Petoskey, Gaylord hosting football semifinals this Saturday
PETOSKEY — It’s been a few weeks since area football fans have had the chance to cheer on a local team in the playoffs.
Come this Saturday, however, there will be a chance for fans to see a potential state champion in the area.
Saturday will bring the opportunity to catch a pair of Michigan High School Athletic Association semifinal games between Petoskey’s Northmen Stadium and the Gaylord High School stadium. Both will host games between the Division 6 and 8 levels.
Petoskey will welcome in Iron Mountain (11-1) and Ubly (12-0) for a 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 19 Division 8 semifinal, while Gaylord will host a Division 6 semifinal between Negaunee (12-0) and Reed City (11-1) at 1 p.m., Saturday. Cost to attend is $10.00 a ticket.
A change was made years back to require all semifinal football games to be played on turf and both Petoskey and Gaylord often serve as a middle ground for teams coming out of the Upper Peninsula meeting downstate programs.
Petoskey last hosted a semifinal in 2016 in a St. Ignace vs. Muskegon Catholic Central matchup.
Saturday’s Division 8 semi in Petoskey features two teams that finished the regular season ranked inside the top four in D8, with Ubly ranked No. 1 and Iron Mountain, No. 4.
Ubly has rolled through the postseason thus far, earning a 49-6 win over Saginaw Nouvel, a 49-14 victory over Saginaw Lutheran Seminary and then kept the run of 49 points going with a 49-7 win over Fowler last week. They’ve given up a touchdown or less in 10 of their 12 games this season.
The Bearcats have appeared in now four straight semifinals at the Division 8 level, last making the state championship in 2020, which came as a 22-0 loss to Centerville.
Iron Mountain enters the the semifinal having dropped only a season-opener against Negaunee in a 19-14 final, before rattling off 11 straight.
In the playoffs, the Mountaineers have earned a 42-6 win over Ishpeming, 32-16 victory over Bark River-Harris and edged out Evart in a 34-33 game last week.
The Mountaineers are trying for their first state championship appearance since the 2000 season when they defeated Gobles in the finals, 25-23.
It comes as their first semifinal appearance since 2019.
In Gaylord’s semifinal, Reed City enters as one of just two teams out of the Northern Michigan area – the other being Traverse City St. Francis – still alive in the playoffs.
The Coyotes have earned 10 straight wins and put together their eighth season of 10 wins or more since 2011.
The postseason has come with a 44-15 win over Montague, a 36-7 win over Muskegon Catholic Central and a 6-0 win over Millington.
Despite all the recent 10- and 11-win seasons, Saturday could bring the Coyotes their first-ever appearance in a state championship game. They last played in a semifinal in 2017, falling to Swan Valley.
Negaunee has been no stranger to winning over the last few decades, though their 12-0 campaign comes as their first 12-win season since 2003, which also marks the last time they played in a semifinal. The year prior, the Miners earned a Division 6 state title in a 13-win season.
This year, the Miners opened the playoffs with a 48-0 win over Houghton, took down Menominee, 44-0, then beat Gladstone for a second time a week ago, 18-12.
Negaunee closed the regular season ranked No. 3 in Division 6, while Reed City closed at No. 5.
Complete list of MHSAA Football Semifinals:
Division 1
Clarkston (10-2) vs. Caledonia (11-1) at East Lansing, Sat. 1 p.m.
Detroit Cass Tech (9-3) vs. Belleville (12-0) at Novi, Fri. 7 p.m.
Division 2
GR Forest Hills Central (12-0) vs. Dexter (12-0) at Portage Northern, Sat. 1 p.m.
Birmingham Groves (9-3) vs. Warren De La Salle at Troy Athens, Sat. 1 p.m.
Division 3
DeWitt (9-3) vs. Muskegon (10-2) at Greenville, Sat. 1 p.m.
Detroit King (8-3) vs. Mason (12-0) at Westland John Glenn, Sat. 1 p.m.
Division 4
Edwardsburg (11-1) vs. GR South Christian (12-0) at Battle Creek Harper, Sat. 1 p.m.
Goodrich (11-1) vs. Riverview (12-0) at Rochester, Sat. 1 p.m.
Division 5
Gladwin (12-0) vs. GR Catholic Central (11-1) at Ithaca, Sat. 1 p.m.
Detroit Country Day (8-3) vs. Frankenmuth (12-0) at Lapeer, Sat. 1 p.m.
Division 6
Negaunee (12-0) vs. Reed City (11-1) at Gaylord, Sat. 1 p.m.
Clinton (12-0) vs. GR West Catholic (11-1) at Coldwater, Sat. 1 p.m.
Division 7
New Lothrop (10-2) vs. Traverse City St. Francis (12-0) at Clare, Sat. 1 p.m.
Napoleon (12-0) vs. Jackson Lumen Christi (9-3) at Chelsea, Sat. 1 p.m.
Division 8
Ubly (12-0) vs. Iron Mountain (11-1) at Petoskey, Sat. 1 p.m.
Clarkston Everest Collegiate (9-3) vs. Ottawa Lake Whiteford (12-0) at Woodhaven, Sat. 1 p.m.
8-Player State Championships
Division 1
Martin (10-2) vs. Merrill (12-0) at NMU Superior Dome, Sat. 11 a.m.
Divison 2
Mendon (10-2) vs. Powers North Central (12-0) at NMU Superior Dome, Sat. 2 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey, Gaylord hosting football semifinals this Saturday
