State-ranked CAAC White showdown presents big opportunity for Charlotte football
The last time the Charlotte football program captured a league championship was in 2008.
That came in the now defunct CAAC Gold when the Orioles finished in a three-way tie for first with DeWitt and Haslett.
The Orioles have finished a season with a winning record just four times since.
But a resurgent Charlotte program has a big opportunity this week as it hosts one of its biggest games in more than a decade Friday.
The Division 4 No. 6-ranked Orioles (5-0) will face Division 5 No. 7 Portland (4-1) on Friday in a CAAC White showdown that highlights the Week 6 football schedule in Greater Lansing.
Both teams are tied atop the CAAC White with 3-0 marks and the winner can secure at least a share of the league title.
"They don't get any bigger than this moment," said Charlotte coach Mike Sparks, who has the Orioles off to a 5-0 start for the first time since 2004. "We are going to try to lean on the fact that we've been grinding for this very opportunity since the immediate conclusion of last season. This particular group of seniors – we had five of them up as freshmen and they remembered what it was like to take lumps. Now they're in a position to really show people and let all that come to light and all that work that they did in the dark show out on a Friday night under the lights against one of the state's best.
"We figure it's a great measuring stick. A conference title has always been something that we've aspired to do. It's been a very long time since it has been done around here. We couldn't be more excited."
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Portland has been the dominant team in the CAAC White and finished as the champion in six of the past seven years. The Raiders have won 37 of their past 38 games in league play, with the lone loss coming to Lansing Catholic last season on a late field goal by Jonah Richards.
Charlotte already has picked up one huge league win, rallying from a halftime deficit to knock off defending league champion Lansing Catholic on the road in Week 3. Now the Orioles will try to knock off another traditional area power in Portland.
Sparks doesn't believe Charlotte has ever beaten Portland. The Raiders have won all six of the matchups between the programs that have taken place since 1950.
"(Portland is) the cream of the crop and they are the elite program in our mind in the conference and in the area," Sparks said. "They're someone that we emulate and we hold in high regard. We're hoping to bring them in here and have one of those battles for the ages. We feel they are every bit as good as they've ever been."
The area's best:These are the Greater Lansing high school football stat leaders ahead of Week 6 contests
Big week in CAAC Blue
East Lansing enters the week as the lone unbeaten team in CAAC Blue play, but four others are in striking distance and have just one league loss.
And those four teams meet this week with Division 3 No. 9 DeWitt (3-2) traveling to Grand Ledge (4-1) and Holt (4-1) visiting Waverly (4-1). Grand Ledge, Holt and Waverly are each 2-1 in the CAAC Blue, while DeWitt is 1-1.
DeWitt ended a two-game losing streak with its win over Holt last week. Holt handed rival Grand Ledge its lone league loss. Grand Ledge handed Waverly its only defeat.
More:These are the Greater Lansing high school football power rankings entering Week 6
More:See where 13 Greater Lansing high school football teams are ranked in the Associated Press poll
Ranked matchups
A pair of contests involving teams appearing in the latest Associated Press state rankings are also part of this week's schedule.
GLAC leader Olivet travels to Pewamo-Westphalia for a game between area powers. Division 5 honorable mention Olivet (4-1) has won four straight since a season-opening loss to Charlotte. Division 7 No. 9 P-W (3-2) will try to bounce back from its loss to rival Fowler.
In 8-player football, Morrice faces another big test as it aims to maintain its perfect record. The Division 2 No. 3 Orioles are coming off a 42-20 win over Breckenridge, which was ranked in the top 10 in 8-player Division 1. This week, Morrice faces Division 1 No. 4-ranked Merrill in a matchup of unbeatens. Morrice has outscored opponents 222-64 in its perfect start, while Merrill has outscored the opposition 224-45.
More:Why Okemos football is shifting from a varsity to JV schedule to close its season
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Week 6 football what to watch: Charlotte has big opportunity
