Tuscola County Sports

Thumb Top Five for Week 5 1. Millington (5-0): Another impressive win for the Cards, this one over No. 6-ranked Garber, 20-19. The Cards were down 13-0 at half before they came back to win. 2. Ubly (5-0): Bearcats are destroying everything in their path this season, and unfortunately for Brown City, they are in that path this week. 3. Cass City (5-0): The surprise story of the 2008 season, coach Cuthrell's Red Hawks are playing great football and winning games. 4. Deckerville (5-0): Too bad the Eagles have to play Ubly yet, or they might be looking at a 9-0 season. More evidence why the NCTL won't let them in. 5. Cros-Lex (4-1): Fell from No. 2 after losing to Almont last week. Only reason they didn't fall off is because Almont is REALLY GOOD!!

Mick McCabe's Week #5 rankings are now out. In the Monday edition of the Detroit Free Press , Millington has moved up two spots to #8 in Division 5. Ubly stays at #3 in Division 7, while Memphis enters the list at #10 in Division 7. Deckerville stays at #8 in Division 8. A few notable teams left off McCabe's list - Cass City and Dryden. We shall see if the AP shows anymore love to the Red Hawks and Cardinals come Tuesday. The AP rankings are out. Millington moves into the rankings to #9 in Division 5. Cass City gets some love from the Associated Press (but not from the Free Press) as they get into the Top Ten. The Red Hawks are ranked #9 in Division 6. Ubly not only stayed undefeated, but also stayed at #3 in Division 7. Deckerville moved up to #7 in Division 8. Millington is ranked #7 in The Flint Journal's Top Ten.

Week 5 is come and gone already. Here are Friday night's best players from Tuscola County. Akron-Fairgrove - Cory Jobsen 8-62 rushing with a TD Mayville - Nate Richardson 8-145 rushing and 13 tackles - Dylan Schenk 11 tackles and a rush TD Caro - Kyle Diaz 28-165 rushing with a TD - Tim Curtis 6-53 recieving Kingston - 20-429 rushing with 6 TDs along with 7 tackels and a fumble recovery Cass City - Austin Babich 5-101 rushing with a TD - Luke Newton 15-95 rushing with a TD - Blake Messing 18-90 rushing with a TD Reese - Mike Herbolsheimer 14-127 rushing - Luke Summerfield 4-141 receiving with 2 TDs - Josh Pickell 6-13 passing with 173 yards and 3 TDs along with 35 yards rushing Frankenmuth - Jacob Frank 16-115 rushing with 2 TDs - Matt McMeans 20-95 rushing with a TD Millington - Kyle Hemingway 21-95 rushing with a TD - Ken Hoffman 12 tackles with a sack - Tyler Reinert 101 all-purpose yards with a blocked punt - Josh Williams 4 tackles and 2 interceptions Vassar - Zach Ge

Thumb Power Rankings Team Power Points Millington 40.000 Deckerville 38.889 Cass City 38.333 Ubly 37.778 Memphis 37.222 Dryden 36.111 Marlette 35.000 Garber 34.444 Peck 33.333 Bridgeport 31.111 Reese 30.556 Bay City All Saints 28.889 Kinde-North Huron 28.333 Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port 26.111 Sandusky 26.111 Caro 25.556 Frankenmuth 25.556 Vassar 24.444 North Branch 23.889 Brown City 21.111 Birch Run 20.000 Harbor Beach 19.444 Mayville 19.444 Akron-Fairgrove 18.333 Bad Axe 18.333 Kingston 18.333 Unionville-Sebeawing Area 18.333 Carsonville-Port Sanilac 14.444 Owendale-Gagetown 12.222

Today, September 26, North Branch's Olivia Kohler was announced as a finalist for the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA) "Miss Volleyball" award. In the seventh year of the award, the winner will be announced after November 14. Kohler is a four-year starter and a two-time all-stater. She has averaged 2.60 assists, 1.48 kills, .88 aces and 2.55 digs for her career. She is also a three-year all-stater in track and is No. 1 in her class with a 4.045 GPA. She has committed to play volleyball at Grand Valley State. "Olivia is a 5'4" player with a 33" vertical jump. She can touch 9'5"," said North Branch Volleyball coach Jim Fish. "She will end up being second in state history in aces. She just does it all." Kohler has lead her Bronco teammates to a 32-1 record this season. The only loss coming to nationally ranked East Kentwood. The Lady Broncos are currently ranked #1 in Class B in the Michigan, and rank

