Week 6 prep football schedule features important games

We’ve reached the sixth week of the high school football season.

If you’ve ever watched our prep previews on Facebook, you’ve certainly heard me say that time never speeds up or slows down. It’s the one constant in life. However, it’s wild that we have gotten to this point in the year, two-thirds of the regular season is now over.

Several local teams now have to have a solid week to position themselves for a potential playoff push.

Kelloggsville at Sturgis

One of those teams looking for a win to help for a playoff push is Sturgis. The Trojans are 3-2 on the season through five games. If the season ended today, they’d be in the playoffs based on points with 36 on the season.

That puts the Trojans at 29th in Division 3. Remember, the six wins and you’re in system is no longer being used for the MHSAA.

Sturgis, with a win on Friday night, would obviously help itself more than it would with a loss. Kelloggsville is 1-4 on the season and the Rockets are a Division 5 team. The Rockets started 0-4 on the season but picked up a big win over Grandville Calvin Christian last week, 45-21.

Trojan head coach Chance Stewart said his team needs to be ready to go on Friday. They simply cannot look past Kelloggsville and its 1-4 record on the season.

“Record says one thing, film says completely different thing,” Stewart said of Kelloggsville.

The Rockets scored just 40 points through its first four games, so an explosion of 45 last week is certainly eye-opening. Sturgis wants to get out ahead early in the contest and put some pressure on the Rockets, a team that has trailed early in games this season.

“Very talented group with big-play capability,” Stewart said of the Rockets. “In their losses they’ve gotten down early. Biggest key is getting off to a great start.”

Sturgis’ bread and butter has been the ability to line up and run the football. Through five games so far this year, the Trojans are piling up better than 235 yards on the ground per game.

Jacob Thompson has led the way there, running behind a solid offensive line that has done a solid job paving the way. Thompson’s rushed for 898 yards so far this year (179.6 per game) and he’s been the focal point of every defense the Trojans line up against.

But Sturgis has also done a great job through the air recently. QB Taner Patrick has built a nice rapport with receiver Rasean O’Tey, plus tight ends Gibson Cary and Callahan Lamb.

Expect the Trojans to still line it up and pound the rock, though.

“Need to be able to run the football and control the clock this week,” Stewart said.

It’s also Homecoming for the Trojans. Expect to hear the band a lot this week.

Climax-Scotts at Colon

Look, a Top 5 matchup in 8-player football! This one takes place in Colon, where the second-ranked Magi play host to the fifth-ranked Panthers of Climax-Scotts.

When Robbie Hattan took over the Colon program a handful of years ago, the immediate goal for the Magi was to start competing with programs like Climax-Scotts.

“Obviously, anytime we play Climax it’s a big deal, they’re a big rival for us,” Hattan said. “We’ve done a good job the last few years in this game. But I think Climax has also done a good job advancing themselves in the 8-man game.”

Colon has beaten Climax four straight occurrences, including ending the Panthers’ season in 2020 during the playoffs.

The Magi have the advantage with QB Simon Vinson and WR Justin Wickey. The duo has scored a ton of touchdowns already this season and each opponent the Magi play are coming into the game looking to slow them down as much as possible.

The Magi are certainly more than those two players. With an improving offensive line and a defense that has played well to date, Colon feels good heading into this game.

“It’s going to be a hard game,” Hattan said. “But we feel like if we execute, we will put ourselves in a good position to succeed.”

Colon feels like they have played a tough schedule to this point as well. That includes a win at No. 1 Adrian Lenawee Christian and victories over improving teams in Athens and Pittsford.

“We feel like we are battle tested, we played some big games this year and we have a target on our backs every single week,” Hattan said. “We know we’re going to get everyone’s best each week and that will be no different on Friday.”

Allegan at Constantine

The Falcons of Constantine also have Homecoming this week. Like Sturgis, expect the Falcon marching band to play early and often in this one. Constantine has averaged better than 45 points per game this season.

