Blue Water Area football: Week 2 picks feature a pair of BWAC battles
Week 1 taught me a valuable lesson. Be careful when picking against BWAC teams.
I went 3-2 with my picks last week. Not bad for a first try. It's just not as impressive as the BWAC, which finished 6-1. Oh and the two games I predicted incorrectly? Both were won by teams from that conference (Almont and Armada).
Lesson learned. Here are my picks for Week 2:
Croswell-Lexington (1-0) at Richmond (1-0), 7 p.m. Thursday
This will be one of two matchups between BWAC teams with 1-0 records. Both the Pioneers and Blue Devils came away with double-digit victories in Week 1. Cros-Lex rolled Saginaw Swan Valley, 34-7, while Richmond blanked St. Clair, 14-0.
Each club's quarterback got off to a strong start. Cros-Lex's Gavin Espinoza finished 4-for-11 passing for 44 yards and one touchdown. The junior also ran for 109 yards and one score on nine carries. Richmond's Anthony Bonnetti went 5-for-11 for 72 yards. The sophomore rushed for 24 yards and two touchdowns on five attempts.
But the equalizer will likely be Pioneers running back Gabriel Groppi. He ran for a whopping 217 yards (9.4 per carry) and two scores on 23 touches in the season opener. It was the second-highest single-game rushing total of Groppi's career (235 yards against Armada on Oct. 15, 2021).
By comparison, the Blue Devils had 172 yards of total offense last week. Richmond should fare better against Cros-Lex than it did in the previous matchup, a 56-0 road loss. But the Pioneers just have too many weapons.
The pick: Cros-Lex
Marine City (0-1) at Clawson (0-1), 7 p.m. Thursday
If you haven't heard by now, the Mariners lost their first home game since 2019 last week. Armada pulled off a 28-27 non-conference upset in double overtime.
Yet the sky is not falling in Marine City. Yes, a loss is a loss. But it's not like the Mariners were overmatched. The game came down to the final play. So let's look at the positives.
Marine City still had 337 yards of total offense. Quarterback Jeffery Heaslip went 9-for-22 passing for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Zach Tetler ran for 112 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries. Six of those rushing attempts resulted in a first down. Neither player had a turnover.
Those numbers normally result in a victory. But Armada made the plays it needed to in order to win. Especially on fourth down, where the Tigers went 5-for-5 on conversion attempts. The Mariners' defense can't let that happen against Clawson.
Speaking of the Trojans, they also dropped their opener at home and fell to Perry, 24-14. While Clawson went 7-3 in 2021, its season was bookended by two blowout losses to area teams — 48-0 to Armada on Aug. 27, 2021, and 35-0 to Almont on Oct. 29, 2021.
Marine City also hasn't lost consecutive games in the same season since 2016. Don't expect that streak to end Thursday.
The pick: Marine City
Port Huron (0-1) at Eastpointe (0-1), 7 p.m. Thursday
Last week's 54-0 loss to Grand Rapids Catholic Central left the Big Reds with a sour taste. But they're eager for a chance to bounce back.
"They are not dissuaded or anything," Port Huron coach Dan Perkins said. "They came to work (at practice) and they see that there are challenges in front of them."
Their next challenge will be handling Eastpointe's speed. While Port Huron is also skilled in that department, it's not taking any chances. The Big Reds know their defense, especially in the secondary, must be ready.
"Their wide receiver positions are very fast," Perkins said. "So we're going to have to chase them down. It's multiple people (they have), it's not just a couple."
The Shamrocks lost their opener to Madison Heights Madison on the road, 24-22.
"They don't have great numbers, but up front they've got good size," Perkins said. "They play a number of kids both ways. But with the combination of size and speed, it'll be a challenge. There's no doubt about that."
The pick: Port Huron
Warren Fitzgerald (0-1) at Port Huron Northern (1-0), 7 p.m. Thursday
I'll be honest with you. Last week, I expected Northern to beat St. Clair Shores Lake Shore. I just didn't think it would be by 32 points.
The Huskies' offense played to its potential against the Shorians. Quarterback Dylan Bloink finished 7-for-12 passing for 79 yards and one touchdown. The senior also rushed for 35 yards and three touchdowns on nine attempts.
Three different Northern players had multiple receptions — Danny Moore (three catches, 51 yards, one touchdown), Jacob Kerrigan (three catches, 50 yards, one touchdown) and Max Williams (two catches, 13 yards).
All four names listed above are upperclassmen. But even the younger players on Northern's offense found success. Sophomore running back Reace Buckhana ran for 76 yards and the first touchdown of his career.
The box score should look similar this week against Warren Fitzgerald, which just lost to Warren Mott 36-0. Expect defensive end Luke Fletcher and linebacker Alex Armstrong to have a field day on defense.
The pick: Port Huron Northern
Yale (1-0) at Armada (1-0), 7 p.m. Thursday
The Tigers enter their home opener fresh off an upset of Marine City. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs obliterated Dearborn Heights Annapolis by 35 points last week. We'll learn a lot about the depth of the BWAC from this game.
Armada has been the biggest story in the Blue Water Area as the past few days. That tends to happen when you hand an opponent its first home loss in 1,022 days.
It was a well-rounded victory for the Tigers, who tallied 258 yards of offense. Three different players ran for a touchdown in Kyle Coenen (21 carries, 98 yards), Vinny Fodale (16 carries, 55 yards) and Zac Dykes (11 carries, 27 yards).
Yale had 305 yards of total offense in its triumph. Quarterback Connor Jakubiak was responsible for four of the Bulldogs' five touchdowns. He went 6-for-14 passing for 112 yards and two scores while running for five yards and two touchdowns.
Yardage certainly won't come as easy against Armada. Nothing will for that matter. But this will be a good measuring stick for Yale, which can reach its win total from last season with a victory.
The pick: Armada
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Blue Water Area football: Week 2 picks feature a pair of BWAC battles
