Gladstone, Pickford lead the way in first high school football polls of the season

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) -

11-Man

A win over the second ranked Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils (2-1) helped propel the Gladstone Braves (2-0) to the top spot in the first 11-man rankings of the 2020 football season. Gladstone takes first place unanimously, with all five votes.

Marquette (2-1) ranks third after an impressive defensive showing at number four Kingsford (2-1). The Redmen shut out the Flivvers in the 10-0 GNC road win. The road ahead doesn’t get easier for Kingsford. They have a tough matchup this week at Gladstone.

Iron Mountain (3-0) is perfect so far on the season, good enough for the five spot rounding out the top five, since two of their wins have come by forfeit. The Mountaineers were impressive though in their only played game of the season, a 42-6 rout of Bark River-Harris.

Negaunee (2-1) comes in at number six, getting two points. They shown their dominance in big wins over L’Anse and Manistique, but a close loss on the road against Gladstone weighs them down.

The Miners are followed by West Iron County (3-0), who is also perfect on the season, with wins over Norway and L’Anse, as well as a forfeit victory over Houghton. That wasn’t enough to get recognition from the voters, earning them just one point.

Calumet (1-2) also has just a single point, clocking them at 8 in the rankings. The Copper Kings were equally impressive in a 27-0 rout of Gwinn as they were in a hard fought 17-16 loss against Kingsford. Calumet was forced to forfeit against Iron Mountain, but they hope to get back on track against Hancock and Marquette in the last two weeks of the season.

8-Man

Pickford (3-0) leads the way in 8-man football with four first place votes. The Panthers have been on a roll this season, and have been just impressive enough to earn them the top spot over North Central (3-0) who has also been rolling over opponents to begin the year.

Munising (3-0) and Lake Linden-Hubbell (2-1) have been amazing additions to the 8-man game, with each team shining in just their first season in the league. That earns them the third and fourth spots respectively. They’ll play each other to close out the regular season in what is now a highly anticipated matchup.

Stephenson (3-0) round out the top five for the initial rankings. The Eagles have been winning games by an average of 47 points, a feat even for 8-man. They’ll face their first real test of the season when they take on Munising this Friday.

Cedarville (2-1) comes in at six as the only other 8-man team earning points from the voters. The Trojans only loss of the season coming at the hands of Pickford in a 20-0 shutout in week two.