Sunday, November 7, 2010

Lansing Sexton still standing

Lansing Sexton is the lone Mountie foe still playing in the post season.

Sexton won its second playoff game Friday, beating Battle Creek Pennfield, 47-14.

This week, Sexton will face Edwardsburg from the southwest corner of the state.

Two other Northwest regular-season opponents lost during Friday's second-round playoffs.

Mason fell to DeWitt, 24-14, while St. Johns got blanked by Mount Pleasant, 28-0.

It was Week 5 of the regular season when Lansing Sexton beat Northwest, 45-0. Watching Sexton roll through the playoffs takes a little of the sting out of that loss.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

MLive's playoff brackets make it easy to follow teams

MLive has playoff brackets for all eight divisions of prep football.

Click here to see them.

It's the easiest way to stay on top of who the teams are playing as the playoffs progress.

Here is who regular-season Mountie foes Lansing Sexton, Mason and St. Johns play during the second round of playoffs (according to MLive):

St. Johns vs. Mount Pleasant (Division 3).

Mason vs. DeWitt (Division 3).

Lansing Sexton vs. Battle Creek Pennfield (Division 4).

Friday, October 29, 2010

Mountie opponents go 3-1 in first round of playoffs

If it's any consolation, Lansing Sexton beat Vicksburg tonight in the first round of the playoffs by a score of 48-0. (see the score and playoff bracket here on MLive).

In Week 5, Sexton beat Northwest 45-0.

Before tonight, Vicksburg was 6-3.

Overall, of Northwest's four opponents that made it to the playoffs, three won tonight.

In addition to Sexton, which competes in Division 4, here are the scores:

Mason 28, Fowlerville 3 (Division 3)

St. Johns 27, G.R. Forest Hills Eastern 24 (Division 3)

Williamston 58, Lansing Catholic 24 (Division 4)

Lansing Catholic had been 9-0 before tonight, including its season-opening win over Northwest.

Obviously, the Williamston Hornets were on a mission. The only game they lost this year during the regular season was against Lansing Catholic.

Williamston has a good shot at going all of the way. Last season, they lost to eventual state champs Marshall and they turned out to be the only team in the tournament to give Marshall much of a game.

The Hornets are an old Northwest foe, holding a 4-2 series edge over the Mounties. Given the strength of Williamston's program these days, I wouldn't encourage Northwest to add them back to the schedule any time soon.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Four Northwest opponents are playoff-bound

In the end, the Mounties did indeed play a challenging schedule in 2010.

One opponent, Lansing Catholic, finished the regular season undefeated, and two (Sexton and Mason) had one loss.

St. Johns had two losses but, of course, is still headed to the playoffs.

Here is who those four teams play this week in the first round of the playoffs:

- Lansing Catholic vs. Williamston

- Sexton vs. Vicksburg

- Mason vs. Fowlwerville

- St. Johns vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern

And, here is the final regular-season record of Northwest's nine opponents in 2010:

- Lansing Catholic (9-0)
- St. Johns (7-2)
- Owosso (3-6)
- Belleville (5-4)
- Sexton (8-1)
- Mason (8-1)
- Waverly (3-6)
- Jackson High (3-6)
- Western (2-7)

These records are according to michigan-football.com.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Proud of the kids

“We’ve got some good kids, and I’m proud of them,” Northwest coach Eddie Cobb told the Jackson Citizen Patriot tonight after the Mounties' 41-0 win over Western.

Northwest finishes the season 1-8.

Read the Citizen Patriot story here.

MLive box score and game stats here.

Good to see Coach Barrett

I wrote yesterday that I planned to attend my first Northwest game since I last played 21 years ago.

The game was on the road, so I didn't necessarily expect to see anyone I knew.

I walked in with my mother and my daughter and, not 20 paces in, we ran into Coach Barrett.

Joe Barrett played for Northwest in the late 1970s and returned in 1987 to coach my JV team. We went 5-4 that year (although it should have been 6-3 but I muffed a field goal on the last play of the game against Columbia Central -- a not-so-fond memory that coach and I revisited Friday).

Barrett was the assistant varsity coach under Duane Kaiser during my senior year in 1989 and then he took over the program in 1990 and ran it for much of the decade.