Okay here is my mathetical solution to the Thumb power rankings. After finishing, I already need to make some tweaks to the formula, but I may wait until next year. Anyway, each team is awarded 50 points for every win and 5 points for each opponet win. Those two totals are added together and then divided by nine (or amount of games scheduled). I will probably have to make some exceptions for beating/losing a team in a different class/division. Anybody have any other solutions please let me know. I am trying to take the human element out of the process. These rankings include all teams from the Tri-Valley East, Greater Thumb East and West, and the North Central Thumb. Anyway, here are the rankings through Week #4. Thumb Power Rankings Team Power Points Millington 32.222 Garber 31.111 Cass City 30.556 Deckerville 30.556 Ubly 30.000 Memphis 29.444 Dryden 28.889 Marlette 27.222 Reese 27.222 BCAS 26.111 Peck 25.556 Bridgeport 23.333 Caro 22.778 Vassar 21.667 North Huron 20.000 Brown City 17

The Pregame for 09/26/2008 in now on-line. You can listen through the player above or download in iTunes or Zune Marketplace. Thanks for listening and enjoy.

Who's No. 1? Here's the first power five ranking for the Tuscola County Sports Blog site.... 1. Millington (4-0): Cards have faced the toughest schedule so far. A win over Garber this Friday night would only solidify the Cardinals grip on this spot. 2. Cros-Lex (4-0): The Pioneers have been dominating teams so far this season. Coach VanderMaas and his team face their toughest opponent so far this Friday night when they travel to 3-1 Almont. 3. Ubly (4-0): Bearcats seem to be everyone's favorite, but the fact is, they have not been challenged so far this season. Upcoming games against Vassar and Deckerville should clarify how good Ubly can be. 4. Cass City (4-0): Red Hawks have been impressive thus far in the season. Cass City still has games left against Reese, Vassar and Almont, so a 9-0 season would be very impressive. 5. Deckerville (4-0): The Eagles keep showing everyone why the NCTL won't let them in. Should be 6-0 when they face Ubly on 10/10. Another Po

I was lazy tonight and did not want to write anything more than this. I have recorded a short six minute podcast on Tuscola County football teams playoff chances and state rankings according to Mick McCabe at the Detroit Free Press. The AP Rankings came on today (09/23). Millington is still honorable mention in Division 5, Ubly #3 in Division 3 and Deckerville #7 in Division 8. Enjoy and thanks for listening.

Four weeks down to the high school football season, only one Tuscola County team has been eliminated from playoff contention. Here are your Friday's Freaks for Week 4. Reese - Mike Herbolsheimer - 38-188 rushing with a TD Vassar - Zach Germain - 9-21 passing with 124 yards and a TD with 42 yards rushing. Troy Hecht - 2-74 receiving with a TD Akron-Fairgrove - Matt Chorba - 19-72 rushing, 8 tackles, and a 93 INT return for a TD. Matt Chorba was also awarded the Player of the Night through the Saginaw News . Austin Rodriguez - 9-70 rushing with a TD and a safety. Eric Cunningham - 16 tackles Caro - Kyle Diaz - 21-183 rushing and a TD, Mike Greene 17 tackles and fumble recovery, Seth Kratz 18 tackles Millington - Kyle Hemingway - 33-136 rushing and a TD. Ken Hoffman - 14 tackles, 1 sack, 4 tackles for a loss and 2-20 receiving. Kingston - Raydar Williams - 16-76 rushing with a TD. Ron Godin - 14 tackles Owendale-Gagetown - Mike Boli - 20-107 rushing Mayville - Nate Richardson

Just added to the podcast player above or through iTunes or Zune Marketplace, Cass City Coach Scott Cuthrell and USA Coach Dave Bitzer postgame comments. Also, I interviewed USA Baseball Manager Jason Beagle at halftime. This interview is now on-line.

