Milan @ Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central

SMCC(3-3) is coming off a 50-28 victory over Airport while Milan(6-0) defeated GI 27-6.  SMCC won last season’s matchup 41-14 and leads the all-time series 14-8.

SMCC seemed to right the ship offensively scoring a season high 50 points last week.  Doing it of course on the ground, chewing up yardage.

Milan flexed its muscle with a profound victory over a very good Red Devil squad.  The Big Reds are poised to seize the coveted Huron league crown which has eluded them the last 2 years.

When you look at this game on paper, Milan would jump out at you as the odds on favorite and without a doubt they should be.  Something tells me however that Milan will have a bit of a hangover from the high of beating GI in the battle for the HL crown.  I think the Falcon stars, LaPlante, O’Brien and Woolford bottle up the “make you miss” Milan stars in Lindeman and Barnes just enough to give them a chance.  Milan has had trouble stopping the T in recent years.  SMCC scores just enough, while controlling the time of possession, frustrating the Big Reds.  This Falcons will play as if their season rides on this game, because it does.  Can Navarre Field engulf another foe with speed and agility to burn? I think so.
PICK: SMCC 22 Milan 21

Schultz’s Pick: Milan 33 SMCC 24

128 thoughts on “Milan @ Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central”

  1. Dude. I'm sorry but I don't know what game you were at. #73 was not a factor. I'm sorry. He's a really good player and tough, but he was not a factor in the game. Considering Milan ran the ball between the tackles 70 times, I'm sure he got some tackles. That's great. #74 has gotten multiple offers to play Divison 1 football as a junior and has been a road grater all season. #73 and #55 dove at the linemans legs 90% of the game. Watch the film. If you want to argue that point, then ask Chris who was there. How can you dominate someone if youre on the ground the whole game. The few times they didn't dive, GI was making tackles with the corners and Safety cus the D-line was getting blown off the ball. Come on Dad. Your kid is good. Be happy about that and move on.

  2. Nice credentials guys. Very respectable lines of work. Always great to see people who want to devote their time to kids and athletics, and also obviously, much respect to anyone in the service. Did not know what both of you did.

    Congrats on the numbers on the Blog. That is AWESOME!!

  3. Milan has great size and their skilled positions are very fast and elusive. This will challenge and give problems to SMCC in all 3 phases of the game. The only way SMCC has a chance of keeping it close is if they execute flawlessly, take care of the football, and play solid special teams. If they falter in any of those areas Milan will expose them them greatly.

    Milan is for real and they beat up GI. Turnovers happen because of defense or stress on the offense trying to do too much. Both are the result of your opponent getting to you. Penalties and special teams plunders our mental mistakes.

  4. That must be why I pick FR to win every week too. I think you will find that Gary is extremely insightful. He watches a ton of film. He is just playing a hunch, based on both teams strengths and weaknesses along with some insider information that both of us come up with from time to time.

  5. I know Milan has Barnes at QB because he's the best QB they have. I would've loved to see what kind of #'s that kid would put up. Or better yet, what if Milan had a great throwing QB and had Lindeman and Barnes in the backfield. OMG! Can you say multiple State Titles?

  6. He made quite a few tackles reaching from the ground as 73 and 55 dove at the knees of the o line 90% of the time. I watched the film OG.

    SMCC Fan

  7. Grew up in Monroe, where I attended Monroe St. John grade school. I am a 1989 graduate of SMCC. I will be retiring from the U.S. Navy in just a few months. I have 3 sons, 2 step sons and 1 step daughter. I am am married to my lovely wife Renee.

  8. Grew up in Huron Township where I attended St. John's Lutheran Day School in Waltz. I'm a 1984 graduate of Flat Rock High School. I lettered in football, basketball and track. Graduated from Eastern Michigan University. Currently the Director of Athletics and Assistant Dean of Students at Advanced Tech in Dearborn.

  9. All Huron League will be picked week 9. The coach decides who is all Huron
    League on their team. They will get a certain number of medals depending on what place they finish.
    There is no academic Huron league but the state does recognize academic awards.

  10. Could someone tell me when the Huron League names it's All Huron League Team? Also, does it have an All Academic Team?

  11. A little poem for SMCC:

    You didn't just start football on a whim; damn those silly lights of yours are dim.

    Criss and cross your running backs go; damn your little league bleachers blow.

    Other teams talk of kicking your a$$; if it wasn't for that stupid tall grass.

    Though your student body may be small; it sure is hard to find the ball.

    Lastly, though your kids try not to live in sin; Milan for sure will get this win.

    -DR.