His 1993 squad was one of only two since 1980 to go 7-2 (The other being the 1982 team).

Seeing him again made me realize that, while the Northwest football program has its challenges, the game and the memories that live on still mean a lot to those who suit up.

The connections made through hours of practice and the intense focus of the games are deep.

That was obvious to me tonight. It didn't feel like it had been 21 years since I last saw Coach Barrett. In no time, we were each ticking off names, games and even plays (such as the infamous missed field goal) that we both remembered.

Northwest may not have the strongest football tradition, but it's there and it lives on within the individuals who once played the game and with those, such as coaches, parents and fans, who shared a close connection.

Northwest football archive: 2010 season

The 2010 season
1 win
8 losses

L, 20-49 -- Aug. 27: Lansing Catholic Central (H)
L, 7-34 -- Sept. 3: St. Johns (A)
L, 14-30 -- Sept. 10 –- Owosso (A)
L, 6-24 -- Sept. 17 –- Belleville (H)
L, 0-45 -- Sept. 24 -- Lansing Sexton (A)
L, 0-49 -- Oct. 1 – Mason (H)
L, 16-18 -- Oct. 8 -- Lansing Waverly (A)
L, 20-35 -- Oct. 15 -- Jackson High (H)
W, 41-0 -- Oct. 22 -- Western (A)

Head coach: Eddie Cobb

Friday's 41-0 win was Mounties first shutout over Western since 1978

The last time Northwest shut out Western was in 1978.

The score of that game was 14-0.

See the Rivals Archive for details.

Tonight's win was Northwest's eighth straight over Western.

The Mounties' record over the Panthers now improves to 25-17-2.

The last shutout in a Northwest-Western game occurred in 1986 when the Panthers blanked the Mounties 12-0.

Grant Wedgwood rushes for 222 yards in victory over Western

MLive's stats are in and Grant Wedgwood did in fact have a huge night.

Thirty carries for 222 yards.

See MLive stats here.

Northwest beats Western, 41-0

The Jackson Northwest Mounties avoided a winless season by beating rival Western in dominating fashion Friday, 41-0.

The Mounties scored early, led 21-0 at halftime and never looked back.

Stats haven't yet been posted but, from the stands, it was clear that Grant Wedgwood had a big game.

Congrats to the Mounties on the big win.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Watching the Mounties

I haven't been to a Northwest football game since I played my last contest against Williamston in 1989.

But I'm planning to end that streak Friday when I attend the season finale against Western.

I'm looking forward to watching the Mounties play, even if it has been a difficult season.

And, as I posted earlier, I'm pretty confident they'll win this one.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Here's my prediction...

The Massey computer has spoken and I think it's right that Northwest will win Friday.

Although Western has two wins, they are against opponents with a combined record of 0-16.

I do think Massey may be a little overly optimistic about the Panthers' offense.

The Jackson Citizen Patriot reported that they gained just one first down last week.

Meanwhile, we know the Mounties -- Grant Wedgwood specifically -- can run the ball.

My pick:

Northwest 36, Western 6

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Massey predicts Northwest victory over Western

Massey Ratings is predicting Northwest will beat Western Friday by a score of 29-15.

See it here.

It's the third time this season the computer has picked the Mounties to win.

Let's hope it's right this time.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Avoiding a winless season

As rough as the Mountie football program has had it over the years, the school has only had three winless seasons: 1984, 1986 and 2002.

That's according to the stats on michigan-football.com, which form the backbone of the scores on this blog.

(See The Archive here).

The Mounties have played some tough football teams this year. Four of them -- Lansing Catholic (8-0), Lansing Sexton (7-1), Mason (7-1) and St. Johns (6-2) -- are headed to the playoffs.

A fifth opponent -- Belleville -- is one win away from making the playoffs.

If the Northwest team shows up ready to play Friday, there's no reason the players can't secure a win -- and their eighth straight against Western.

Western, Northwest's season-finale opponent, is 2-6

Western lost to Ida on Friday night, 54-14, according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

Read the story here.

The Cit Pat reported that the Panthers only had 22 yards of total offense and one first down. Western's two scores came on kick off returns.

