PINCKNEY — The Pinckney football team reached one milestone on Friday after a 24-14 win over Walled Lake Northern.
The Pirates finished the regular season at 7-2 for the first time since 1999.
Now, they’d like to do something they haven’t done since 2001 — play host to a playoff game.
“Nothing’s guaranteed here, but we wanted to give our seniors the opportunity of playing another game at home,” coach Jakob Gailitis said of the victory. “I think we’ll have a good shot at it. No guarantee, but we’re excited about it for our kids.”
Luke Rendell scored three touchdowns for the Pirates, who also got stellar play from Alex Wasyl (a key reception to set up one score, a blocked punt to set up another) and Levi Collins, who stepped into the starting lineup at defensive end and played what Gailitis called “a really, really good game.”
If the Pirates do play host to a playoff game, probably in Division 2, it would be the first at Pirates Stadium, which opened in 2011.
“It’s something these kids have worked toward for a very long time,” Gailitis said. “I think the pins and needles part is over. Let’s open it up and see what we’ve got and let’s go. Let’s line up and play the next one.”
The Pirates, like the other 256 playoff qualifiers, will find out who and where they play when the MHSAA announces playoff brackets on Fox Sports Detroit beginning at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Fowlerville 49, Lansing Waverly 28
FOWLERVILLE — After years of absorbing beatings at the hands of Waverly, the Gladiators returned the favor on Friday.
Nick Semke scored five touchdowns and threw for two more as the Gladiators finished 7-2, the opposite of 2014, when they were 2-7.
“A lot of our seniors were on the team as sophomores that season,” Fowlerville coach Bret Shrader said. “We talked this week about flipping the script.”
The Gladiators will find out who, where and what division they will play in on Sunday night.
“We got to 7-2 and hopefully we’ll ride that momentum, wherever it takes us,” Shrader said. “We’re right on that bubble of Divisin 3 and division 4, and we wont’ know unti Sunday evening which way we’re heading.”
It’s the first playoff berth for the Glads under Shrader, who is in his sixth season.
“It’s been a journey the last six years here,” Shrader said. “I’m so proud of our players. Our assistant coaches are phenomenal. I couldn’t do it without them.They’re in it for the right reasons, and they work extremely hard. They deserve a lot of the credit here, along with the players.”
Waterford Mott 62, Howell 35
HOWELL — The Highlanders forced a fumble on the first play, scored on the second, and led 14-7 before the Corsairs put on a scoring display never before seen by the Highlanders.
“They did whatever they wanted,” Howell coach Aaron Metz said. “I have to watch the film, but whatever we did, they did better. We never got into a groove on defense, and we missed too many tackles. Give them credit. They were faster and better than us tonight.”
For the second year in a row, the Highlanders finished 5-4 after starting 4-0. But Metz thinks the team will make the playoffs this season, as it did last year.
“I think we’re going be OK,” he said. “I think we’re going to get in.”
Ryan Brennan ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more for the Highlanders.
Hartland 27, Walled Lake Central 15
HARTLAND — Jack Slavin rushed for more than 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Eagles (3-6) finished the season on a two-game winning streak.
“The seniors went out on a good note the last two weeks with wins, and that was good for them,” Hartland coach Brian Savage said. “They earned the wins and played hard, and it’s always good to end the season on a positive note when the season didn’t go the way we thought. But we’ll take it.”
Tristan Meadows and Bryce Watson had key interceptions for the Eagles on defense.