The pregame show for September 19 is now on-line. You can listen above or download through iTunes or Zune Marketplace.

After getting beat by Ubly 49-14 in week two, Marlette Head Coach Dennis Lester challenged his team to perform better. The team responded by beating eight ranked Reese by a score of 21-6. "We challenged them this week," said Lester. "If you saw our team last week and then this week, it was not the same team. The guys stepped up. This is a big win for our program." Marlette's defense stepped up to the challenge to holding the Reese offense to only six points. They were averaging 49 points per game. The defense also made the Rockets commit five turnovers, all coming on fumbles. "When you get turnovers, that changes the whole momentum," said Lester. "A lot of those were forced on our hits." "You have to possess the football to win, and we gave it away," commented Reese Head Coach Bob Saylor. After a scoreless first quarter, Marlette quarterback Jordan Hayward found receiver John Bishop in the end zone from 19 yards just two minu

Marlette Head Coach Dennis Lester comments on his team's performance following their 21-6 win over Reese on Friday night. The podcast is located in the player above or in iTunes or Zune Marketplace.

Hard to believe Week 3 had come and gone. Here are Week 3's Friday's Freaks. Cass City - Austin Babich - 3-76 rushing with 3 TD, Blake Messing - TD rush and 9 tackles, Lucas Varney - TD rush and 3 PAT's Mayville - Nate Richardson - 11-70 rushing and 11 tackles Millington - Tyler Reinert - 160 rushing with 3 TD and 182 passing with 1 TD, Ken Hoffman - TD rush and 7 tackles with 3 sacks Reese - Will Tack - 15-97 rushing with a TD Marlette - Jordan Hayward - 2 TD passing and a 60 yard fumble return for a TD Akron-Fairgrove - Corey Jobson 17-202 rushing with 2 TD, Matt Chorba 20-197 rushing with TD Vassar - Zach Germain - 18-65 rushing 2TD and 58 yards passing and 13 tackles Caro - Seth Kratz - 16-107 rushing with a TD, Brant Miller - 18-127 rushing, Caleb Sundblab - 2 TD passes, Michael Greene 10 tackles and a fumble recovery Frankenmuth - Matt McMeans - 25-182 rushing with a TD Kingston - Raydar Williams 15-99 rushing witha TD and 2 point conversion with 6 tackles,

I co-hosted The Male Room today with Doug Fisher of 1330 am WTRX in Flint. I have 3 segments podcasted in the player above or you can download through iTunes or Zune Marketplace.

The pregame show for September 12 is now on-line. Listen through the audio player above or click on the links above to download though iTunes or Zune Marketplace.

With Reese and Ubly going on scoring frenzies and still unbeaten, what does the future hold for these teams? Obviously the playoffs are in plain view for both teams but lets look past that. Where does the road end? or does it end at all? Lets take a peek at the remaining schedules for both teams. Reese- MARLETTE, VASSAR, @Cass City, LAKERS, @USA, BCAS, MT.MORRIS Ubly- MAYVILLE, @HarborBeach, VASSAR, @BrownCity, DECERVILLE, @ Sandusky, BADAXE There are a few question marks on the schedule for both teams here. Having seen both Cass City, and Vassar play, i am not quite willing to let the Rockets slide past both of these teams. Then, even though they are looking pretty down this season, there is always the SUGAR BOWL, on the road at USA. For Ubly I would say the two biggest tests are Vassar, and Harbor Beach. Deckerville also could possibly pose a threat but it's doubtful. The biggest thing with Vassar is the three headed monster that can run the ball (Crist, Vickers and Germain).

See The Detroit Free Press's Mick McCabe's Prep football rankings . Reese #9 and Ubly #3 in respective divisions.