Western's two wins this season have come against opponents -- Erie Mason and Albion -- that have combined records of 0-16 this season.

The Mounties have one chance to record a win this year. It looks like they've got a good opportunity.

The last time Northwest lost to Western was 2002. That's also the last time the Mounties went 0-9 for a season. Western won that game 13-12.

Friday's game between Northwest and Western will be the 44th meeting between the schools. The Mounties lead the series 24-17-2.

Grant Wedgwood rushes for 169 yards in loss to Jackson

Grant Wedgwood carried the ball 32 times for 169 yards in Friday's 35-20 loss to Jackson High.

See the Jackson Citizen Patriot story and video here.

Cit Pat photo gallery here.

MLive's game stats and box score here.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Jackson High beats Northwest, 35-20

Northwest jumped to a 7-0 lead but then got out-scored badly in the second and third quarters in Friday night's loss at home to Jackson High, according to MLive's High School Sports page.

The final was Jackson 35, Northwest 20.

The Mounties matched their best offensive output of the season with 20 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter.

See MLive's box score here.

Northwest falls to 0-8 on the season while Jackson High improves to 2-6.

Next week, the Mounties wrap up the season at Western, which was 2-5 going into tonight's game against Ida.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Massey: The game is getting closer

Don't ask me, I have no idea how the Massey Ratings computer works.

But now it is predicting a score of Jackson High 22, Northwest 15.

On my earlier post, it had Northwest scoring 14.

Either way, it doesn't matter, the computer is rarely right.

Last week it had Northwest losing by two touchdowns and the Mounties ended up falling by just 2 points.

Here's hoping for a good game Friday at Mountie Stadium.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Massey Ratings predicts close game against Jackson High

The Massey Ratings computer, for what it's worth, is calling for a one-touchdown game between Northwest and Jackson High on Friday at Mountie Stadium.

The computer predicts the score will be Jackson High 22, Northwest 14.

Of course, last week Massey predicted a two-touchdown loss and it turned out to be a 2-point game.

Does that mean we're in for a 1-point game this week?

A Mountie victory would be the team's first win over Jackson High since 1974. The score that year? 7-6.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Jackson High heads to Mountie Stadium in Week 8

The Jackson High Vikings are 1-6, but like Northwest they are playing against very tough competition.

On Friday, Jackson lost to undefeated Grand Ledge, 45-21. (Here's the Cit Pat story).

The Mounties and the Vikings will be meeting for the 14th time.

Northwest won the first two games (1973 and 1974) while the Vikings are taken each one since.

See the Rivals Archive for the scores, which come from michigan-football.com.

The last meeting at Mountie Stadium, in 2008, was a 22-21 thriller with Northwest missing a 2-point conversion with 1:03 left to play. (Here's the Cit Pat story for that game).

Last year, the Vikings handled Northwest at Withington, 38-20. (Here's the Cit Pat story).

Just for fun, I have one other Northwest-Jackson High story archived. It's from the Leslie Local on the 1985 season-opener at Withington. Jackson won but it was a close one. (Here's the link.)

A quick by-the-numbers of the rivalry:

6 -- the number of games decided by one touchdown or fewer.
3 -- the number of shutouts (all won by Jackson High).
2 -- the number of 1-point games.

Northwest's second-half comback falls short in loss to Waverly

The Mounties trailed 12-0 at halftime but made a comeback in the second half, according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot and MLive.

The effort fell short as Northwest lost to Waverly, 18-16.

Here's the Cit Pat story.

Here's the box score.

While it goes down as another loss, there is a silver lining to an effort such as this.

When a team is 0-6 and trailing 12-0 at halftime, the squad could easily fold up its tent and call it a season.

The Mounties didn't do that. They made a push in the second half and nearly won the game, coming closer to victory then they have all season.

Now, there are two games remaining, both against local rivals: next week at home against Jackson High and the season finale Oct. 22 at Western.

More on both of those schools later.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Jackson Northwest narrowly loses to Lansing Waverly, MLive says

Lansing Waverly beat Jackson Northwest tonight by a score of 18-16, according to MLive's High School Sports page.

