Central Wolves - Midland Chemics Match-Up
Familiar Foes Battle...Again
November 1, 2007
By: Kevin Leahy
The Wolves are counting on QB Trenton Martin to come up big on Friday night against the Midland Chemics
Central running-back Luther Ware will be looking for yardage against the Chemics.
The fourth time in two seasons sets the stage for a classic game that neither league Co-Champion team is willing to concede.
Friday night's game at Elmer Engel Stadium will have a familiar feel to it as Central bested Midland in their regional playoff win 22-21 last November 3rd there.
Last season the Wolves also took the regular season match-up 22-14, but the Chemics won this season's regular season game 19-13. As both teams eliminated Saginaw Valley League opponents last week, this game could also be billed as the partial SVL Championship game (Mount Pleasant beat both teams in the regular season but is not in the same region). Last week Central beat Heritage 49-35 while Midland eliminated Saginaw Arthur Hill 45-29.
Both teams enter the game with identical 8-2 records. And both teams have very similar statistics from the regular season. Midland was first in team defense in the SVL while Central was 3rd, Central was 3rd in team offense while Midland was 4th.
These teams are almost a mirror image of one another utilizing a stingy defense and attacking with a balanced air and ground game.
Both teams have great running backs. Midland has relied heavily on the legs of Colter Roberson who last week ran for 224 yards and 5 touchdowns while the Wolves Luther Ware has been their workhorse averaging 8.1 yards per carry. The Chemics also have Joel Parsons averaging 5.4 yards per run while the wolves have been punishing defenses with late season hard-nosed running from Trenton Robinson.
Could the difference be at quarterback? Midland's Andrew Maxwell has connected on 56 percent of his passes for 1237 yards while the Wolves Trenton Martin has hit 52 percent for 788 yards. The numbers would be closer had Martin been the starter from the outset but Alex Bush was their signal caller early in the season. Bush could be the difference from his wideout position as the Wolves deep threat.
Both these teams do the right things on both sides of the ball, they're disciplined, they tackle well and they both can light up the score board.
In the end it will probably be the team that makes less mistakes and has fewer turnovers that continues the march toward Ford Field. If you have ever been a fan of football this is one game you do not want to miss.