In typical Constantine fashion, the Falcons have piled up better than 2,000 yards on the ground already through five games. For the record, it’s 418.6 yards per contest.

Brayden Clark (896) and Dom Jacobs (539) are both over 500 yards individually. Jacobs is running for better than 16 yards per carry this season, Clark is rushing for better than 9.5 yards per carry. Together, they’ve posted 23 touchdowns.

Allegan beat South Haven last week, 29-28. They also have a couple of easy wins over Cassopolis and Comstock to open the season, out-scoring those teams 111-0 in those games.

Constantine is a different animal.

Mendon at Fennville

Another solid 8-player football game features Mendon and 3-2 Fennville.

The Hornets are on the road for this one. They’ve already played a couple of tough road contests this season with losses to Martin (30-28) and Bridgman (56-50), but those teams are now a combined 10-0 and both are ranked.

Mendon has now won two games in a row, beating Bloomingdale (54-0) and Gobles (36-6) in the past two weeks.

The Hornets are rolling right now and are looking to move to 4-2 with a win.

Marcellus at Bangor

Marcellus has won two weeks in a row, the Wildcats are now 3-2 overall. In wins over Lawrence (55-14) and Bloomingdale (66-0), the Cats are keeping the football on the ground and pummeling opponents. Bangor is just 2-3 on the season and has lost three games in a row.

The first two of those losses came to Gobles (46-0) and Martin (76-0). The Vikings lost to Fennville last week as well, giving up 74 points. So far, they’ve been out-scored 226-120 on the year.

Cassopolis at Centreville

It’s also Centreville’s Homecoming this week. The Bulldogs will be high-fiving early and often in this one.

Cassopolis won 43 games between 2016-2019. In the three years since, the Rangers have just seven wins in 22 games, including none this season.

Centreville has won three straight games overall, averaging better than 43 points per game during wins over Sand Creek, Decatur and White Pigeon.

Burr Oak at BC St. Philip

The Burr Oak Bobcats are still struggling this season, but they feel like they are headed in the right direction. So far, they’ve posted 20 points on the season in five games.

Battle Creek St. Philip is only 1-4 on the season, but the Fighting Tigers have scored 130 points in five games.

Sure, they’ve only won once on the year, but St. Philip has been finding the end zone in most of their games. They did only score once last week in a loss to Marion, 60-6.

Bronson at Homer

Homer has played a tough schedule to this point in the year. The Trojans lost last week against Union City, 20-14, and they’ve already played Ithaca (4-1) as well. Bronson comes into the contest at 2-3, the Vikings have lost three straight after opening the season with a pair of solid victories.

In three straight defeats to Michigan Center, Jonesville and Reading, the Vikings have been out-scored 145-32. In this one, the Vikings will need to be able to control the football and put together drives, keeping Homer’s defense on the field as much as possible.

Vicksburg at Three Rivers

Vicksburg is having a good football season. The Bulldogs are 3-2, but those two losses came to Portage Northern and Edwardsburg.

Three Rivers is coming off a tough loss to Gull Lake last week, 38-26. The Wildcats also played Edwardsburg tough this season, losing 38-30. The Cats have solid athletes all over the field, including QB Conner Quake, who can make the plays with both his arm and his feet.

Three Rivers will be looking to bounce back here. The defense has played well all season, allowing just under 21 points a game.

White Pigeon at St. Charles

White Pigeon is coming off a 40-28 loss at Centreville last week. The Chiefs are 2-3 on the season, but can even their record on the campaign with a road win here at St. Charles.

The Bulldogs have scored just 53 points in five games this season, 41 of those points came in their two wins over Summerfield (19-6) and Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest (22-16).

White Pigeon is making the trip on Saturday to play this game. Logistically, it’s 160 miles one way, but the Chiefs only have so many teams that can/will play them locally. They’re one of a few 11-man teams remaining in the SouthWest10. A win here, plus a potential win next week over Cassopolis could put the Chiefs back in a good spot moving toward the playoffs.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Week 6 prep football schedule features important games