Here's the link.

Check the Jackson Citizen Patriot's MLive copy in a little bit for a story.

I'll link to it when I see it.

With the loss, the Mounties fall to 0-7. They host Jackson High at home next week.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Massey Ratings predicts Waverly will beat Northwest

Lansing Waverly will beat Northwest by two touchdowns, the Massey Ratings computer predicts.

The Massey website says the score will be Waverly 29, Northwest 16.

The game is Friday at Waverly.

See the Massey prediction here.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

For Northwest, the season begins now

What do you say after back-to-back losses by a combined score of 94-0?

About all you can say is that the new season begins today.

The Mounties (0-6) have come through a gauntlet of tough foes (Lansing Catholic is 6-0, St. Johns is 5-1, Lansing Sexton is 6-0 and Mason is 5-1; Belleville and Owosso, the two most beatable teams in the first six games, are both much improved this year and are currently 3-3).

So while, yes, Northwest is winless, the truth is they are playing some teams that they probably shouldn't be playing.

Now, on to those final three games.

Next up is an away game at Lansing Waverly, which is 1-5. Waverly's one win, however, is a 35-18 victory over Owosso.

In Week 8, the Mounties play their final home game against Jackson High. The Vikings are also 1-5.

The season finale is on the road against Western, which fell to 2-4 on Friday night after giving up 26 fourth-quarter points and losing to Leslie, 46-34. (Read the Cit Pat story here.)

It's been a tough season for the Mounties. But if they can keep their spirits up, and know that they've faced some excellent football teams this year, they could still capture some wins.

Mason jumped to early lead in win over Northwest

Mason scored twice Friday before Northwest's defense even took the field, the Jackson Citizen Patriot reports.

Read the Cit Pat story here.

Grant Wedgwood was held to 54 yards on 17 carries.

Read the game stats and box score here.

Friday, October 1, 2010

49-point win is largest ever in 21 meetings between Northwest and Mason

Mason's 49-0 victory tonight over Northwest is the largest win for either school in their 21-game series.

Click here for the series history.

It was only the second shutout ever in the series. In 2000, Mason beat Northwest, 21-0.

The two schools first played each other in 1975. Northwest won that game, 15-14.

The year 2000 was also the last time the Mounties were shutout two weeks in a row. It happened twice that season, in which Northwest finished 1-8.

Last week, Lansing Sexton beat the Mounties, 45-0.

Mason beats Northwest, 49-0

Mason topped Northwest, 49-0, tonight, according to MLive's high school sports page.

According to the box score, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-point first-quarter lead and then coasted from there.

Mason improves to 5-1 on the season while the Mounties drop to 0-6.

Next week, Northwest travels to Lansing Waverly, which was 1-4 going into tonight's game against St. Johns.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Massey predicts Mason win over Northwest

For what it's worth, the Massey Ratings computer predicts Mason (4-1) will beat Northwest (0-5) by a score of 39-12.

Here's the link.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. Friday at Mountie Stadium.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Northwest to face Mason for 21st time

Friday's contest between Northwest and Mason will be the 21st meeting of the two teams.

The Mounties have only played Western, Eaton Rapids and Lumen Christi more times.

See The Rivals here.

Northwest last beat Mason in 2007.

Although the Bulldogs have had the upper hand in recent years, the series started out extremely competitive.

Each of the first seven contests was decided by a touchdown or less. Four of those seven games was decided by 1 point.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Mason heads to Northwest for Week 6 contest

Mason lost its first game of the year Friday, 32-30, to St. Johns.

Here's the Lansing State Journal story.

The Bulldogs (4-1) will obviously be looking to bounce back when they head to Northwest (0-5) on Friday night.

On paper, Mason is the toughest opponent left on the Mounties' schedule.

In Week 7, Northwest will travel to Lansing Waverly, which is 1-4 (its only win is over Owosso).

In Week 8, they host their final home game of the year -- against Jackson High, which won its first game Friday, beating Lansing Everett 20-6. Read the Jackson Citizen Patriot story here.

For the season finale, the Mounties head to Western (2-3), which lost Friday to Columbia Central, 26-16. Read the Jackson Citizen Patriot story here.

