Week Five High School Football Preview

The Shamrocks of St. Patrick’s will host Tekonsha Friday night for their Homecoming.

The Shamrocks come in with a three win and one loss record after a tough loss to the Bellevue Broncos last week, 28-6.

The Indians of Tekonsha come in with a two win and two loss record, after falling to Camden-Frontier last week, 52-26. The only mutual opponent on the St. Patrick and Tekonsha schedules so far is Burr Oak, who Tekonsha beat 58-8, and St. Patrick beat 59-0.

Through the first four weeks of the schedule, Shamrock junior QB Tanner Lawson has racked up 715 yards passing. Senior WR Will Simon leads in receiving with 215 yards receiving and four touchdowns. Sophomore Ned Smith still leads the rushing category with 324 yards. Junior Paul Cook leads in all-purpose yards with 457.

On the defensive side, senior Colin Cook leads the team with 24 solo tackles, followed by Paul Cook with 18.

When asked for his prediction on this game, Buck Geno from “ESPN 96.1’s Game of the Week” said, “The Shamrocks look to ease the sting of their first loss this season when they host Tekonsha. It is Homecoming Week at St. Patrick’s; last week’s loss to Bellevue only promises to provide more motivation to Pat Russman’s charges. Tekonsha is also coming off of a loss – they fell short against Camden-Frontier last week to even their record at 2-2. The Shamrock offense hopes to get back on track after meeting a formidable Bellevue defense last Friday. With the Homecoming festivities highlighting the beginning of the weekend there should be plenty of energy for the players to feed off of while leaving last week’s loss behind. Judging by how the Bellevue game went, I expect the Shamrocks to try and re-establish the run on offense to set up Tanner Lawson & the passing attack. Portland St. Patrick 36, Tekonsha 16.”

The Portland Raiders will travel to Lansing Catholic High School on Friday night. The varsity game will begin at 7:30. The JV squads from Portland and Lansing Catholic will face off at 4:30, prior to the varsity game, as the JV game scheduled for Thursday was canceled due to severe weather.

The Raiders moved their overall record to three wins and one loss last week when the rolled over the Gladiators of Fowlerville, 42-7.

Lansing Catholic High School comes in with a spotless 4-0 record. The only common opponent the teams have faced so far this year is Williamston, who Lansing Catholic beat 35-34 last week, and Portland beat 21-14 with four seconds left on the clock in week three.

Lansing Catholic High School senior QB Michael Lynn III has thrown for 657 yards on the year. Junior Michael Whitney leads the Cougars in receiving with 213 yards and two receiving TDs. Whitney also leads the team in rushing with 311 yards and five TDs rushing.

Senior DB McKyle Stanfield leads the Cougar defense with 19 solo tackles.

For the Raiders, QB Austin Allison has now thrown for four TDs and 373 yards. Brock Gross leads the team in rushing with 367 yards and five TDs. Gavin Dennany leads the receiving category with 176 yards and two TDs.

For the Raider defense, Devin Miller leads in solo tackles with 24, followed by Dean Battley with 15.

When asked about the Lansing Catholic game, Raider Head Coach John Novara said, “Lansing Catholic is always a well-disciplined, well coached football team. We expect this game to be highly competitive and a fun game to play in. Playing on their new field turf will present some advantage for them, as they are used to playing on the turf.”

When asked for his prediction on this game, Buck Geno from “ESPN 96.1’s Game of the Week” said, “The Red Raiders gear up for an important CAAC-White Division matchup this week as they travel to the Capitol City to take on Lansing Catholic. The Mid-Michigan quarterback factory is 4-0 to start the 2017 campaign; most recently they edged Williamston 35-34 in a thriller last Friday. Lansing Catholic will rely on its defensive prowess to earn extra possessions for their offense – the Cougars’ defensive troops have intercepted 14 passes in only 4 games to date. Portland will need to run the football effectively while passing in favorable down/distance situations in order to control the clock to keep the Cougars at bay. A key stat to watch for this game for both squads: yardage gained on 1st down. 2nd down & short yardage situations put the defense in more difficult positions which allows for more offensive creativity. Portland 27, LCC 24.”