In addition, Newberry made something of a lateral move in the eight-player voting, going from fifth place alone to a tie for fifth with Lake Linden-Hubbell.

All this shifting for area teams occurred after all three posted decisive victories over competition probably not deemed of the highest quality on Friday.

Negaunee (3-2) is back in fifth place with three voting points after going on the road to dispatch winless Hancock 44-0, while Marquette (3-2) just missed the first five with two voting points after dumping equally unvictorious Sault Ste. Marie 48-6 for its Homecoming.

Newberry (4-1) earned three voting points in the eight-player poll after dropping Engadine (1-4) 56-0.

Several Calumet defenders are hot on the trail of Negaunee quarterback Kyle Waterman, No. 4 with ball at center, as he would gain several yards in their West PAC football game played at Miner Stadium in Negaunee on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Menominee (5-0) took over the No. 1 spot from Escanaba (5-0) in 11-player rankings despite both teams remaining undefeated.

The Maroons dropped Houghton (2-3) 56-12 on Friday, the same time as the Eskymos dumped Cheboygan (2-3) 42-13. Last week, Escanaba received four of the six first-place votes and had a two-point voting edge on Menominee; this week with only five voters available, the Maroons earned three first-place votes and a one-point edge on EHS.

Kingsford (4-1) held at No. 3 with 15 points and Calumet (3-2) at No. 4 with nine points after they played each other on Friday, the Flivvers emerging with a narrow 17-15 victory.

Previous No. 5 Bark River-Harris (3-1) fell into the “others receiving votes” category with just one vote after suffering its first loss, a 49-0 shellacking at the hands of Division 7 powerhouse Pewamo-Westphalia (5-0) on Friday. Despite the lopsided score, it was the second-closest game the Lower Peninsula team has played this season.

In eight-player, previous No. 2 Norway (5-0) took over the No. 1 spot in a unanimous vote after somehow bludgeoning previous unanimous No. 1 Pickford (4-1) 44-6 on Friday.

The Panthers tumbled to fourth with 12 votes, while the Knights have a perfect 25 votes.

Between them, Gogebic-Bessemer (5-0) and North Dickinson (5-0) moved up a position to Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.

Gogebic-Bessemer, getting 17 votes, downed Ontonagon 60-6 on Saturday, while the Nordics, with 15 votes, outscored Rapid River 64-38 on Friday.

LL-H (4-1) shares the fifth spot with Newberry as each has three votes, even with the Lakes unable to play as Forest Park forfeited.

No other eight-player schools were listed as receiving votes.

In the Associated Press polls broken down by MHSAA divisions, last week’s was released on Tuesday afternoon, a change from the Wednesday releases that had happened previously.

In those polls, two area schools appeared. L’Anse, not even a vote-getter in the UPSSA rankings, is tied for 12th with Iron Mountain, another non-UPSSA listed squad, in 11-player Division 8. Each had three votes.

In eight-player, Newberry made it into 14th place in Division 1 with two votes.

A number of other U.P. schools also made the rankings.

In 11-player, Escanaba is 13th in Division 4, Calumet is 15th in Division 6, Menominee is fourth in Division 7 and BR-H is tied for seventh in Division 8.

In eight-player, Pickford previous to its loss to Norway was a near-unanimous No. 1 in Division 1, getting four of five first-place votes, while Norway was No. 4 and Gogebic-Bessemer No. 7.

In Division 2, North Dickinson was No. 4 and LL-H No. 11.

In this week’s games involving area teams, most are at 7 p.m. EDT Friday, including Westwood at Negaunee, Marquette at Escanaba, Newberry at Munising, Ishpeming at Norway, Superior Central at Rapid River, and Bark River-Harris at L’Anse.

At 1:30 p.m. EDT Saturday is Manistique at West Iron County.

Story contents based on email received from U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.