Heading for Gold

In August, I noted the Jackson Citizen Patriot story about the Capital Area Activities Conference realignment that will move Northwest to the Gold Division.

Last night's score against Lansing Sexton re-enforces what a good idea that is.

Sexton has now won four in a row over Northwest by a combined score of 135-21.

Mason is also moving to the Gold, so the Mounties won't be without difficult games.

But opponents such as Eaton Rapids and Charlotte ought to make for more competitive contests than Sexton and St. Johns, against whom the Mounties have now lost six in a row.

When Duane Kaiser took back charge of the Northwest program in 1986, one of the first things he did was get Lumen Christi off the schedule.

Some people scoffed at that and said we were avoiding a natural crosstown rival simply because they were too tough.

The other school of thought was why schedule games you have no chance of winning (Northwest is 0-23 against Lumen Christi).

I'm not saying Northwest could never beat Sexton or St. Johns. But clearly the program is at a point where the players could use opponents who are more their speed.

In my senior year in 1989, the toughest team we played was Charlotte (we lost 14-0). They're looking like a softy compared to some of the teams the Mounties have faced this year.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Last time Northwest was shutout was 2007 -- also by Sexton

Tonight's 45-0 loss to Lansing Sexton (5-0) was the first time the Mounties have been shutout since 2007 when Sexton beat Northwest 26-0.

It is the Mounties' worst defeat since 2005 when Ionia topped Northwest 49-0. (If you click the link you'll see that the Mounties gave up 40 points or more in six games that year).

But even in tonight's difficult contest, Grant Wedgwood still managed to gain 89 yards on 25 carries, according to MLive's High School Sports page.

Wedgwood has now rushed for 544 yards on the season, according to MLive, putting him within striking distance of 1,000 yards.

After next week's home game against an extremely tough Mason squad, the Mounties' schedule lightens up, closing out the season with Lansing Waverly, Jackson High and Western.

By the way, the Mounties did complete one pass tonight, according to MLive. It was a 34-yarder -- caught by Wedgwood.

Lansing Sexton beats Jackson Northwest, 45-0

Lansing Sexton improved to 5-0 and Jackson Northwest fell to 0-5 Friday night as the Big Reds beat the Mounties 45-0, according to MLive's High School Sports page.

Read the story here.

See the box score here.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

MLive stats: Northwest has passed for 123 yards

Four games into the season, Northwest has passed for a total of 123 yards, according to the MLive's High School Sports page.

Meanwhile, Grant Wedgwood has rushed for a solid 455 yards.

Great stats for Wedgwood and congratulations to him.

I may be stating the obvious but it seems like good teams such as Lansing Sexton and Mason are going to simply stack up on Wedgwood and force the Mounties to move the ball some other way.

Time will tell if they can.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Massey Ratings predicts Lansing Sexton will cruise past Jackson Northwest

Massey Ratings computer prediction is out for this week's matchup between Lansing Sexton and Jackson Northwest.

Sexton 39, Northwest 7.

See it here.

The computer has the Mounties ranked 325th in the state; Sexton (4-0) is 23rd.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Northwest's Week 5 opponent, Lansing Sexton, is 4-0

Lansing Sexton handed St. Johns its first loss of the season Friday, 12-10, and remained undefeated itself, according to michigan-football.com.

The Big Reds are now 4-0 as the Jackson Northwest Mounties head there for the Week 5 match up.

The upside for Northwest: Sexton may have a little let down after its big game against St. Johns.

The obvious downside: Sexton is one tough football team this year.

Meanwhile, Northwest's Week 6 opponent, Mason, is also 4-0 and has been rolling up huge numbers on its way to that record.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Grant Wedgwood has third 100-yard rushing game in Northwest loss to Belleville

Northwest pulled the score to 12-6 early in the 4th quarter on a 1-yard run by Grant Wedgwood, according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

Read the story here.

Wedgwood finished with 112 yards, the third time this season he has rushed for 100 yards or more.

Belleville pulled away in the 4th quarter, however, and won 24-6.

Game stats from the Cit Pat and MLive are available here.

