Milan (10-0) is coming off of a 26-14 playoff victory over Redford Thurston while Melvindale (8-2) defeated Riverview 34-17. These two teams last met in the playoffs back in 2005 with the Cardinals winning 28-25.
Milan continues to “just win” every game they play. The senior leadership and talents of QB/S Robert Kanitz and LB/FB Austin Hoover seem to will them to victory every week. The Big Reds are 20-1 over the last two seasons. Head Coach Jesse Hoskins has a knack for winning close games and getting the most out of his players.
Defensively, Milan is giving up only 13 ppg while the offense averages just over 30 ppg. The Big Reds rarely turn the ball over and that is the reason for much of their success.
Melvindale fell behind 10-0 early last week to Riverview but was able to make some solid offensive and defensive adjustments which led to the victory. Melvindale is led offensively by QB Jason Doyle. Doyle is a patient passer who will be the best passing QB that Melvindale will have seen all season. Malik Boynton is a superb receiver who will most likely give Milan fits all night.
Melvindale’s active defense is surely going to create some problems for Milan. The Cardinals only give up 16 ppg and have seen just about everything coming out of the Downriver League. One thing Melvindale’s defense can do is lay the wood and they will look set to the tone early in this game.
On paper this is a great matchup and looks like Melvindale could hand the Huron League Champions their first loss of the season. Most of you know I will not pick against the Big Reds they have burned me way too many times. Pick: Milan 21 Melvindale 17
2 great games!! Excellent season Milan, nothing to hang your heads about. don't listen to the idiots.
-bn
Am I reading mgoblog? stop arguing everybody and lets start acting rational.
Yes I know the difference between a QB draw and a run, thanks for breaking it down for me. I guess sarcasm doesn't translate in Milan. My point was it wont work vs Melvindale. I wanna give it up to Milan, going 10-1 two straight years is a nice accomplishment. You guys lose a nice senior class after tonight, so it looks like Hoskins and his staff will be hitting the recruiting trail tomorrow.
We can dice it any way we want. They have to play the game then we can say "I told you so!" Milan will bring their "A" game no doubt. It should be a great game.
Lots of angles to look at this.
I guess we'll know in a few hours!
Here is one for the die-hard bloggers.
How good is Roosevelt's D, one of the teams that beat Melvindale?
Because, Ypsilanti Lincoln, whom Milan held to 13 points, scored 40 points against them!
But the vaunted Melvindale high power offense only put up 10 points against them.
We did not think Lincoln's offense was that good at all when Milan played them.
This might well be a low-scoring, defensive battle. Probably won by one score, 14-7.
LOL @ the guy who keeps saying Milan runs a QB draw, learn some football terminology big boy. QB draw is faking the pass to run. Milan uses Kanitz as a running back that has shown ability to throw the ball very efficiently this year. Your analysis is cute though
They (MV) might win the straight up individual match-up, so Milan's strategy and playing flawless, no-turnover football will have to overcome that.
Milan likes to jump on people early–that is key for them. In drawn out battles that are close their running game is a good thing, especially in 36 degree weather.
But playing from behind would be a new thing. Getting burned deep would be a new thing. Giving up long runs would be a rare thing. Giving up a punt or kick-off return would be a new thing. And MV has potential to do all of that.
To me it all comes down to the DB play. I trust in the linebackers and line to control the run.
To stop a great receiver all night long is really tough, especially 1-1. A guy has so many options.
But mixing it up, sometimes doubling, sometimes short zone with a safety behind, forcing them to throw in the gap, sometimes blitzing, will frustrate any offense.
Just sitting back and hoping a QB will not complete passes to their best receiver, however, is not a great recipe. Hopefully Milan D coaches are going to be strategic.
And whoever is calling it "a QB draw" please note that it is not a QB draw. In a QB draw the line pops up and acts like it is a pass and pushes guys to the outside while the QB feigns a pass for a second before taking off. For Milan it is a designed run with pulling linemen from the get-go.
I wish Milan had a draw in their playbook! Or a true option, or a reverse, or some other stuff.
But things have worked for them the last two seasons and they have stuck with those things. On offense they may need to come up with some thing new that MV has not prepared for.
Isn't that why people come to the blog? It's not the be all end all but we do give info on both teams.
How about this one? KC Clark may not play tonight. Really bad ankle sprain. That would be huge. I would call him questionable at this point if you have him on your fantasy team 😉
I understand how 9:01 might see it as disrespectful. I found the staff prediction column kind of funny, myself. I appreciated the info on Melvindale, but it was clear that they had very little information on Milan. The commentary seemed to boil down to "Milan's QB has some good passing stats, but our QB is better" and "The teams we've seen Melvindale play are better than the teams we haven't seen Milan play."
Well gee, slugger. Thanks for the hard hitting analysis…
Based on the commentary, I too found myself surprised to see 2 of the 3 editors pick Milan to win. I think it would have been more entertaining and informative to have each editor write a blurb that supports their pick, or have some back and forth banter on areas of disagreement. (Perhaps one could suggest that Milan's Pass D is better than one might expect coming out of the run-heavy Huron League?) But then again, what do I know?
-8-2) at Milan (10-0): No disrespect to Milan, which has a very fine team, but Melvindale is not Ypsilanti, Monroe Jefferson or Flat Rock, three of the teams the Big Reds built their unbeaten record against. In fact, Milan’s nine regular-season opponents had a combined losing record.
who pulled this guys chain… taking shots at teams for no reason. That to me is disrespectful and not necessary.
-bn
There is no reason to think Milan wont be ready.. that to me is obvious. Milan will be ready. Will they win? who knows. It will be a good game.
