any game is important, but it's especially important in big early-season contests.
Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BwatsonSJ.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Week 1 primer: High school football is back and we are ready