  12. I just want to say that Milan coaches and players know the importance of this game. They also have the utmost respect for SMCC, and what's on the line for them.

  13. This is first year I can remember the huge number of excuses after teams are getting beat. It's like this. The games are being played. There are winners of those games and there are losers. Deal with it. No one cares to hear all the excuses. Kids are hurt, too many turnovers, the weather was bad. No on cares. You either win or you lose. Enough with all the crying and explaining why a game should of been different….If it was only for this or that, we would of won or saw a better game. It's not baseball or basketball when you get to play everyone twice. You want a win…Take it… Don't cry and make excuses… Your team lost.

    1. Is that sarcasm? If not why are you on the blog? Actually without a lot of those you've mentioned there is no need for a blog! Chris this blog is as frustrating as it is absolutely a blast to read and post!! I'm addicted! Keep it up!

  14. #9, What would this blog be without some good, clean bantering?

    I know I picked the underdog. I know I went out on a limb. I gave a few reasons why.

    Would I be surprised if Milan won by 20? Heck no. They are the better team.

    We have talked all year on how balanced the league is this year. Keeping that in mind, I made my upset pick.

    SMCC has everything on the line. I think they show up and play well. Will it be enough to win? They will need some breaks but stranger things have happened.

    This blog wouldn't be as good without people like #9 Dad. Hopefully you pop in next year as well. Are there any younger #9's coming up?

  15. CC doesn't seem to have the offensive line push this year. These last three games are going to be tough sledding.
    I see Milan winning by at least two scores. I see Jefferson winning a close game against them and a blow out loss to Lansing CC.

  16. 9:37. The only player I was commenting on was #6. Giving him props for both his play and sportsmanship.
    There is no shortage of players who run there mouth on any high school team, any sport. Not the end of the world, trash talk is part of most games. But some players choose to respect their opponents and practice good sportsmanship. Many of us who have the opportunity to coach youth sports notice these players, and I for one appreciate their approach, on and off the field.
    Yo Mama…

  17. Gary is probably stirring the pot a bit, but it is fun. SMCC beating Milan would be a surprise. A lot would need to go right for the Falcons. Turnovers would obviously be huge. If CC can stay ahead of the sticks offensively and not have 2nd or 3rd and long they should shorten the game and limit overall possessions. Milan has struggled a bit against the straight T over the years and lets face it, the only team in the state that runs it better than the Falcons is Zeeland West. I would be interested to know where Milan is going to play Furtney defensively. Is he going be positioned based on SMCC's tendencies or is he going to be lined up over center to take away the trap game? SMCC has seen a better back than Lindeman this year in Pewamo-Westphalia's Jared Smith who has rushed for over 7,000 yards and has over 100 TD's, but that doesn't mean they can stop him. This ought to be an interesting game.

  18. No offense to Milan fans but they know their program is done this year. I don't see much next year when Barnes and lindeman are graduated. Just as anyone else would, they're trying to salvage their winning as much as possible. Hope I'm wrong tho because the league is better when all the teams are competitive.

    1. I don't think so. Milan has great coaching. Our youth program is taking off pretty good. We have several kids coming up that are going to be studs. I think Milan will hold their own for a while.

    2. I really hope so! I wanna see all the teams succeed and more importantly the kids succeed. And I also wouldn't be surprised if your son is in the NFL one day. He's one hell of a player and he's one of the fastest people I've seen

    3. NFL? DANG, let's graduate high school first and get him in a strong football school. Get the degree and then let's talk NFL, or Canadian league.

  19. CC can not come from behind running that offence, if they can contain Milan they will have a chance. But if Milan gets up 2 scores, its over.

    1. Your opinion is one thing, stating facts about a game certainly should be noted. But as a supposed bias commentator of the blog, you kinda rubbed us the wrong way. Chris is a little different. In your post you used Milan (Saline) and @ Milan (home), those are in my opinion unnecessary. Not that you actually said bad things about milan, just seems like your taking jabs, all good though. Everyone wants their team to win. Everyone wants their kid to play great, I get it. I am guilty sometimes too with the sarcasm. But I will give credit when it's due. Keep up the blogging dude, it's fun.

    2. Mostly facts. But some jabs. I might read into it a little more than most. No harm in that. I read it, took the way I did, replied, and moved on. I think it made for good conversation. Sorry if I sounded like an ass. Not sorry for what I said. It's hard to put a tone of voice to text.

  20. Three in a row for SMCC. 28-18 I can't believe the Milan gang is so concerned about the grass. The Falcons play on it all the time and it doesn't slow them down. Unbelieveable-I just have to laugh at that one.

