By Jim Moyes
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What fun it was to return to Muskegon and spend a few days last weekend with my lifetime buddy, Hall of Fame coach Dave Taylor. Never did I know what a great cook Dave was over the years.
First year Crusader coach Steve Czerwon gave me some tips that will prove invaluable for perfecting my upcoming predictions. And what a great time Dave and I had revisiting the old alma mater at North Muskegon and to be treated to such an exciting game.
The only downer over the weekend was watching Dave’s Ferris State Bulldogs drop a close game to arch rival Saginaw Valley. Now I’m back in the Sunshine State, refreshed and just full of football knowledge as the high school football season heads down the home stretch,
w Grand Haven at Hudsonville: Any team that can defeat Reeths Puffer by three touchdowns gets my vote. Hudsonville hands the struggling Bucs their sixth loss of the season.
w Zeeland East at Mona Shores: There just could be a parade down Seminole Road as the long suffering Sailor fans rejoice after defeating Zeeland East to clinch their first ever playoff berth in school history.
w Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills at Muskegon: The Big Reds will be pumped to play only their second home game at Historic Hackley against Kenowa Hills. The Big Red victory would put coach Fairfield’s gridders into the playoffs for the 14th straight year.
w Grand Rapids Union at Reeths Puffer: I wonder how many area fans predicted RP to be 5-1 at this date of the season? Certainly not this ‘ole’ announcer, but make it 6-1 and playoff bound after Friday’s rout of winless Union.
w Leslie at Fremont: I remember Leslie being one of those four ‘sacrificial lambs’ who fell in the state championship to Montague during that magical 2008 season. This winless Black Hawk team is a far cry from that Leslie team and will fall to the Packers.
w Orchard View at Fruitport: It doesn’t get much easier for the Cardinals after last week’s trouncing from the Crusaders. Fruitport keeps their playoff hopes alive against OV before facing two very tough foes in weeks 8 and 9.
l Grant at Howard City Tri-County: Grant may be looking for their first win on this season but Tri-County is looking for its first win since 2010. Grant finally breaks into the victory column depriving the Vikings of their first win in 25 games.
w Spring Lake at Ludington: I got a great tip during one of my stops at a local watering hole during my Port City visit last week. With winless Howard City on the schedule for week 8, the Lakers can make room for the Lakes-Eight hardware for their trophy case.
w Hart at Mason County Central: My favorite athletes in the entire area are those 13 Hart Pirate players that have stuck with their team through this tough season. I hope they can keep it close against the Spartans.
l Montague at North Muskegon: Its been 13 years since the Norsemen have defeated their long time WMC rival but this could be the year to end that skid. Another packed house at Fred Jack’s Field watches the very young Norse team clinch a playoff berth.
w Oakridge at Whitehall: Whitehall’s Trip Thommen did an Osie Rostick impersonation from 61 years ago by rushing for 6 TDs and 300 plus yards against Hart. However, The Eagle’s will regroup after that last minute loss to Shelby and hand the Vikings their sixth loss of the season.
w Shelby at Ravenna: The Bulldogs played Oakridge and North Muskegon down to the wire in two tight losses but have shown that they cannot be taken lightly. After an emotional win over Oakridge, Shelby better be prepared to stop Ravenna’s freshman sensation David Thompson.
w Reed City at Hesperia: I’m not convinced that undefeated Reed City is worthy of their top ten ranking but they are talented enough to make their record read 7-0 after defeating Hesperia.
w Holton at Big Rapids: While watching the Homecoming Day parade last Friday prior to the Ferris State-Saginaw Valley game last Saturday, I got another hot tip from a Big Rapids Cardinal fan who told me there is no way his team would lose to Holton. Maybe I’m gullible, but I believed him.
w Newaygo at White Cloud: While making a beverage stop on the way up to Big Rapids I didn’t see that same enthusiasm from White Cloud fans about their team’s chances against Newaygo.
w Wyoming at Muskegon Catholic: Wyoming is in its second year after combining Wyoming Rogers and Wyoming Godwin Heights. They could merge all the schools in Wyoming together and they still would not beat this Crusader team. Friday’s MCC win will mark the 300th win for a Crusader team with their incomparable assistant coach Mike Ribecky on the sidelines.
l Muskegon Heights Academy at Manistee: Here’s my upset special in week number seven: Heights plays errorless football and nips the Chips.
w Kellogsville @ Kent City: I’m still trying to figure out how Kent City defeated, what I thought, was a very good Ravenna team to begin the season.
w Baldwin at Atlanta: These two schools have one common opponent — Hale, who gave up over 100 points combined to Baldwin and Atlanta. Even Czerwon can’t help me here… The coin says Baldwin.
