Shamrocks grab #1 seed in playoffs

The Portland St. Patrick Shamrocks grabbed the #1 seed in the Division II 8-man playoff bracket, edging out Powers North Central by a fraction. The geography and points led to them being seeded in Region four. 

The Shamrocks had a solid draw with their #1 seed, drawing 1-5 North Adams-Jerome in the first round of the expanded playoffs. On the other side of their bracket is 4-2 Tekonsha versus 4-2 Waldron. 

On the other side of St. Patricks bracket is #2 seed Burr Oak versus #7 seed Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian. Wyoming has had a very, very diffucult season, in contrast to Burr Oak who has played a relatively weak schedule. Look for Wyoming to beat Burr Oak. On the other end of that bracket is #3 Colon versus #6 Climax Scotts. Colon is the reigning Division 1 State Champion, and has only lost once to Adrian Lenawee Christian (arguably the second-best team in Division 8- 11 man football last year). Colon will be meeting up with Climax Scotts, a very solid program that Colon already beat 55-8. It is highly likely that St. Patrick will meet Colon in the Regional finals. 

As is pretty typical in 8-man football, there are some very good football teams in the upper peninsula. This year the perennial favorite seems to be Powers North Central. The scouting report recognizes that Region 1 of Division 2 is loaded, with Powers North Central, Lake Linden Hubbell, and Crystal Falls Forest Park all banging on each other to make it out of the early rounds of the playoffs. 

Portland St. Patrick will be the number 1 seed throughout the playoffs, so expect Saturday afternoon games at around 1 or 2 pm for the next few weeks. The Shamrocks host North Adams-Jerome for their first round matchup on October 31st at 2:00 pm. 

Playoff match up image from MHSAA.com.