  21. This is what I don't get. Huron beat SMCC, and Milan destroyed Huron. GI shut out SMCC, and Milan beat GI. I really don't think this one's close. Milan's D is not the same Milan D that played the other T teams. Also, I believe Jefferson and Riverviews version of the T is harder to stop than SMCC 's version. I think you'll see Milan's front line physicality handle CC fairly easily. Prediction: Milan 44 SMCC 12

    1. GI also beat Jefferson 42-6 and Milan beat them 35-31. It's all about match-ups and Milan doesn't do well against T teams and it just so happens SMCC is the best at running the T in the league.

    2. Milan fell apart a bit the 2nd half. They were up 21-7 at halftime. Lost the lead, and still won. Since that game, they have pulled their heads out of their rear and played great defense and scored points.

  22. I have watched all of GI games this year. Milan was the better team on the field in Saline. I don't think anyone has questioned that.
    That said, the 5-0 Red Devils were nowhere to be found in Saline on Friday night. They where emotionally flat, poor line play on both sides of the ball and 6 turn overs (some where simple drops and bad throws, a few were "caused"). Either way, nobody wins with six turnovers, especially to good team like Milan.
    Barnes was the biggest difference maker for Milan. GI couldn't wrap him up and he added an extra 3-5 yards on every run with his momentum and second efforts. (worth adding, he carries himself very well on the field, good sportsmanship, speaks with this play, not with his mouth like other players tend to do).
    If the only indicator of future outcomes is what happen in weeks 1 thru 6, none of the standings would make sense.
    Milan might very well beat SMCC, but I wouldn't use the outcome of a past GI, Huron, Jefferson, FR or Riverview game as much of a guide to predict this game.
    I am sure if Jefferson or SMCC had another crack at GI, the game might be altogether different (not blow outs as each where). And if GI had another chance at Milan, I am confident it would be a very different game (not saying they would win, but if the "real" GI team shows up, Milan not looking so "Hollywood").
    Of coarse the rest of the HL wants SMCC to win this week, Milan is 6-0.
    Good luck to all teams this week, hope the HL can get 4 teams in the playoffs.
    PTM

    1. Barnes is a great kid. And everything you just stated about seeing teams again just might happen. Jeff could win out, we could lose, and that stirs up the playoffs a bit.

    2. #6 was able to gain more yards because GI was focused only on #9 and it opened huge holes for #6. If your talking about #9 running his mouth, you sir have no clue what was going on down on that field. When you have the opposing team running their mouth, as well as the coach on the sideline and taking cheap shots at him and TRYING to take him out that is what I call bad sportsmanship. No kid should be targeted out on the field because they are all out there trying to get to the next level and when you intentionally try take out another player then words are going to be exchanged. The GI coach wouldnt even shake Lindemans hand at the end of the game. So talk all you want about him, but make sure all of your facts are straight.

    3. And what was #9 for GI doing and saying out on that field?? If your going to call certain players out make sure to call ALL of them out.

  23. Gary has succeeded in getting Milan fans fired up. Blog contributor 101 states: say bad things about the best team, and you'll get responses. It's akin to saying UofM hasn't played anyone, or, do they own road jerseys, they've been home for 5 games. Well done Gary!

    1. Haha, thanks. But that really wasn't my intent. I picked CC to win and gave my reasons why. They are valid to me. But not to the Milan faithful. I get that and that's ok.

  24. Gary were you actually at the game or just throwing out an opionion without watching it? Serious question….

    Milan ran 3 plays outside of the tackles the whole game. Didn't throw a pass until the 4th Q up 27. They ran inside the tackles 95% of the time. They didn't have to open the playbook up at all, which if you watched the game the week before at Huron, you would know they are more than capable of doing. Being Up 27 in the 4th, is there any reason to turn it on and score more points with the game in hand? The fact is that they put some reserves in the game and GI scored with about 7 minutes left. Milan ran a few more plays between the tackles and the game was over. It was actually over in the second quarter.

    Let me say this about those 6 turnovers.

    1.) two of the 4 were in the 4th Q with under 6 minutes to play, a pick and a fumble.
    2.) The other two fumbles in the first half. One was forced and the other, the running back lost in a pile of defenders. Not sure if it was forced or not.

    3.) Milan stopped GI on downs the first drive. That's a turnover. They stopped GI in the second on downs. That's a turnover. They showed different looks on D and sent heat on the QB where he got crushed a few different times and was obviously gun shy, throwing up another ball to Barnes for an Interception to end the half.

    4.) The last pick was thrown into single coverage on a go route when #9 went to QB in the second half. This was in the 3rd Q when Milan was leading 27-0. It was picked by the freshmen. There was nothing there. Bad play call.

