OK Conference Games Of The Week: Week 4

We’re into week four of the high school football regular season and this week I’ll be highlighting a pair of 3-0 matchups with conference title implications. In the OK White, Byron Center and Lowell square off in what should be one of the games of the year in the area. Both teams have outscored their combined opponents by more than 80 points through three games, proving to have strong units on both sides of the ball. In the Silver, two top-10 teams in the state in Division 5 will meet when Hopkins travels to Belding. The winner of each of these games will firmly be in the driver’s seat in their respective divisions in the OK Conference. Below I’ll break down top prospects to watch, keys to each game, and my predictions. <h5>OK White: Byron Center (3-0) @ Lowell (3-0)</h5> <em><strong>Top Prospects</strong></em> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="29563" first="Austin" last="Roon"], LB/RB, Byron Center</h6> <h6><a class="pn-player-link" href="https://prepredzone.com/player/mason-breit/"><span class="name-pointer">[player_tooltip player_id="29653" first="Mason" last="Breit"]</span></a>, RB/DB, Byron Center</h6> <h6>Nolan Tagg, OL/DL, Byron Center</h6> <h6>Connor Bovia, OL/DL, Byron Center</h6> <h6>Braylon Baker, LB, Byron Center</h6> <h6>Doak Dean, QB/LB, Lowell</h6> <h6>Nathaniel Clark, RB, Lowell</h6> <h6>Brett Spanbauer, WR, Lowell</h6> <h6>Nathan Cleaver, LB, Lowell</h6> <em><strong>Keys To The Game</strong></em> Two of the top teams in the area square off on Friday when [player_tooltip player_id="29563" first="Austin" last="Roon"] and the stingy Byron Center defense travel to Lowell to take on a Red Arrow team that has turned some heads with it’s 3-0 start to the season. In my opinion, this game will come down to the heavily anticipated matchup between Lowell’s rushing attack featuring Doak Dean and Nathaniel Clark and Byron Center’s highly touted defense highlighted by [player_tooltip player_id="29563" first="Austin" last="Roon"] and [player_tooltip player_id="29653" first="Mason" last="Breit"]. I expect every possession of this game to be crucial as it should be on the lower-scoring side of things. <em><strong>Prediction: </strong></em>Byron Center 14, Lowell 13 <h5></h5> <h5>OK Silver: Hopkins (3-0) @ Belding (3-0)</h5> <em><strong>Top Prospects</strong></em> <h6>Ethan Hodges, RB, Belding</h6> <h6>Ethan Milanowski, RB, Belding</h6> <h6>Jack Ward, LB, Belding</h6> <h6>Matt Reynolds, RB, Hopkins</h6> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="29706" first="Trevor" last="Smith"], QB, Hopkins</h6> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="29638" first="Colin" last="Weber"], TE, Hopkins</h6> <em><strong>Keys To The Game</strong></em> A season ago, Hopkins defeated Belding rather handily 42-10 on it’s way to claiming the OK Silver crown. A few new faces have entered the Silver, yet Hopkins still appears to be the favorite to take home the conference title. Led by a dynamic core of athletes in [player_tooltip player_id="29638" first="Colin" last="Weber"], Matt Reynolds, and [player_tooltip player_id="29706" first="Trevor" last="Smith"], the Vikings have the firepower to compete with just about every team in Division 5. For Belding, it’s been an upstart year for the Black Nights who are off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2013. Belding has some weapons of its own on the offensive side of the ball in running backs Ethan Hodges and Ethan Milanowski, yet it’s most difficult tasks this Friday will be slowing down the Vikings offense. The winner of this 3-0 matchup will undoubtedly be the favorites to win the OK Silver. <em><strong>Prediction</strong></em>: Hopkins 34, Belding 20