Week 6 Football Preview: Homecoming week for 3 teams; Chargers head to Northwood

HILLSDALE COUNTY — There's a lot on the line for both prep football and college football teams in Hillsdale County heading into the first week of October.

The true 'fall' month of football has finally arrived. The weather gets colder, the tackles get more painful and wins become more difficult to come by.

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There's a lot on the line for each team with just four weeks remaining in the regular season of high school football. For Hillsdale College, this week's matchup with rival Northwood is a must win if the Chargers want to earn a winning record in 2024. These are our winner picks for each game, as well as a preview of the Charger's big road trip to Midland.

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High School Week 6, Oct. 4

• ▶ Burr Oak (4-1) at Camden-Frontier (1-4) - 7 p.m.
• Dundee (1-4) at Hillsdale ◀ (0-5) - Homecoming - 7 p.m.
• Columbia Central (2-3) at Jonesville ◀ (2-3) - Homecoming - 7 p.m.
• North Adams-Jerome (0-5) at Litchfield ◀ (1-4) - Homecoming - 7 p.m.
• ▶ Pittsford (4-1) at Concord (3-2) - Concord Homecoming - 7 p.m.
• Springport (5-0) at Reading◀ (2-3) - 7 p.m.
• Tekonsha (0-6) at Waldron (5-1) - FORFEIT

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It's homecoming week for the Comets, Hornets and Terriers football programs. Hillsdale, at 0-5, is no longer in the playoff picture, but coach Joe Williamson's squad has a shot to win their first game of the season on the biggest night for their school this fall.

At 1-4, the visiting Dundee Vikings have yet to impress this season offensively, losing recent games to Adrian Madison by a score of 38-12 and Clinton 38-16. The Hillsdale defense should be able to create turnovers to give their offense shots at short field position. Viking running back Joey Brink is the big playmaker that the Hornets will have to key in on to get the win on Friday night.

Over in Jonesville, the Comets look to move into second place in the West standings with the visiting Golden Eagles heading into town. The Comets and coach Frank Keller played their first complete game offensively and defensively against Addison, winning 46-0 in Week 5. The Golden Eagles had a similar night against Addison in Week 4, but the Eagles should not have the same success against a stout front seven from Jonesville. Senior quarterback Nic Richardson will be one of the players the Comets will be tasked with stopping. It'll be a close game, but the Comets should prevail to even out their record at 3-3.

Litchfield hosts North Adams-Jerome in an in-county rivalry battle for homecoming night. Litchfield pulled off a barnburner win on the road at Camden-Frontier to win its first game of 2024. They host a Rams team looking for their first win of the year. It should be the closest battle of Week 6, and the Terriers escape with a win.

We predict Reading to pull off the upset win at home against undefeated Springport, boosting their chances at a playoff berth.

Waldron earned a forfeit win over Tekonsha after the latter cancelled their matchup due to injuries, so the Spartans get an extra week to prepare for their clash with Adrian Lenawee Christian.

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College Football - Saturday, Oct. 5

• Hillsdale College (0-4) at Northwood (3-1) - 1 p.m.

Hillsdale College searches for its first win of the season and first under new head coach Nate Shreffler. Despite its valiant second-half comeback, Hillsdale fell to nationally ranked Findlay 28-21 to drop to 0-4 overall last week.

Sophomore Shea Ruddy, former Whiteford high school state champion, had a 93-yard kick return touchdown and two receiving touchdowns from redshirt sophomore quarterback Colin McKernan of Brighton.

Like the Chargers this year, Northwood had its turn with a new head coach last fall. After a 5-6 2023 campaign, coach Dustin Beurer, formerly of Albion College, has the Timberwolves at 3-1 overall. They are looking for their first winning season since 2017 and only their second in the past decade.

The Timberwolves's offensive success runs through quarterback Jacob Barlage. Barlage has a 66% completion percentage, over 900 yards and eight passing touchdowns in four starts. Returning All-G-MAC linebacker Mbaimba Tunkara leads the front seven. Kicker Max Gonos has made for of his five field goal attempts so far this season, including a long of 47 yards.

The Chargers' meeting with Northwood will be the first since the return of 'The Jack', the traveling all-sports trophy between the two colleges. It was inaugurated in 1996 to honor legendary ADs Jack Finn of Northwood and Jack McAvoy of Hillsdale; the trophy was awarded for 20 years before Hillsdale's departure from the GLIAC in 2017-18 left the two teams in different conferences.

With both programs back in the G-MAC, the traveling trophy will return for the 2024-25 season, with results in head-to-head matches and conference finishes factoring into the point total for both teams and the program with the most points at the end of the year receiving the trophy until the next sports season.

Other Local College Football Games to Watch

• Adrian College (4-0) at Albion College (3-1) - 1 p.m.
• Trine University (2-2) at Hope College (4-0) - 1 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Week 6 Football Preview: Homecoming week for 3 teams; Chargers head to Northwood