Belleville beats Jackson Northwest, 24-6

Belleville beat Jackson Northwest Friday, 24-6, according to the MLive high school sports page.

No details are in yet.

The Mounties fall to 0-4 on the season.

According to the box score, Northwest trailed 12-0 at the half. The Mounties' lone touchdown came in the 4th quarter.

Next week, Northwest travels to Lansing to play Sexton.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Belleville could be just what Northwest needs

A year ago, the Northwest Mounties opened the season 0-3.

Then they took a trip to Belleville, where they captured a two-touchdown victory.

This year, the Mounties are again 0-3. This time, the Tigers are coming to Mountie Stadium.

The Belleville squad, on paper away, is a little tougher than the team Northwest played a year ago.

And, again on paper, the Mountie squad this year is struggling a bit more than last year's team. It is giving up more points and scoring fewer of them. (To be fair, fielding a competitive football team with only 22 players is no easy matter, especially with Northwest's schedule).

All of that said, it is homecoming for Northwest, which gives the team an added motivation.

I'm not going to predict the score every week but I'll give this one a whirl.

It's going to be close, no doubt. But if the Mounties can score early and play better defense, they've got a shot.

Here goes: Northwest 27, Belleville 22.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Belleville has a lot riding on Jackson Northwest game, reporter says

Dave Merchant of Heritage Newspapers reported this week that Belleville has "a lot to either gain or lose" in its game Friday against Northwest.

"Belleville has a lot of speed and is coming off some very good games," he writes.

Merchant says this could a "breakout game" for the Tigers, noting the Mounties are 0-3.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Massey predicts Belleville will beat Northwest

The Massey Ratings computer is predicting Belleville will beat Jackson Northwest by a score of 25-22.

Here's the link, which includes how the computer fared on its other predictions involving Northwest this season.

MLive link added

I added a permanent link (on the right) to Northwest's football page on MLive.

This link will also get you there.

This site is the best place to look for scores and stats immediately after a game. (The Jackson Citizen Patriot is part of MLive).

It also includes a roster and player stats.

For example, here's the direct link to Grand Wedgwood's player profile. It shows that he has rushed for 343 yards on 90 carries after three games.

Looking ahead

After this week's homecoming match up against Belleville (1-2), the Mounties have back-to-back games against teams that are off to 3-0 starts: Lansing Sexton and Mason.

Sexton will need to get past St. Johns (3-0) on Friday if it's going to be unbeaten when it hosts Northwest on Sept. 24. The Big Reds lost to St. Johns by 7 points last year and by 3 points in 2008.

Mason, which won its first seven games last season, is off to another strong start. The Mounties host the Bulldogs on Oct. 1.

Northwest's final home game of the season will be in Week 8 against Jackson High.

The Vikings are off to an 0-3 start and have been beaten badly in all three games.

The Mounties' season finale is Oct. 22 at Western, which was shut out in the opener but has posted solid wins the past two weeks.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Week 4: Belleville Tigers visit Jackson Northwest

The Belleville Tigers (1-2) are headed to Mountie Stadium on Friday.

It is homecoming for Jackson Northwest and the Mounties are hoping to make it their first win of the season.

Northwest beat Belleville last year, 35-20, in the first-ever meeting between the schools.

Belleville opened the 2010 season with a 17-14 loss to Saline. The Tigers crushed Redford Union in Week 2, 54-14, and fell this past Friday to Dearborn Fordson, 36-26.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Friday, September 10, 2010

Jackson Northwest loses to Owosso, 30-14

Owosso threw the ball for 276 yards in beating Jackson Northwest at home, 30-14, according to MLive's High School Sports page.

The Mounties trailed 17-6 at halftime.

Northwest's Grant Wedgwood rushed for 119 yards on 29 carries.

The Mounties fall to 0-3 on the season. They will host Belleville next Friday for homecoming.

Here's a brief story from the Flint Journal.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Massey alters predicted scores, calls for slim Jackson Northwest win over Owosso

Massey Ratings has updated its website and plugged in the scores of the first two games for Jackson Northwest and Owosso.

As expected, that data has changed the computer's predicted score of Friday night's matchup.

It still calls for a Northwest win, but only by a 2-point margin: 27-25.

