Division 4 Regional Final Preview: Cadillac vs FH Eastern

After a tumultuous regular season, Cadillac and Forest Hills Eastern are just days away from resuming their seasons and looking to extend their playoff run for another week. Cadillac will be playing in its second-consecutive regional final after ending Sault Ste Marie’s season in the district final, while Forest Hills Eastern will be playing in the regional final for the first time since 2015 after sending Whitehall home. Below, I’ll highlight the players to watch, keys to the game, and my prediction. <em><strong>Playoff Road</strong></em> Forest Hills Eastern: (6-3, OK Gold): Pre-District: Defeated Allendale 42-0, District Semi: Defeated Spring Lake 28-21, District Final: Defeated Whitehall 41-13. Cadillac: (6-2, Big North Conference): Pre-District: Bye, District Semi: Defeated Alma via forfeit, District Final: Defeated Sault Ste Marie 34-14. <em><strong>Top Prospects</strong></em> <h6>Collin Johnston, LB, Cadillac</h6> <h6>Carter Harsh, DB, Cadillac</h6> <h6>Dan Gray, DB, Cadillac</h6> <h6>Aden Gurden, ATH, Cadillac</h6> <h6>Caden Vanden Berge, TE, Forest Hills Eastern</h6> <h6>Jacob Armbrester, DB, Forest Hills Eastern</h6> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="61625" first="Grant" last="Lancaster"], WR/DB, Forest Hills Eastern</h6> <h6>Nate Sypien, LB, Forest Hills Eastern</h6> <em><strong>Keys To The Game</strong></em> Despite rolling through its district playoff opponents 111-21, Forest Hills Central was inexplicably left out of the MHSFCA All-Region awards list. It’s safe to say that the Hawks were deserving of having up to four athletes honored, yet there were none. Something tells me they won’t take that likely, especially [player_tooltip player_id="61625" first="Grant" last="Lancaster"] and Caden Vanden Berge, who have torched it’s opponents all season long in the passing game. Cadillac will have the advantage of playing at home on it’s side, however, they really have yet to be tested thus far. I expect Forest Hills Eastern’s passing game to be too much for Cadillac to overcome as the Hawks take one step closer to Ford Field. <em><strong>Prediction: </strong>Forest Hills Eastern 35, Cadillac 14</em>