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.