Here's the link.

I haven't seen either team play but based on stories I've read and scores I've seen, the game is shaping up to be a tight one.

I think a lot will ride on how well the Northwest players can shake off the long bus ride and get pumped up to play.

My prediction: Northwest 20, Owosso 16.

Feel free to post your own prediction in the comment spot below.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Owosso has a senior quarterback, veteran receivers

Owosso's quarterback, Garrett Barnes, is a senior who threw for more than 1,200 yards last season, according to the 2010 season preview in the Lansing State Journal.

Read it here.

The Trojans also return a pair of receivers who earned all-league selections a year ago, according to the LSJ.

But Owosso has a new coach and planned to switch from the spread offense to an I-formation set up, according to a preview in the Flint Journal.

Read it here.

The Jackson Northwest Mounties (0-2) visit Owosso (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.

Monday, September 6, 2010

New Owosso coach hopes to turn around football program

Owosso has finished 1-8 in each of its past four seasons.

Unfortunately for the Jackson Northwest Mounties, the Trojans' lone win last season was against them.

Owosso won its first game of 2010 and is currently 1-1 as Northwest heads to town Friday.

Owosso coach Tom Harkema is in his first season with the team. It is his second stint, though.

He previously coached Owosso for 11 seasons (1988-98), going 50-49 in that span.

Here's a Flint Journal story on him from August.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Massey Ratings predicts Jackson Northwest will beat Owosso

The Massey Ratings computer is predicting that the Jackson Northwest Mounties will beat Owosso on Friday by a score of 25-16.

Here's the website.

However, it looks like the scores of the Mounties' first two games have not yet been entered into the season. So it's possible the computer is simply going off of last year's information.

I'll be checking it again later in the week to see if the prediction changes.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Owosso, the Mounties' next opponent, is 1-1

A tough Mason squad beat Owosso 49-17 on Thursday night.

Owosso won its season opener, 24-21, over Corunna, leaving the Trojans 1-1 going into next week's game hosting the Jackson Northwest Mounties.

As the Jackson Citizen Patriot has previously reported, Northwest is undermanned this year.

But Owosso is a very beatable team and represents one of the Mounties' better chances to post a "W" this season.

Northwest slipped to Owosso by a point last year, 21-20, after beating them in the two previous outings.

Looking ahead, if Northwest could beat Owosso, the following week the team will face an improved-but-still-beatable Belleville squad for homecoming.

After that, they'll have tough games against Lansing Sexton and Mason in weeks 5 and 6.

But the final three games -- Lansing Waverly, Jackson High and Western -- are all winnable.

As odd as it may sound, after the Mounties started the season 0-2 (and losing those games by a combine score of 27-83) it's not just happy-talk to say that it's conceivable the team could eek out a winning record.

Grant Wedgwood rushes for 90 yards in loss to St. Johns

Northwest's Grant Wedgwood rushed for 90 yards in Thursday night's loss to St. John's, according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot and MLive's High School Sports site.

Read the story here.

And here is the Lansing State Journal's game story.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Thanks, Mike

Mike Pryson of the Jackson Citizen Patriot was kind enough to plug this blog today.

Read his blog entry here.

I started this blog in 2008 after attending a journalism conference where the instructor urged the attendees to blog. It didn't matter about what, she said, just blog.

So, for one reason or another, I chose this. In truth, it's become as much of an archive as a blog. And it's not loaded with opinion as many blogs are. But I hope some folks find it interesting and useful.

As I've written before, I played varsity football for Northwest in 1988 and 1989. However, I can hardly stake claim to being the school's No. 1 fan.

Truth is, I haven't attended a Northwest football game since I walked off the field as a player after an overtime loss to Williamston in the last game of my senior year (details such as these are not easily forgotten).

As a player, the team and the game meant a tremendous amount to me. And even though we weren't highly successful (5-4 both years) the effort that I and my teammates put into the game -- and the things that I learned in practice and on the playing field -- still mean something to me.

We seem to put so much emphasis on winning and losing in our culture.

But I think there's meaning and some measure of honor for those who suit up and give their all -- win or lose.

And that goes for the Mounties who played the game tonight.

