Tuscola County Sports

UM vs MSU. Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that Michigan is going to demolish Michigan State this Saturday afternoon? The Sparty's started out the season on a high note, but losses over the last few weeks, especially the pathetic one last Saturday in Iowa, have taking some of the luster out of this week's game with the Wolverines. On the other hand, after back-to-back losses to open the season, UM has won seven in a row and looks poised to make a run at the Big Ten Title, which was nearly unfathomable two months ago. How the tide has changed! I have no doubt that once Mark Dantonio gets a few years under his belt and once he brings in his style of players after three or more years of recruiting, then and only then will Dantonio turn this program around. He has the swagger of a winner, and I believe that he will eventually take the Spartans to Pasadena. Just no this year. PICK: UM 38, MSU 14

Rockets falter in first round REESE - Bob Saylor thinks his team may have been eliminated by the eventual state champion. Only time will tell if Saylor is correct. The undefeated Rockets ran into a wall against Saginaw Nouvel in the opening round of the State Playoffs on Friday night. The Nouvel defense led the way, limiting the Rockets to just 20 yards of the offense in the first half and forced three turnovers in the Panthers 22-14 win in the Division 6 playoffs. Nouvel (6-3) moves on to face St. Charles (10-0); Reese is finished in the first round for the second straight season. "You never know with a team like Nouvel," Saylor said after the game. "They play a tough schedule, and they are always a tough team. "We just couldn't get anything going against their defense." Nouvel held Reese to just 15 offensive plays in the first twenty-four minutes of play, and the high-flying Rocket offense was held without a first-half first down for the first time in

Second Season starts Friday night. We have five area football teams from in and around the Tuscola County area playing this Friday night in the first round of the MHSAA state playoffs. Here's a closer look at the teams and the matchups , starting in Division 5. DIVISION 5 Montrose (8-1) at Millington (8-1): This one has the potential to the best matchup in the entire area. The Rams were the co-champions of the Genesee Area-Red Conference this season, lost just one game to 8-1 Lake Fenton , and were rewarded with a first-round road trip to Millington , where the Cardinals defeated the Rams in the second round of the 1999 playoffs. This will be the third time these two teams have met in the state playoffs (1992 and 2000 were the other years) and the Rams hold a 2-1 edge over the Cardinals. Montro se scored 325 points this year to 315 for Millington while the Rams held their opponents to 117 while the Cardinals surrendered 153. Coach Dennis Reinhart has led his team to two

Eagles are for real. Well, after watching Frankenmuth dismantle Millington on Friday night, it's safe to say that John Blankenship is without a doubt the best football coach in the area. They convinced me...my vote for the area's Top Ten number one team went to Frankenmuth and after a 23-8 win over the Cardinals on Friday, the Eagles are now tied for the number one team in the area with unbeaten Reese. F'muth not only won the game...they were dominant! Blankenship's defense completely shutdown the Cards, sacked quarterback Dustin Griesing five times, forced him out of the pocket numerous times and rushed seemingly every pass attempt by the Millington senior. The Cardinals had no answer for the Frankenmuth 'D'...the only decent play for the Cards was their touchdown. The Eagles 'D' was relentless in the first quarter so in the second, Millington came out in a five-wide, no running back spread. Griesing took the snap and threw a screen to Garrett Stie

Sugar Bowl XIV. Friday's matchup between USA and Reese is the 14th Annual Sugar Bowl, with more at stake this year because if the Patriots pull off the upset, they also get a share of the GTW title. Reese, who has already clinched at least a share of the title, would like nothing more than to deny the 'Pats a share by not only winning the game but by really sticking to the Pats. A USA loss would mean that it would be do-or die for USA in their last game of the season. They would need to win against Pinconning in order to make the playoffs, which was also the case a year ago when the Spartans denied USA the win and thus kept from the extra round. A good rivalry. There is a mutual respect between these two schools that makes this a good rivalry. Even though USA has dominated the Sugar Bowl ( 9 wins to 4 for Reese) the overall record in this series is something like 21-17 in favor of the Patriots. When you talk to both of the coaches from these schools, you can tell that

Here it is. Well, it's here...the game that everyone around here has been looking forward to all season long. Frankenmuth at Millington. Both teams are 7-0 (6-0 TVC-E) and the Cardinals and the Eagles could not be more evenly matched. They have the exact same number of playoff points (85.714) at this point of the season; both teams blew out Vassar and held the Vulcans without a defensive TD (kickoff return against the Eagles and punt return vs the Cards); both teams blew out Bridgeport and North Branch. And both teams had to play their best to hold off Garber (Muth won 17-7 at Muth while Millington won 20-14 at Garber). One game where things were different was when both played Birch Run. Muth had to use a last minute field goal to win 23-20 while Millington blew out the Panther 45-17, both games played in Birch Run. The game also has the best storylines associated with any game in the area. Roger Bearss, who was the Frankenmuth head varsity football coach from 2001-05, is now