Nobody is being forgotten by the coaches, nobody is being left out. bad matchup you say… maybe. They still have to play the game though. I give Milan a pretty decent shot at winning this game. darn near 50/50.
-bn
After reading the links that coachtom posted.. I hope you milan boys hand it to them. The prediction was pretty disrespectful in my opinion.
GO BIG REDS!
GO FALCONS!
-bn
2 of the 3 writers picked Milan to win. How is that disrespectful?
You under estimate Milan. Coach H and his staff will have the Big Reds ready.
All this talk about "signature wins" doesnt change the fact that Melvindale is a bad matchup for Milan. Milan hasnt seen anything like Melvindale's passing attack. If Milan wants to double Boyton the other guys will burn you. The one person not mentioned at all is Melvindale RB Quincy Gibbs. You focus too much on the pass and he will make you pay. And i've heard quite a bit about Milan's defense. I hate to break it to you but Melvindale's is just as good if not better. If you are expecting to rely on the QB draw vs this defense, it will be a long night for your offense. Lindeman is good, but too small to do anything vs this defense. Anyway you break it down this is a bad matchup for Milan.
The fact remains that Melvindale only beat one strong team in their regular season schedule (AP).
That is why their have a lower playoff point total.
The RV win was good, though, and their main receiver will gain yards against Milan. The question is how many.
Because it's always helpful to get the opposing side's perspective, here are a few Melvindale-centric articles from The News Herald / MIPrepZone:
QB Doyle tosses Melvindale over Riverview
Melvindale likes its chances for a district title
Staff District final picks
Some food for thought. Enjoy!
It's not that the Downriver schools won't allow them to play the Huron League it is that they won't allow any non-league. Not so sure that all the Huron League schools would be on board for this either.. Pretty sure GI, View, FR, Huron and maybe others would rather play a Summit instead of a mid to high level Downriver team.. Now CC and Milan would play the tough teams and have proved that..
Defense defense defense. Defense will win this game. Hoover had to continue being a beast. The corners have to be able to cover super athletic recievers that I believe are better than Lincoln and ypsi's. Also I noticed colville and blackburn were being matched up with slot recievers and they must do a better job at covering them. I say Milan 28-21
I would have enjoyed seeing Melvindale play GI in the opener and Huron in the closer this season but the Cards can't go out of the league and play. I guess LP and Kennedy are quality wins. Just saying.
I never said anything about kennedy and LP. If it seemed like i was putting huron and GI on that level thst wasnt my intention. I would have enjoyed seeing jose games too. I guess we are splitting hairs about quality vs signature wins. I Either way i think it will be agood game. I would love to see huron downriver challenge like he AccBig ten in hoops but the downriver league schedule wont allow it. Either way think tomorrow will be a great game.
If 5:02 thinks two 5-4 teams that had summit academy and annapolis on their scedule to get to 5-4 are "signature wins" then no one can argue i guess. I am pretty sure i would not call Huron amd GI signature.
Milan beat SMCC, Riverview, Thurston, Lincoln, Huron and Grosse Ile. Those teams all had winning records.
So Milan fans think Milan will win.. ok great got it.
It will be close. enjoy.
-bn
They did beat a 7-3 Allen Park.
-bn
Let's remember, until they beat Riverview last Friday, this Melvindale team did not have a single win against a team with a winning record.
Riverview is their one "signature win."
So, they are quite beatable.
On the other hand they played an undefeated Dot game very close.
If the Milan passing game is on they will advance.
Calpreps score now shows it 22-14, for a reason.
Before you go talking about "signature wins " against teams eith a winning record you should check your stats. Melvindale beat AP. They were 7-2. If signature win is beating a team with a winning record you have 3 this year to melvindales 2. Milan has to win based on that stat.
Milan's D is much stronger than Riverview's D.
Riverview held Melvindale to 14 points until into the 3rd quarter.
That is one good indicator as to how strong the Melindale offense is. They will not have an easy time scoring in Milan.
Only seen highlights of Melvindale, so we have to go by the expert assessment offered here.
Mid-range passes are often completed against Milan. But so far no long-balls, though. That has served them well.
Milan front D line needs to find a way to get to the QB on pass plays. Giving him all day or letting him scramble will be trouble on 3rd downs.
Milan has relied on scoring first and on big plays.
With everyone saying how well matched these teams are, it makes the play calling from the side-lines a key factor. Who will win the chess match?
Special teams will play a critical role.
20-1 is a terrific accomplishment. Hope they take it to the next level.
Hey Chris, just wondering if you really think Milan wins, or you just sticking to your word? Also, can Milan shut the pass attack down and can Melvindale run the ball?
This is gonna be a heck of a game. Both teams play good defense, Melvindale has more firepower. I believe that will be the difference. Melvindale 28-20. EM
I don't think that many points will be scored. If Milan gives up 28 then they have no chance. Same goes for Melvindale. Both teams will have to keep it close going into the 4th. I don't think Milan can win a shoot out with the Cardinals. And I don't think the cardinals can be patient enough to run the ball. It really is a toss up. Still like my Big Reds.
Melvindale in a close one..This will be a great game and I agree that if it is cold it could favor the Big Reds. 28-26 Melvindale.
I have to agree with 10:20. Milan wins this game if they win the turnover battle. They also need to be able to run the ball. If they can run, they will be able to pass as well. Watched film on Melvindale and was not impressed with their run game. Passing game on the other hand is one of the best I've seen this year. Milan has to shut the passing game down to win. No big plays. Should be an outstanding football game.
Should be a good game!
Note; I believe Milan has turned the ball over 7 times in the past 2 games. They actually have not done a good job with that. If they turn it over 3 or 4 times against Melvindale, it will be another 10-1 season for the Big Reds.
Good luck Milan!