St. Johns beats Northwest as Mounties fall to 0-2

St. Johns beat Jackson Northwest on Thursday, 34-7, according to MLive's high school sports' website and the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

Next week, the Mounties take on Owosso on the road.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Mounties lose opener to Lansing Catholic; face tough Week 2 foe in St. Johns

Jackson Northwest lost its opener Friday to Lansing Catholic Central, 49-20, at home, according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot and MLive's high school sports site.

Read the game story here.

In Week 2, the Mounties play at St. Johns, which beat Charlotte, 54-21, on the road in its season opener.

Northwest lost to St. Johns 35-20 a year ago. The Mounties are 0-5 against the Redwings.

"We have very little depth," Northwest coach Eddie Cobb says on video posted by Jackson Citizen Patriot

"An injury here or there could really ... hurt us bad," Northwest coach Eddie Cobb told the Jackson Citizen Patriot in this story video clip made before the first game of the season.

Here's the clip:

VIDEO: Northwest High School football coach Eddie Cobb discusses upcoming high school football season

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Only 22 players suiting up this year for Northwest

The Jackson Citizen Patriot has an excellent pdf previewing the 2010 Northwest Mounties.

View it here.

In short, the paper says it could be a "challenging year" for the team.

The Mounties kick off their season on Friday at home against Lansing Catholic Central.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Enrollment of Jackson County football schools; other Northwest rivals

The MHSAA shows there are 631 football schools in the state in 2010-11.

Northwest ranks 202nd with 931 students.

The largest football school in the state is Utica Eisenhower, with 2,774 students. The smallest is Flint Michigan School for the Deaf, with 50 students.

Below are the enrollments for Jackson County schools. Below that is a miscellaneous list of some of Northwest's past opponents.

I posted the enrollment of Northwest's 2010 opponents in a previous entry.

JACKSON COUNTY
Jackson High ... 1,627
Northwest ... 931
Western ... 809
Columbia Central ... 530
Lumen Christi ... 503
Napolean ... 444
Hanover-Horton ... 443
Michigan Center ... 415
East Jackson ... 409
Vanderbook ... 373
Grass Lake ... 372
Springport ... 318
Concord ... 282

Misc. past opponents of Northwest
Sturgis ... 955
Battle Creek Harper Creek ... 916
Haslett ... 907
Tecumseh ... 886
Charlotte ... 878
Leslie ... 440

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Renewed rivalry with Eaton Rapids in 2011?

I'm a bit behind on this one, but after reading the high school enrollment figures on the MSHAA website, I started Googling around about Eaton Rapids.

You see, according to the MHSAA, Northwest and Eaton Rapids have nearly identical enrollments (945 for ER, 931 for NW).

Other than Western, Northwest has played Eaton Rapids the most through the years (24 times, with the Greyhounds holding a 14-10 advantage).

And Eaton Rapids is only 14 miles from Northwest, compared to, say, St. Johns, which is 56 miles, or Owosso, which is 70 miles away.

Well, it turns out that earlier this year, the 26-team Capital Area Activities Conference did some realigning and, starting in 2011, Northwest and Eaton Rapids will both compete in the Gold Division. Read the Jackson Citizen Patriot story.

Lumen Christi is also in the division for all sports but football. Here's the CAAC's website with the breakdown.

The Mounties last played in Eaton Rapids in 2006. And although Northwest won the last four games, three of them were by one touchdown.

In fact, 14 of the 24 games these two teams have played have been decided by 8 points or fewer.

Bringing back this rivalry ought to be good for both schools.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Playing bigger schools

The MHSAA has a list posted with the enrollment of every high school in the state that plays football.

It has Northwest's 2010 enrollment as 931, which is smaller than I was expecting.

In the upcoming season, six of the school's nine opponents will be larger.

Here they are by size:

SCHOOL ... ENROLLMENT
Belleville ...... 1,636
Jackson ......... 1,627
St. Johns ....... 1,081
Owosso .......... 1,043
Lansing Waverly ... 1,039
Mason ........... 990
NORTHWEST ....... 931
Western ......... 809
Lansing Sexton ... 754
Lansing Catholic Central ...704