    5.) GI got outcoached and outplayed period. Hoskins defense was exceptional. GI could not run the ball after the first drive and Bodner resorted to slinging it around. Great gameplan by Milan on both sides of the ball. And with the 3-4 turnover on downs, I think that's actually 9-10 turnovers total lol

    Milan Fan

    1. So you're saying Milan had 10 more possessions than grosse ile, and 2 of those were in the 4th quarter. And they only scored 27 points cuz they eased up in the 4th. So you're saying Milan only outscored grosse ile 27-0 in the first 3 quarters even tho they had 8 more possessions? That doesn't sound too impressive to me, especially since they were playing on turf which gave Milan an advantage. SMCC wins this game with the same strategy as last year. Keep the rabbits off the field, and play as hard as you can on defense. Smcc wins this game 27-21.

  25. Milan did the same thing in the spanking of Huron. It's called running the clock out as to not embarrass your opponent. Hoskins is way too classy to run up the score. Time of possession in the Huron and GI game were heavily in Milan's favor in both second 1/2 's. They played a lot of underclassman in the second half. Again, check the facts GARY! In the Short time I've seen what you have to offer to the blog, Gary; I must say you don't do enough research. Still young though, time to fix that.

  26. #9, You know more about Milan than I do, I will give you that. So let me ask you this.

    Milan ran the ball inside, outside and around the bend without much resistance according to your post. They also caused 6 turnovers, according to Milan folk. 6 turnovers by the way is an enormous amount. How then did Milan only score 27 points? Serious question.

    Please believe me, I am not anti-Milan in any way, shape or form. I will be pulling hard for them come playoff time. Unless of course they match up with another HL team. Then I will just hope the team that plays better wins and root for no injuries.

    1. No one knows how important this game is anymore than Milan, and that includes the whole community. The last 2 years Milan was beat down by CC. They have not forgot. Anything is possible and the game has to be played, and I love the fact the Saline field is considered a factor in last week's game. Now we can blame Navarre field.
      GI came in last week as a powerhouse defense, a highly fast and physical team, Chris used those words, and a very explosive offense. People pinned players against players, Furtney was the tractor tire that smacked everyone in the face, 9 ran over 25 on his TD run, and 6 just blasted up the middle to score 3 times. Just my opinion but not too many give Milan respect. We have more than 3 players and it showed in Saline on a very very even playing field. The out come for Friday will solely be on Milan. SMCC has nothing to lose, Milan does. Milan will step up this week.

    2. 15 tackles down field. Just saying. Sacks and tackles are what he is supposed to do. ON you have to admit, milans offense dominated GI on defense. I will admit that GI did not help their cause on offense.

    3. No, 15 tackles, 3 for a loss. If an offensive lineman is doing his job correctly, they typically limit the opposing lineman to around 4 tackles or less. Milan's O dominated in the first half. (The fumble in GI's redzone, and fumble at the 40, may have helped, but I digress.) My point is that Furtney was not the cause on the Oline Trombley Dominated him. He did not impress me. However, the rest of Milan's Oline did. I just believe credit should be given where credit is due.

      OG Islander

  27. #9, if Milan turned the ball over 6 times, I would say they played poorly and out of character and SMCC was the recipient of a gift of sorts. If SMCC won a close battle without an anomaly such as a numerous amount of turnovers then I would say, SMCC had the formula to beat a great Milan team. It would all depend on how the game played out. SMCC is the underdog. Let me be clear.

    1. So because Milan punched GI in the mouth, and only scored 27, GI just basically had a bad game? And if SMCC beats Milan, they,SMCC had the formula to win? To me that makes no since. But it's your blog and you are entitled to your opinion, and I respect it. Not meaning any disrespect at all, but it's not logical to me. Now I will say this, Milan was up big at halftime against Jefferson, and we're down at halftime against the View. No where have you gave the players credit for what they have done so far. Nor the coaches. Hoskins, Ward, and Zupi are by far the best in the league. The 6 and 0 start is not an anomaly, a fluke, or an accident.
      I don't predict scores, it's just not me. But watching all the film on CC,and knowing what Milan has done, CC could be looking at a very long night trying to play catch up. That offense is not designed to score points in a hurry. And I really don't see them puttin up more than 14 points. I'll be the first to say I was wrong if CC wins, but for CC to pull it off they will have to keep Milan under 14, and that has not happened all year. Good luck to both teams, hope it's injury free and I hope they mowed the field this week.

