Flivvers No. 1, IM fifth in final UP grid poll
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MARQUETTE -- A couple of upsets -- one involving Negaunee -- shook up the final weekly Upper Peninsula high school football polls of the season conducted by the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
A 21-20 loss at Iron Mountain on Oct. 22 knocked the Miners from the No. 3 position in last week’s 11-player rankings right into the “others receiving votes” list in this week’s poll.
The same thing happened to Forest Park, which had been No. 3 in eight-player until a 55-36 setback at North Central also pushed the Trojans down to the “others” list.
The good news for Negaunee is that even with a record of 5-4, last week’s loss didn’t prevent the Miners from making the MHSAA playoffs.
As the No. 3 seed in its four-team district, Negaunee opened Division 5 play at downstate Shepherd (7-2), narrowly missing a return engagement with district No. 1 seed Kingsford (9-0) this week. Negaunee defeated Shepherd 34-26 on Friday.
From receiving no votes a week earlier, Iron Mountain (7-2) moved into No. 5 with its home win over Negaunee. The Mountaineers, however, fell to East Jordan in Division 8 on Friday, 42-35.
Being at the top, the Flivvers drew the lowest-ranked district team, Howard City Tri County (5-4), who they’ll host today. The Miners had 40.556 playoff points while Howard City logged 38.222.
Forest Park, on the other hand, is nowhere to be seen on the eight-player playoff list, apparently that final loss leaving the Trojans on the outside looking in despite a 6-3 record.
Forest Park’s misfortune may have also spurred Ishpeming (7-2) into getting back in the eight-player top-five list. The Hematites moved from the “others” list to No. 5 after a 48-16 home victory over Munising, giving Ishpeming the best record of any area team when looking at both eight- and 11-player.
The Hematites opened the playoffs at Rudyard (7-2) in Division 1 on Friday and won, 36-14. The Bulldogs earned votes for the first time this season, though it was short of what Ishpeming received in the last top-five position.
Marquette (6-3) in 11-player moved up one spot to No. 3, the Sentinels and Bark River-Harris (7-2) each moving up a position after Negaunee’s fall.
MSHS lost to unanimous U.P. No. 1 Kingsford at the Flivvers’ field 42-26, but still got in the Division 3 playoffs, drawing a road game as a No. 3 team in its district at fellow Big North Conference member Cadillac (7-2). Cadillac won 31-19.
Looking at the rest of the U.P. 11-player poll, Menominee (8-1) held on unanimously to No. 2 with a 38-30 win over BR-H (7-2), which like Marquette bumped up one spot despite taking a loss against a highly regarded team.
And Calumet (6-3) stopped receiving votes despite a 50-8 win over L’Anse (4-5), which was the only U.P. team to qualify for the playoffs with a losing record.
The Purple Hornets opened in Division 8 with a game at BR-H, losing 59-30.
In eight-player, Lake Linden-Hubbell (9-0) held onto its iron — i.e., unanimous — lock on the No. 1 position with a 42-24 home victory over Ontonagon.
Pickford (7-2) continued at No. 2 following a 62-6 home win over Onaway.
St. Ignace (8-1) and North Central (7-2) tied for the third spot after the Saints were No. 4 a week earlier and NC was at No. 5.
St. Ignace outscored Central Lake 62-40, while North Central also won a high-flying 55-36 home decision over Forest Park.
In The Associated Press statewide polls released Tuesday, Ishpeming just missed the top 10 in 11th place with two votes in eight-player Division 1, while Rudyard tied for the ninth and 10th spots with downstate Marlette.
Kingsford bumped up one position to No. 4 in Division 5 in 11-player, and the Flivvers are closer to co-No. 1’s Grand Rapids Catholic Central and GR West Catholic than they are to the team just behind them, No. 5 Saginaw Swan Valley.
Kingsford, which received one first-place vote, has 39 voting points, while No. 3 Frankenmuth has 42 and the two Grand Rapids teams, each getting two first-place votes, have 44 apiece. In contrast, Swan Valley has just 24 points.
In Division 7, Menominee held steady at No. 2 while receiving two first-place votes as No. 1 Pewamo-Westphalia (8-0) earned three No. 1 ballots.
In Division 8, Bark River-Harris is ninth, while Iron Mountain is the second team outside the top 10, in effect, No. 12.
In eight-player, Pickford is No. 8 in Division 1 with Rudyard No. 9 and Ishpeming 11th.
In Division 2, LL-H is No. 2 and receiving two first-place votes. No. 1 Mendon (9-0) got the other three top ballots as St. Ignace is No. 6 and North Central No. 10.
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The Daily News contributed.