FRANKENMUTH - In a game that saw North Branch gain over 370 yards in offense and score touchdowns on runs of 74 yards, 81 yards, and 56 yards, Frankenmuth would be victorious holding onto a slim lead as time expired. The Eagles took the opening kickoff and marched down the field to score on quarterback Matt Cramer's (25-123 rush 3 TD, 2-2 pass 38 yards) three yard plunge at the 6:36 mark. North Branch would only need 20 seconds to return the favor with running back Cody Stawecki (12-105 rush TD) taking the first play from scrimmage 74 yards for the touchdown. Frankenmuth held the ball for another 5 minutes until Matt McMeans (21-94 rush 1TD) took a pitch from Cramer to score from 7 yards out. When the 2nd quarter started, North Branch had only run 2 plays offensively. Things would not get much better for them as they would only run 4 more plays until having to punt away to Frankenmuth. After Cramer returned Jerome Sullivan's punt 15 yards, Frankenmuth took control once agai

Finally we are playing on a Friday, and we had a lot of great performances by our area student-athletes. Here we go: North Branch - Dion Cimini 312 all purpose yards, 15-232 on the ground with 2 TD Frankenmuth - Matt Cramer 25-119 rushing 3 TD, 2-2 passing 38 yds, 6 tackles 1 tfl Millington - Tyler Reinert 122 passing TD, and TD rushing Tyler Hemingway 31-162 rushing 2 TD Caro - Seth Kratz 20-116 rushing 2 TD USA - Tyler Masse 17-135 rushing 3 TD Reese - Chris Bauer 152 rushing 3 TD, a 2 point PAT, 6 PAT's and a defensive INT Cass City - Blake Messing 16-70 rushing 2 TD, 8 tackles Vassar - Zach Germain 2 TD rushing 1 TD passing Mayville - Nate Richardson 16-118 rushing, 8-16 passing TD 2INT, 15 tackles Frank Labadie 20 tackles Akron-Fairgrove - Kyle Winnie 2 TD passing, 7 tackles The Freak Nasty Player of the Week.....Once again a tie. North Branch's Dion Cimini and Reese's Chris Bauer have been named this week's Freak Nasty Player of the Week. Congratulations, gentlema

In case anyone missed it, I interviewed North Branch Volleyball Coach and AD Jim Fish yesterday during haftime of Franeknmuth win over North Branch. I have uploaded the audio as a podcast in the player above. Game story will follow this afternoon.

The Tuscola County Football Roundtable gathered once again to record the pregame show for Friday night. It is now on-line. Enjoy.

There is one automobile coming to Frankenmuth's AutoFest that the Eagles were not expecting. This auto does not have an internal combustion engine, and it only has about 29 horses. This auto piled up 300+ yards rushing last week in a 52-22 win over Imlay City. First year coach Steven Verburg looks to keep a perfect career record. He has two studs in Cody Stawecki and Dion Cimini looking to run wild on the Eagles. Stawecki and Cimini each rolled up 100+ yards and 6 combined touchdowns in last weeks win. The running backs and their Bronco teammates will look to hand Frankenmuth their 2nd straight loss and only the 2 loss ever to the Broncos. The Eagles and Coach John Blankenship have two advantages coming into this contest on Friday evening. The Eagles have only started 0-2 twice in the last 29 years, and as stated before the Eagles have an 18-1 career record against the Broncos. The Eagles also have a decisive scoring advantage scoring 33.0 points per game to the Broncos 9.8. Stawec

Zach Germain was selected as the Red Zone Player of the Week at Vassar High School. According to Assistant Coach Bill Germain, Germain was chosen because: He led team in Passing; 5 for 8 with 50 yds, Rushing; 10 carries for 154 yds 1 td, and Tackles 11 with a forced fumble. In a 36-21 Win. The Red Zone Player of the Year program is designed to recognize varsity high school football players showing outstanding athletic performance, strong leadership, and the will to win in the Red Zone. These players are selected on their ability to elevate their own game, as well as the game of their teammates. Every week, one player is selected as the Red Zone Player of the Week at each participating high school. At the end of the season, one player from each school will be nominated to represent their team for possible selection as a national finalist. From these local nominations, the Red Zone Player of the Year Awards Committee will select 50 finalists to be announced in USA Today in February 2008