Prep Gameday Scouting Reports, 'Great Gridders'
Each week the Enquirer Prep Gameday page breaks down the top city and area games of the week in high school football and highlights the top performances:
(AT) BC Central (2-2) vs. St. Joseph (3-1), 7 p.m. Friday
Scouting Report: St. Joseph is coming off its first loss of the season. But it's still hard to tell what kind of team the Bears are after a soft early schedule. Stepping up in quality in terms of opponent, St. Joseph struggled to run the ball as no back had more than 35 yards against Stevensville-Lakeshore in a loss. BCC beat a 3-1 St. Joseph team last year, as the Bears ended the year 1-4 following that loss.
Great Gridder: Cyntell Williams opened a win against Kalamazoo Central with an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown
(AT) Harper Creek (2-2) vs. Pennfield (1-3), 7 p.m. Friday
Former city coaches talk about life after football
Scouting Report: Harper Creek jumped on Charlotte early and came away with a win to climb back to .500 last week, getting 110 yards rushing from Caleb Hayes in the process. The Beavers have had a tough schedule so far and have come out of it with an opportunity to stay in the playoff hunt. A key game against city-rival Pennfield is next as Harper Creek. The Beavers beat the Panthers 34-6 last year.
Great Gridder: Jack Bohannon had a 31-yard field goal and two extra points in win over Charlotte.
Lakeview (2-2) at Stevensville-Lakeshore (3-1), 7 p.m. Friday
Scouting Report: Stevensville-Lakeshore is a perennial playoff team, having gone to the postseason every year since 1998. The Lancers beat their rival St. Joseph last week as their defense continues to impress, giving up a total of only 21 points in the last three games combined. Last season, the Spartans beat a then-undefeated and state-ranked S-L team. The Spartans' running game started to click last week in a 48-14 win over Mattawan.
Great Gridder: Dre'On Kemp had 137 yards rushing and three touchdowns against Mattawan.
Pennfield (1-3) at Harper Creek (2-2), 7 p.m. Friday
Scouting Report: Pennfield struggled to move the ball against a bigger Marshall team in a one-sided loss to the Redhawks. The Panthers had minus-11 yards in the first half against Marshall as Pennfield has now lost three straight, having failed to score more than 14 points in any of those games.
Great Gridder: Carter Needham scored the lone touchdown for Pennfield against Marshall.
(AT) St. Philip (4-0) vs St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran (0-4), 7 p.m. Saturday
Scouting Report: St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran has been outscored 196-38 this season after falling to Waldron, 50-14, last week. No. 4-ranked St. Philip has beaten the Titans the last two years by a combined score of 156-28. SJ Michigan Lutheran hasn't won more than two games in a season since starting 8-man football in 2012.
Great Gridder: Brayden Darr had six touchdowns for St. Philip in a 69-12 win over Burr Oak.
