Local Sports

Shaken up, not stirred: Negaunee, Forest Park tumble out of U.P. top 5 after losses

Negaunee, Forest Park tumble out of U.P. top 5 after losses

MARQUETTE -- A couple of upsets -- one involving Negaunee -- have shaken up the final weekly Upper Peninsula high school football polls of the season conducted by the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

A 21-20 loss at Iron Mountain last Thursday night knocked the Miners from the No. 3 position in last week's 11-player rankings right into the "others receiving votes" list in the polls released Tuesday.

The same thing happened to Forest Park, which had been No. 3 in eight-player until a 55-36 setback at North Central on Friday night also pushed the Trojans down to the "others" list.

The good news for Negaunee is that even with a record of 5-4, last week's loss didn't prevent the Miners from making the MHSAA playoffs, a much more important proposition than where they are in any UPSSA poll, even the final one of the season.

As the No. 3 seed in its four-team district, Negaunee opens Division 5 play at downstate Shepherd (7-2) at 7 p.m. Friday, narrowly missing a return engagement with district No. 1 seed Kingsford (9-0) this week.

Being at the top, the Flivvers drew the lowest-ranked district team, Howard City Tri County (5-4). The Miners had 40.556 playoff points while Howard City has 38.222.

Forest Park, on the other hand, is nowhere to be seen on the eight-playoff playoff list, apparently that final loss leaving the Trojans on the outside looking in despite a 6-3 record.

Forest Park's misfortune may have also spurred Ishpeming (7-2) into getting back in the eight-player top-five list. The Hematites moved from the "others" list to No. 5 after a 48-16 home victory over Munising on Friday, giving Ishpeming the best record of any area team when looking at both eight- and 11-player.

The Hematites open the playoffs at Rudyard (7-2) in Division 1 at 7 p.m. Friday. The Bulldogs earned votes for the first time this season, though it was short of what Ishpeming received in the last top-five position.

One other area team is also in the top five. Marquette (6-3) in 11-player moved up one spot to No. 3, the Sentinels and Bark River-Harris (7-2) each moving up a position after Negaunee's fall.

MSHS lost to unanimous U.P. No. 1 Kingsford at the Flivvers' field 42-26 on Friday, but still got in the Division 3 playoffs, drawing a road game as a No. 3 team in its district at fellow Big North Conference member Cadillac (7-2) at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Sentinels defeated Cadillac 33-27 on Sept. 19 as Marquette has drawn a Lower Peninsula member of that conference for its third consecutive playoff appearance coming over the past four seasons.

Last year in the playoffs, the Sentinels lost a tough one at Gaylord, 38-34, while in 2023, MSHS fell at Petoskey 26-7.

Meanwhile, this fall Marquette swept through and won the Big North with an unblemished 6-0 mark.

Looking at the rest of the U.P. 11-player poll, Menominee (8-1) held on unanimously to No. 2 with a 38-30 win over BR-H (7-2), which like Marquette bumped up one spot despite taking a loss against a highly regarded team.

From receiving no votes a week earlier, Iron Mountain (7-2) moved into No. 5 with its home win over Negaunee.

And Calumet (6-3) stopped receiving votes this week despite a 50-8 win over L'Anse (4-5), which was the only U.P. team to qualify for the playoffs with a losing record.

The Purple Hornets open in Division 8 with a game at BR-H at 7 p.m. EDT Friday.

In eight-player, Lake Linden-Hubbell (9-0) held onto its iron -- i.e., unanimous -- lock on the No. 1 position with a 42-24 home victory over Ontonagon on Saturday.

Pickford (7-2) continued at No. 2 following a 62-6 home win over Onaway on Friday.

St. Ignace (8-1) and North Central (7-2) tied for the third spot after the Saints were No. 4 a week earlier and NC was at No. 5.

St. Ignace outscored Central Lake 62-40 on Thursday, while North Central also won a high-flying 55-36 home decision over Forest Park.

Also, Rudyard took down Cedarville 46-6 on the road Friday to net its first instance receiving votes.

In The Associated Press statewide polls released Tuesday, Ishpeming just missed the top 10 in 11th place with two votes in eight-player Division 1, while this Friday's opponent, Rudyard, is tied for the ninth and 10th spots with downstate Marlette.

Those three schools were all tied for 10th a week ago.

Kingsford bumped up one position to No. 4 in Division 5 in 11-player, and the Flivvers are closer to co-No. 1's Grand Rapids Catholic Central and GR West Catholic than they are to the team just behind them, No. 5 Saginaw Swan Valley.

Kingsford, which received one first-place vote, has 39 voting points, while No. 3 Frankenmuth has 42 and the two Grand Rapids teams, each getting two first-place votes, have 44 apiece. In contrast, Swan Valley has just 24 points.

Also in Division 5, Negaunee's Friday opponent Shepherd received one vote and was outside the top 10.

In Division 7, Menominee held steady at No. 2 while receiving two first-place votes as No. 1 Pewamo-Westphalia (8-0) earned three No. 1 ballots.

In Division 8, Bark River-Harris is ninth, though its record is listed incorrectly at 8-1, while Iron Mountain is the second team outside the top 10, in effect, No. 12.

In eight-player, Pickford is No. 8 in Division 1 with Rudyard No. 9 and Ishpeming 11th.

In Division 2, LL-H is No. 2 and receiving two first-place votes. No. 1 Mendon (9-0) got the other three top ballots as St. Ignace is No. 6 and North Central No. 10.

Story contents based on an email received from the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association and an examination of the MHSAA website at www.mhsaa.com. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.