After getting a handoff from Negaunee quarterback Kyle Waterman, top center in background, the Miners’ Mason Swenor looks for daylight and also to get tackled by Kingsford's Jack Olson, center, during their West PAC game played at Miner Stadium in Negaunee on Sept. 19. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — In what is absolutely no surprise, the “cream” — otherwise known as undefeated teams — rises to the top of the weekly Upper Peninsula high school football polls conducted by the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association and released each Tuesday.

Between 11-player and eight-player versions of the sport, the U.P.’s four teams without a blemish in their records occupy the top spots in those polls.

There’s only one left in 11-player, so it wasn’t hard to make Menominee (7-0) a unanimous No. 1 with all five first-place votes and 25 voting points.

The Maroons solidified their hold on the top spot with a convincing 40-12 home win over Negaunee on Friday, actually the second closest victory Menominee has had this season. Its closest was a 25-15 win at Calumet on Sept. 19, with wins of at least 40 points over Westwood, Houghton, Gladstone and Marinette, Wisconsin. There was also a forfeit win over Hancock.

Escanaba (6-1), which was No. 1 in the U.P. last week, fell from the ranks of the unbeatens with a narrow 34-30 home loss to undefeated Gaylord in its tough Big North Conference. The Eskymos now occupy No. 2 in the U.P. rankings with 20 poll points.

Gaylord has eked through what is now five one-score victories, the closest a 28-27 overtime win at home over Marquette on Sept. 13. The Blue Devils also beat North Branch and Kingsley by seven points and Petoskey by six.

Kingsford (6-1) remained No. 3 with 14 points after a 42-0 shutout of Westwood, which returned to playing after forfeiting the previous week vs. Negaunee.

Calumet (5-2) held onto No. 4 with eight points after getting the week off when Hancock forfeited, while Bark River-Harris (5-1) moved into the No. 5 slot from the “others receiving votes” list by dropping Iron Mountain 38-14.

Marquette (4-3) moved back to receiving votes, three of them this week, after winning for the third time in four weeks with a 27-17 home win over Petoskey.

And Negaunee (4-3) fell from No. 5 to barely making the “others” list with one point after the loss to Menominee.

Eight-player is quite competitive at the top with three unbeatens still lurking around the U.P.

Norway (7-0), which defeated former No. 1 Pickford two weeks earlier, is still a solid No. 1 after a 34-14 victory over former top-five Newberry (5-2).

The Knights earned four of the five first-place votes and a near-perfect 24 voting points.

Gogebic-Bessemer (7-0) got the other first-place vote and 21 points with a 42-12 win over current No. 5 Lake Linden-Hubbell (5-2), which received four voting points.

North Dickinson (7-0) is the remaining undefeated in the U.P. and No. 3 in eight-player with 14 points after winning on forfeit over Carney-Nadeau.

Pickford (5-1) held its No. 4 spot with 12 points by downing Munising 55-6.

And Cedarville-DeTour (6-1) earned votes, two of them, to comprise the “others” list after a 48-28 triumph over downstate Peck.

In the Associated Press statewide polls that are also released on Tuesdays, no area teams made the listings.

Around the U.P., Menominee is tied for second in 11-player Division 7, even with Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (6-1) as they are only behind No. 1 Pewamo-Westphalia (6-0).

BR-H is 11th in Division 8, just one vote behind No. 10 Decatur (5-2).

In eight-player, Norway is tied for second with Martin (7-0) in Division 1 as the Knights did receive one first-place vote. Indian River Inland Lakes (7-0) is at the top and received the other four first-place votes.

Bessemer-Gogebic is fifth and Pickford sixth.

In Division 2, North Dickinson is fourth behind No. 1 Deckerville (7-0), No. 2 Mendon (7-0) and No. 3 Onekama (7-0). Cedarville-DeTour is tied for 10th and LL-H is 12th, three points out of 10th.

Games this week, the second-to-last week of the regular season, include five at 7 p.m. EDT Friday — Ishpeming at Newberry, Negaunee at Houghton, Westwood at Hancock, Munising at Indian River Inland Lakes and Manistique at Iron Mountain.

On Saturday, Superior Central is at Carney-Nadeau at noon EDT, while Marquette travels to Cadillac for a 6 p.m. game.

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