View from the Corner Desk

Playoff football picks

Quite simply, the rotating desk of the sports section is in the back corner of the newsroom. Creative, I know. Renee Prusi has been the sports editor for awhile, and before that, served multiple functions for The MJ. Senior sports writer Craig Remsburg has been working at this newspaper for more years than I have been around. They’re both longtime fixtures at their desk.

The corner desk has always been the third party, the fulltimer. As is the nature of the industry, many people have passed through the corner over the years. During my time, they’ve ranged from Jon Sicotte, the first denizon, to Peter Pietrangelo, the last, with notables such as Mike Murray and Matt Hanson in the middle.

All have moved on. Sicotte is sports editor of a small newspaper in the thumb area downstate in Tuscola. Murray and his family are on a religious mission to Kyrgistan or some similar country that I can’t spell. Hanson runs a business in Ann Arbor. And my esteemed colleague, Pete, is sports editor in Houghton.

And Pete, brave soul that he is, makes his predictions in The Mining Gazette.I figure the least I can do is add to the noise on my blog.

Please understand I’m awful at this.

Division 3: Mount Pleasant (7-3) at Sault Ste. Marie (9-1) — The Sault may be critized for playing a schedule beneath its size, but the school seems to have some good athlete and coaching this year. But Mount Pleasant put up 691 yards of offense, and quarterback Nick Freeman accounted for 494 yards of that, the Gaylord Herald Times reports. Yikes. Pick: Gaylord Uh yea, that's Mount Pleasant I meant.

D4: Kingsford (7-3) at Ogemaw Heights (8-2) — Every year, Kingsford sets itself up to be in multiple must-win games just to make the playoffs. That’s because the Flivvers play an insanely difficult schedule. And why? So they’ll be battle tested in the playoffs. Kingsford may not win a state championship, but I’m not going to pick against them until given good reason. Pick: Kingsford

D5: Elk Rapids (8-2) at Menominee (10-0) — I’m sure Elk Rapids had a nice run and faced some quality teams in northwest lower Michigan. But I think you can guarantee they haven’t seen an opponent as tough as Menominee. Pick: Menominee

D6: Calumet (6-3) at Iron Mountain (9-1) — The Copper Kings improbably knocked off Marquette week 9 just to make the playoffs. Iron Mountain had ridden a balanced offense and strong defense, losing to just Kingsford. Calumet should make a good showing for itself, but I’m not convinced they can get by the Mountaineers playing at home. Pick: Iron Mountain

D7: Ishpeming (7-3) at Stephenson (7-3) — The Hematites may seem to be driven by Casey Hares (and his offensive lineman) alone, but QB Brad Waters proved he adds a dimension to the offense. Ishpeming’s defense, while down some, is still good. But can they stop Stephenson star QB Brent Parrett? They struggled to stop Cody Kangas. Of course, they won. I’m still giving an edge to the hosts here. Pick: Stephenson

D8: L’Anse (9-1) at Forest Park (9-1) — An intriguing matchup here. L’Anse, by most figuring, is hardly what you’d think of as a Division 8 school. All year, they were a Class A-B-C team in the U.P. poll. (Side note: Even the AP abandoned calling them by letters in ranking, as the state titles are divided by division in nearly every sport). They have good lines on offense and defense, and a good running game. Can this spell downfall for Forest Park? I doubt it. But I do think whichver team comes out of this game has a great chance at visiting Ford Field later this month. Pick: Forest Park

D8: Cedarville (10-0) at Central Lake (9-1) — What do we know about Cedarville? It beat North Dickinson twice. What else do we really need to know? But do we know about Central Lake? Well, I know nothing really. A trip to Michigan-football tells me they whipped Pickford and Fife Lake Forest Area. I guess I’ll choose the U.P. team on general principle. Pick: Cedarville

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