Playoff preview: St. Mary's looks to stay alive, avenge last year's loss against Marion
GAYLORD ― The MHSAA football playoffs continue this week, but only one area team remains standing.
After a disappointing result for Gaylord in Mount Pleasant last week, the St. Mary's Cathedral Snowbirds are the last ones left playing football as the calendar turns to November. If they want that to continue, they will have to find their way past a tough Marion team on Friday night.
It will be the first time these two teams have met since the first round of playoffs a season ago, where the Eagles took home a decisive victory to end St. Mary's 2021 campaign. This year, however, the Snowbirds are hoping for something a little different.
Matchup
Gaylord St. Mary's at Marion, Friday, November 4, 7 p.m.
Location: Marion High School Stadium, Marion, Mich.
When these two teams faced off in the playoff a season ago, the Snowbirds were without Brody Jeffers, one of their star athletes on both sides of the ball. That wasn't the only reason they lost 48-8 to the Eagles in the first round of the 2021 MHSAA Playoffs, but it certainly played a part. Now, with the Snowbirds at full strength, head coach Kevin O'Connell's team is more prepared to put up a better fight.
St. Mary's has been rolling since the return of their seniors, Jeffers and Gavin Bebble, from injuries suffered earlier in the season. Since returning to the field in Week 6, Bebble and Jeffers have taken over, and no one has even come close to threatening the Snowbirds, outscoring opponents 259-40 over five games.
Meanwhile, Marion has yet to slow down at any point this season. Their offense has a lot to work with, and they have had a ton of success, averaging a staggering 63.4 points per game, with their season-low point total coming in a 50-6 blowout of Mesick in week three. They have ridden that high-powered offense to a 10-0 overall record and look poised for a state title run.
The Snowbirds and Eagles shared only one common opponent in Bear Lake, and both took care of business with Marion winning 60-7 in week two while St. Mary's won 62-0 in week nine.
With two high-powered offenses boasting a bunch of talented athletes, the game may come down to which team can come up with timely stops to keep the other off the scoreboard. While Marion would seemingly have the overall advantage there (Marion allows 8.5 points per game to St. Mary's 14.8), the Snowbirds have arguably been a better defensive team than offensive since Bebble and Jeffers got healthy, allowing just eight points per game in the five matchups since their return.
Another storyline to watch will be how the Snowbirds approach situations in the red zone after kicker Lasse Felten's record-breaking performance two weeks ago. Then, Felten kicked four field goals in the win over Bear Lake, marking the most ever kicked in an 8-man game in the state of Michigan. The last one, a 47-yarder that cleared the uprights with ease, showed the Snowbirds have more than a few ways of putting points on the board. That could be the difference in a close game.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Playoff preview: St. Mary's looks to stay alive, avenge last year's loss against Marion
