Week 5 Predictions

Last week I went 6-3, my worst week yet. This puts my record for the season at 20-8 . With a plethora of big match-ups on Friday, let's take a look at some of the most interesting ones.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Davison Cardinals at Flint Powers Chargers
Davison has recouped from their rough 0-2 start to reach their current 2-2 record. With Holt still on the way, Jared Cowan, Richard Kirksey, and the rest of the Cardinal squad have very little room for error if they want to be sure of reaching 6 wins and an automatic berth to the second season. Similarly, Powers was able to bounce back from their opening-season loss to Ogemaw Heights with victories over St. Johns, Grand Blanc, and Carman-Ainsworth. With a couple of tough teams still ahead, the Chargers would be build some breathing room if they can pull off a win this week. Unfortunately for them, I believe that Davison may have too much talent to overcome. In a hard-fought battle for Big 9 dominance, my money is on the Cardinals.
Prediction:
Davison - 28
Powers - 19

Pewamo-Westphalia Pirates at Fowler Eagles
Two of the three undefeated CMAC teams meet to decide who will most likely play Fulton for the conference championship. The Pirates pulled off a 10-point victory against a tough Laingsburg squad last week on the back of Jason Fedewa's 3 touchdown performance. Fowler has relied on their defense so far, allowing only 19 points in the first 4 weeks. They'll have trouble keeping up such stats with the P-W offense breathing down their neck. I predict that the Pirates pull away in the second half and meet the OTHER Pirates from the CMAC in a week 8 showdown for the conference championship.
Prediction:
P-W - 21
Fowler - 8

Chesaning Indians at Bullock Creek Lancers
Last year, the play-off bound Bullock Creek Lancers marched into Chesaning heavily favored, yet left with the sour taste of defeat after losing to the Indian team that finished with a 2-7 record.
On Friday, they'll have a chance to return the favor.
Chesaning upset (if you want to call it that) Swan Valley last week and gained some conference-wide respect in the process. They'll take their 4-0 record to Bullock Creek to face the Lancers and their vaunted wing T attack. Quarterback Joe Bitterman has been absolutely phenomenal for the Indians so far this year, but he has yet to face a team quite as hard-hitting as Bullock Creek. The Lancers are loaded with weapons on both sides of the ball. Led by signal-caller Matt Peterson and all-conference backs Kyle O'Boyle and Andrew Copus, Creek has been cruising save for one hiccup against 4-0 Alma. It's a tough game to call, but last year's game may have been a sign that the Indians are built perfectly to stop the Creek.
Prediction:
Chesaning - 22
Bullock Creek - 14

Bay City Western Warriors at Traverse City Central Trojans
The battle between 3-1 squads should be an exciting one. Traverse City Central has only one loss, but they don't face a schedule as rough as the SVL's is. They beat 0-4 Alpena, who lost 33-0 to Heritage last week, by a score of 10-0 and defeated 0-4 Petosky by 1 point. Bay City Western hasn't overcome a top tier opponent either, but their margins of victoriy have at least been a bit more wide.
Prediction:
Bay City Western - 18
T.C. Central - 15

John Glenn Bobcats at Ogemaw Heights Falcons
Ogemaw made a huge statement to all of Michigan with their week 1 victory over Flint Powers. Since then, they haven't come up against a team capable of beating them. John Glenn sure hasn't had that problem; they've already played both Tawas and Standish-Sterling, with one close victory as well as a slight defeat to accompany their week 1 romp of Cadillac. They're hoping that a victory over the Falcons will put them back on track for a share of the NEMC title. Ogemaw won't roll over for them, though; led by a host of second year starters, their offense has been explosive so far in 2007. Glenn is a quality team, but they'll struggle to keep pace with one of the best teams in the area.
Prediction:
Ogemaw - 28
John Glenn - 14

Merrill Vandals at Ithaca Yellowjackets
Expect a shoot-out the two best spread offenses that the Tri-Valley West has to offer meet in Ithaca. Merrill, at 3-1, has been a pleasant surprise this year and quiet contender to pull off an upset this season. Ithaca is also 3-1 behind the strong running of Brandon Walker. Both teams suffered their sole loss in a one-touchdown decision to St. Charles. Merrill's junior quarterback Jason Pratt has been dominant so far, but he may be up against the best secondary in the conference. As far at the Merrill defense goes, both MLS and St. Charles have run wild against the Vandals; this bodes well for Walker and the rest of the powerful Yellowjacket offense.
Prediction:
Merrill - 26
Ithaca- 35