Marquette’s Austin Ridl, right, carries the ball while trying to evade a Traverse City Central tackler during a game in Traverse City on Sept. 2. (Traverse City Record-Eagle photo by Andrew Rosenthal)

UPSSA High School Football Polls

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This week’s U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association poll (with first-place votes, if any, record, total votes and last week’s poll position):

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11-PLAYER

1. Marquette (5) 3-1 25 3

2. Kingsford 3-1 16 1

3. Menominee 3-1 15 2

4. Sault Ste. Marie 3-1 12 4

5. Westwood 3-1 4 5

Others receiving votes: Gladstone (2-2) 3

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8-PLAYER

1. North Central (5) 4-0 25 1

2. Pickford 4-0 18 2

3. Forest Park 4-0 15 4

4. Rudyard 4-0 10 3

5. Ontonagon 3-1 4 —

Others receiving votes: Norway (3-1) 2, Munising (3-1) 1

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MARQUETTE — One game can make all the difference in the world, er, make that the Upper Peninsula.

That’s the case in this week’s high school football poll released today by the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

Marquette defeated Kingsford 55-34 in a good, old-fashioned shootout that featured more than 900 yards in offense, according to figures provided by Redmen coach Eric Mason.

It propelled MSHS from third place in the first UPSSA poll of the season last week into No. 1 this week, knocking the Flivvers from the top spot.

Both teams are 3-1 as the Redmen now have two Great Northern Conference victories and their only loss coming to MHSAA Division 2 top-10 team Traverse City Central, which was featured on Bally Sports Detroit on Friday evening in their game against intracity rival TC West.

While the Redmen are listed in Division 3 for when playoff time comes, the area’s other top-five team, Westwood, is expected to be in Division 6.

Yet the Patriots (3-1) were able to hold down the No. 5 spot in the 11-player poll for the second consecutive week after their 42-0 blanking of Ishpeming on Friday.

Westwood has decisive victories over Iron Mountain and Houghton with its loss to Calumet.

In eight-player, Munising replaced Newberry as the only area team listed after the Mustangs held off the Indians 30-12 on Thursday.

Newberry was fifth last week when it was still undefeated, while Munising (3-1) received one vote in this week’s polling to earn “honorable mention” status, three votes shy of No. 5 Ontonagon. The Gladiators are the only team not undefeated to crack an elite top-five for this sport in the U.P.

In 11-player games on Friday involving area teams playing ranked squads, No. 1 Marquette plays at honorable mention Gladstone and Manistique is at No. 5 Westwood.

In eight-player on Friday, Superior Central is at No. 2 Pickford, while Newberry is at No. 4 Rudyard.

State Associated Press polls weren’t available by Journal press time Monday night.

Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.