Columbia Central beats Northwest, 55-8

UPDATE: Here is the game story from the Cit Pat's Andy Wade.

According to the Jackson Citizen Patriot, Columbia Central has beaten Northwest, 55-8.

A story isn't posted yet but a video and photo gallery are.

Both teams are now 1-1.

Mike Pryson lists Northwest-Columbia Central game as one to watch this week

Jackson Citizen Patriot sports writer Mike Pryson has picked Thursday's game between Northwest and Columbia Central as one of the Top 5 games in the Jackson area to watch this week.

See his story here.

Pryson notes that this is the first matchup between the Mounties and the Golden Eagles since 1995. Columbia Central won that game, 20-13.

The Mounties lead the series, which dates back to 1968, 14-7. (See Rivals Archive).

The schools played eight straight games between 1968-75, with Northwest winning every matchup.

After an eight-year hiatus, the teams met again in 1984, with Columbia winning 37-15. In the second stretch, the schools played 13 straight from 1984 to 1995, with Columbia winning seven games to Northwest's six.

Here's to another long stretch of games between Northwest and Columbia Central.

Northwest beats Jackson High in overtime

The Jackson Citizen Patriot's Mike Pryson has the story of Northwest's 36-35 overtime victory tonight over Jackson High at Withington Stadium.

Here's the story.

Here's the link to a photo gallery and video.

It's the Mounties first victory over the Vikings since 1974 (see the Rivals Archive here).

Season opener vs. Jackson High will be broadcast live

Friday's season opener between Northwest and Jackson High will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 1450, the sports arm of WKHM.

It is the only Northwest game the station plans to broadcast this season. (See the schedule here).

The Mounties and Vikings will square off at Withington Stadium on Friday night.

Jackson High went 3-6 last year, including a 35-20 over Northwest. (See the Jackson Citizen Patriot's preview of J-High here).

Jackson Northwest fooball 2011 season results

Here are scores for the 2011 season.

W, 36-35 (OT) -- Aug. 26: Jackson High (A)

L, 8-55 -- Sept. 1: Columbia Central (A)

L, 0-45 -- Sept. 9: Mason (A)

L, 0-41 -- Sept. 17: Cheboygan (H)

L, 6-14 -- Sept. 23: Eaton Rapids (H)

L, 0-53 -- Sept. 30: Lansing Waverly (H)

L, 6-62 -- Oct. 7: Charlotte (A)

L, 7-40 -- Oct. 14: Leslie (A)

L, 14-49 -- Oct. 21: Western (H)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.