The Pressbox

Week 5 of the high school football season took me to Gibraltar Carlson.

It’s always fun going up there. The field is beautiful and the people are very friendly.

New coach Kent Sikora appears to have the Carlson on track. Despite a brutal schedule that sent them on the road for the first four weeks of the season, the Marauders have a winning record at 3-2 and stand a good shot at making the state playoffs. They need to win three of their final home games, but three of them are at home.

The offense seems up to the task. Ryan Gerbo is a capable quarterback and Carlson seems to have a stable of good backs. The Marauders will have to step it up on defense, though. They are not very big and Redford Union was able take advantage of that to run effectively up the middle.

Earning a playoff berth would be a good boost for the program which suffered through a tough year in 2007.

Other thoughts on Week 5:

1. SMCC made it through the first five weeks without a loss, now the real fun begins. The Falcons face Huron League contenders Airport, Milan and Jefferson in the next three weeks, then finish up against always tough Dearborn Divine Child. The good part about it is that all but Airport are at home.

2. Monroe has turned its season around with three straight wins after opening with a pair of frustrating losses. But the Trojans now face the toughest part of their schedule with games against Dearborn Fordson, Allen Park, Dearborn and Flint Carmen-Ainsworth. We’ll find out how far they have come.

3. I was really happy to hear that Milan guard Thom Box will be able to play again this season. He is part of an outstanding Big Red offensive line that has been the key to the team’s 5-0 start.

4. Dundee-Ida will be an intriguing matchup this week. I am glad that it’s my boss, Ron Montri, that picks the local high school games, not me. I don’t know how I would go on that one.

5. What a sad quote from Huron coach Dan Kalbfleish after Friday’s tough loss to Flat Rock. “This is beyond disappointing,” he said. “We get a touchdown and recover the onside kick and I thought this was the year we were finally going to get a break.” I admire the job has done with the Chiefs. He can’t seem to catch a break.

A lot was on the line when Jefferson’s football team visited Airport Friday night.

It’s still early in the season, but the loser would have two losses in the Huron League and would virtually be out of the race. The winner would keep its league hopes alive at 2-1 and move to 3-1 overall, solidifying position in the race to clinch a state playoff berth with six wins.

The level of play showed that both teams knew what was at stake. On top of that, this is always one of the most intense rivalries in the Monroe County Region. The hitting was fierce and every yard hotly contested. The game wasn’t always pretty, but it was always entertaining.

In the end, Airport’s defense ruled the day. The Jets, stinging from their loss to Milan a week earlier, won the battle of field position most of the night. The Airport offense helped a lot in that area. The Jets didn’t move the ball a lot, but did enough to keep Jefferson pinned in its own territory most of the game.

Airport has an interesting defense. There are no big stars, but everyone knows their assignments and flows to the ball well.

Jefferson has a nice team, too. The Bears have more offensive versatility than past years. Quarterback Mike Oley can really throw the ball and Blaise DuBois is a nice target.

But the Bears face a tough road to the playoffs, needing to win four of their last five games. And they still have two of the top teams in the Huron League – Milan this week and SMCC on Oct. 17 – still to go.

Other thoughts on Week 4:

1. What a nice win by Bedford over Ann Arbor Huron. The Mules dominated the game. Jeff Wood has done a wonderful job with that team.

2. Gibraltar Carlson had the oddest schedule in the Region, opening the season with four straight road games. The Marauders did a good job to survive that stretch at 2-2. Now, they get to finish with four home games in the final five.

3. It was nice to see Flat Rock get its first win of the season. The Rams had to open the season against three of its toughest opponents — Hillsdale, Milan and SMCC.

4. Ida faces a key game against Blissfield on the road this week. The Blue Streaks suffered a tough loss last week against Onsted, but they have to forget about that quickly. If they don’t, the season could unravel quickly with games against Dundee and Hudson coming up.

5. Monroe is back to 2-2 and quarterback Willie Johnson is getting better and better each game.

My most lasting impression of Week 3 of the Monroe County Region high school football season was the power of the Milan offensive line.

These guys are huge and ruled the line of scrimmage against Airport. Milan’s most effective play involved quarterback Kyle Crump taking the snap and then hesitating for a second to see where the hole developed and diving through it. That play was good for five yards just about any time the Big Red ran it. Losing Thom Box to a knee injury was a big blow to the Milan line.

And it’s fun to watch Demetries Love play middle linebacker. He is listed at 165 pounds but isn’t even that big. He gets the most out of his physical abilities, flying around the field like a ball-seeking missle.

Here are a few other notes:

1. It was good to see Monroe get its first victory of the season. After two tough losses to start the season, the Trojans rose up to beat a state-ranked Trenton team.

2. Jefferson appears to be back on track. The Bears will get a major test this week against Airport.

3. Watch out for New Boston Huron. The Chiefs are vastly improved this season. At some point this season they are going to pull a big upset.

4. Bedford made a good showing against a strong Adrian team.

5. SMCC and Ida are off to 3-0 starts. SMCC plays Huron this week and Grosse Ile the next before beginning a brutal final four games: Airport, Milan, Jefferson and Dearborn Divine Child. Things heat up for Ida this week as they begin a stretch of three games against Onsted, Blissfield and Dundee.