Top Week 1 Matchups in the Big North

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Big North kicks off competition in one week! This is a league that has undergone some changes over the past few years, though I would argue the league is better than ever with their current teams. Week 1 offers a great slate of games in various parts of Michigan as south as Lake Shore and as north as Gladstone! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Thursday, August 24</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Midland @ Cadillac</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last Year: Midland won 27-20</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Big North kicks off with an amazing matchup. Last season, Midland took this one 27-21 on their home field, but Cadillac has an opportunity to take revenge at home. Last season, Midland had an incredibly impressive season. The Chemics went 10-2, which included playoff wins against Swartz Creek and Waterford Mott. As for Cadillac, they went 5-5 with a few extremely close losses, eventually losing to powerhouse DeWitt in the postseason. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Midland is fortunate to return a bunch of good players. QB [player_tooltip player_id='551283' first='Isaiah' last='Henderson'] returns with his dual-threat abilities. They also return multiple pieces from the offensive line, including Tackle Max Stoeker and Guard Seth Tirey. They also return quite a few players from the defensive front 7 in addition to a few backfield weapons. Needless to say, I expect Midland to be good this year, though Cadillac is a very difficult week 1 matchup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cadillac has a lot of exciting up and coming players. One is [player_tooltip player_id='899564' first='Eli' last='Main'], a safety and QB who plays with a large deal of physicality. ATH [player_tooltip player_id='974936' first='Connor' last='Vermeulen'] may be Cadillac's most explosive athlete, as he's a patient runner who's able to turn it on and hit the homerun every once in a while. I'm also extremely excited for big men like the 6'5" [player_tooltip player_id='899513' first='Martin' last='Peccia'] or the 6'3" [player_tooltip player_id='899550' first='Grant' last='Williams']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday, August 25</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sault Area @ Lake Shore </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both of these teams have some great talent, but are largely considered middle-of-the-road in terms of W/L. Sault Area would be my favorite here, as when they won last season, they usually dominated. 46-19 against Escanaba, 35-8 vs Cheboygan, 21-0 against a good Petoskey offense. Still, this team struggled against better opponents and barely missed the postseason last year. Lake Shore, on the other hand, had some promising performances last year but could not get it done against better teams. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sault Area has one game-breaking talent in [player_tooltip player_id='253603' first='Callen' last='Campbell'], who will be taking his talents to Northwestern next fall. He's going to be the best player on the field for either team, no question. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lake Shore seems to have a well-rounded group of athletes and defensive front players, and I'm looking forward to seeing just who stands out this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marquette @ Gladstone</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gladstone won 48-21</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gladstone has been on a tear lately, and they defeated the old kings of the U.P. 48-21 last season. I honestly don't know much about the Gladstone program at all! I know that they surely have some great players, but I have not seen them at offseason camps and they're so far north that it's difficult to make the trip across Mackinac to get there. Perhaps I make a big U.P. Trip next summer? </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I know Marquette pretty well. Receiver Wyatt Lakenen is a great, explosive route-runner who just got an offer from Hope. Marquette also has a great offensive line with a CMU commit with others that have college talent. This should be a great game!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Traverse City West @ Gaylord</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both of these teams are known for being physical and winning games in the trenches. Last season, Gaylord posted an impressive 6-4 record with a few huge wins against Kingsley and Lake Fenton. Traverse City West didn't have a great season on paper, as they went 2-7. Though, TC West faced a greatly difficult schedule, facing teams like Grand Blanc, Midland, and others. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gaylord only gave up 15.7PPG last season thanks to their defensive stars. [player_tooltip player_id='249498' first='Brady' last='Pretzlaff'] is a dominating linebacker committed to Minnesota, and there's no doubt he'll look to take over this game. [player_tooltip player_id='665562' first='Carter' last='Sitz'] is another LB with Division 2 college potential. This defense especially will look to smother the running attack of TC West. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>TC West has a few stars of their own. ATH [player_tooltip player_id='568188' first='Drew' last='Esper'] is one of the most valuable and versatile two-way weapons in the entire state, and I'm expecting an amazing season from him. With help from T Kyle Brunan, G Ethan Murphy, and T [player_tooltip player_id='498286' first='Carter' last='Kandow'], TC West could dominate the line of scrimmage even against the great Gaylord defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->