Christian's Cerebrations

North Branch Volleyball



This picture could very well represent North Branch this eveing as they venture to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep high school to take on the former Class B powerhouse Marysville. The Broncos which are the number one ranked team in Class B will take on ninth ranked Marysville at 7:00 p.m. Marysville won the Class B state title from 1997-2004 and again in 2006. This North Branch team is fun to watch, and dare I say may be a better all-around team then last year's semi-finalist.

Coach Jim Fish's team set a state record this year for their third consecutive year with 70+ wins. They are led by setter Jordan Fish and libero Catherine Bruise. Both girls are juniors, and will be back for more next year.


Millington Football


The Cardinal's will face another state-ranked team this Saturday taking on the fourth ranked Clare Pioneers. During this playoff season Millington has disposed of eigth ranked Carrollton and third ranked Ovid-Elsie.


Clare has never faced and Tri-Valley East school, and Millington has never faced a Jack Pine school. Clare has faced a few Tri-Valley schools. The Pioneers last to West member St. Charles in the 2006 playoffs, and they hold a 3-5 liftime record versus Central member Freeland. Clare is 0-3 in the playoffs against Tri-Valley teams.


Clare who has won the last three Jack Pine titles and eight out of ten, is led by senior south-paw quarterback Kris English. He has thrown for over 1,600 yards this year and 18 touchdowns. English is also a goal line threat on his feet, as is evidenced by his 13 rushing touchdowns. His favorite targets are cousin Matt English and Tyler Beatty. Matt English has caught 36 balls this year for 978 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has an impressive 27.2 yards per catch average. Beatty meanwhile has 32 receptions for 508 yards and 4 touchdowns. Clare is led defensively by senior defensive end Cameron Allen and his 140 tackles. Allen also has five sacks, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.


These teams did not have any common opponents this year, but Clare did defeat Pinconning who defeated Essexville-Garber who beat Millington. For a few pdf documents for a comparison of the two teams click here and here. The Pioneers will be the first primarily green team that Millington has faced since defeating Pinconning 44-20 in October of 1993.



Mix 92.1 will be broadcasting this game live from Midland High School with the pre-game starting at 12:30 p.m. and kickoff at 1:00 p.m. Let's Talk Sports will also be live from in front of the stadium at 10:00 a.m. We are planning to have an "ESPN College Game Day" type of show. So we are asking all fans to get to the game early and join us on the radio

Comments

Anonymous said…
Well Christian, any predictions? It appears a decent pass defense is in order this weekend.
Nov 18, 2009, 1:48:00 PM
Christian Selich said…
A decemt pass defense is going to be needed. I do not know if they will be able to stop the Cardinal ground attack. The Massey ratings say Clare 20 Millington 15, but I am going to say the opposite with Millington going to their first finals.
Nov 18, 2009, 2:19:00 PM
Andrew Selich said…
Can't wait for this one. Should be a good game. I like Millington's chances. Both times previously they've been this far the team has had to play Detroit Country Day (and we lost both).
I like the Clare team. Their offense is solid and the Pioneers defense has not allowed more than 100 points this season.
I'm picking Millington to win.
Millington 21, Clare 14.
Nov 19, 2009, 10:58:00 AM
Anonymous said…
And error free football for one more week? That goes a long way in h.s. football. Go Cards!
Nov 20, 2009, 7:47:00 AM
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