    2. No not really. Milan is playing the best football on both sides and I don't think Gary actually believes in his words. Truth is Milan has struggled in the past years to stop the T, but this is a different year, different players.but most importantly they have man handled the top teams. For an outsider looking in, Milan has the better team on paper, on film.
      The thing that rubbed me wrong was how he gave credit to GI for losing the game and not to Milan for winning. Am I the only one who sees it that way?

  28. Milan's criticism of defending the T are warranted. I think the combination of Milan's young players, coupled with playing Jefferson and Riverview early in the year, didn't help. I do know that Milan's coaches have worked a lot on defending the T. I think you'll see a different team this week against the T. I also think if Milan were to play Jefferson and Riverview right now, you'd see a much different result in both those scores. Milan's offense has always been good. There defense is improving every week, that's due to coaching!

  29. The turnovers were not a fluke. Check Milan's turnover ratio of each game. Outside of the teams that run the T, I think you'll find that Milan leads in takeaways. Do a little more research Gary, and your argument might have more "TEETH".

  30. For those of you who may doubt my sincerity in this pick I will have more of a comprehensive breakdown a bit later. However, let me throw this out there.

    Most people look at the GI @ Milan(Saline) game and say "Wow Milan is legit, they DESTROYED GI". While I wont say that Milan wasn't the better team that night at (home). I think they were. I would be a fool to say otherwise. But how much better is the key.

    GI had 6 turnovers. SIX! I have read the comments on here about, "well GI didn't just drop the ball, somebody had to cause those fumbles" Well, ok, maybe.

    Do the Milan folk really think that? Do they think Milan hits that much harder than everyone else? Do they think that Milan strips the ball that much better than everyone else? I don't buy that for a minute.

    Maybe just maybe, GI laid an egg. They played terribly. They had a case of the droppsies to the tune of SIX turnovers… and still only lost by 3 scores on a fast track an hour away from the island. If GI were to keep it clean turnover wise, what might be the score? Let's be honest people 6 turnovers is an anomaly. If they were to play again, as a prognosticator, I would throw this outcome out the window. That's just me.

    I don't want this to sound like I am anti-Milan. I am not. I think what I am saying has teeth. It makes sense(to me anyway).

    I think Milan is the best team. I just don't think they are that much ahead of the field as everyone might think. In defense of Milan, they don't have to be greatly ahead of the field. They just have to win and that they have.

    1. You do sound anti Milan. The reason being is your blaming GI for the loss, for the turn overs and are not giving Milan credit on forced fumbles, or interceptions. Milan ran the ball up the gut on GI, they couldn't stop it. 9 got out side a few times, they couldn't stop it. GI threw the ball by 2 different QB'S and we're picked. We all know Milan has struggled against a power run team. But so far this year they have did enough to win. I believe they will do it again, and like everyone said at the start of the season, SMCC is the team to beat until they get knocked off. Huron did it, GI did it. Now it's our turn to take a swing at them. See ya Friday.

  31. Everyone knows SMCC is a good team and they are never a push over. They will make Milan earn every yard. Milan has the team to beat them this year. They just have to come out and do it. Milan is not over looking them either. They know this game means everything.

    1. You are absolutely correct. They always have trouble with it. This year I think they shut it down, not totally, but enough to make them play catch up.

  32. SMCC defense has been exposed. Huron grated it out and played great D to shut out SMCC. GI ran up and down the field and shut down the T. Airport even moved the ball against them. Milan has size and speed. Two elements the Falcons lack. The only way this game is close, if Milan turns over the ball or plays a poor game. Don't see it happening. Milan wants to run the score up big Time! For previous losses. Even GI did with their two onside kicks and late score. Roll Big Reds!!!!!

  33. You guys are kidding right. GI crushes SMCC, Milan crushes GI, do you really think SMCC has a chance here. No way. Not even close this year. Reality bites.

    Milan 42- SMCC 20.

  34. I understand why folks like Gary always pick against Milan every week, it gets the blog going. If everyone says Milan is the superior team and you just can't beat them, that gets boring. No one would visit the blog, because they would get sick of hearing about how good Milan is. Don't take the bait Milan fans! Just show up, kick a$$ again, and say good night folks. Oh by the way, tune in next week where Gary will tell you how Airport has a shot at beating Milan, why, because it sells!!

  35. Well, guess the Big Reds will just have to keep doing what they have been. Gary must be an SMCC guy. But I'm sure Milan likes the fact that no one wants them to win and how everyone always talks about the previous year.
    Good luck to the Falcons, should be a great game.

  36. Milan has something to prove. SMCC couldn't stop GI and they do not have the talent Milan has. I see Milan winning 28-21.

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