Week Five high school football showdowns

Sep. 24—Boyne City at TC St. Francis

RECORDS: Boyne City (4-0; No. 4 in Division 6); Traverse City St. Francis (4-0; No. 2 in Division 7)

WHEN: Saturday, 1 p.m.

SERIES: St. Francis leads 31-10

LAST MEETING: St. Francis won 17-14 in 2019.

RADIO: FM-89.9

ONLINE: nfhsnetwork.com, boyne.k12.mi.us

BACKGROUND: A battle of the unbeatens like the one slated for Saturday afternoon at Thirlby Field has the potential to live up to the hype, even for a midseason matchup. Both teams have explosive offenses and shutdown defenses. Boyne City has racked up 155 points and allowed just 25 through four weeks. St. Francis scored 126 of its 200 points in the last two games and tossed shutouts in weeks 1 and 4. One team will move to 5-0, but the team that leaves 4-1 will still be a force going forward.

Petoskey vs. TC Central

RECORDS: TC Central (3-1; No. 8 in Division 2); Petoskey (3-1)

WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.

SERIES: Trojans lead 22-13

LAST MEETING: Central won 49-20 in 2020

RADIO: AM-580

ONLINE: nfhsnetwork.com

BACKGROUND: Traverse City Central and Petoskey are 3-1, but the two teams got there in different ways. Central heads north riding high off of an emphatic 42-14 victory against Traverse City West in the Patriot Game. Petoskey looks to rebound against the Trojans after falling 10-7 to Gaylord in a surprising defeat last week. Central put up 60, 56 and 42 points in its three games following a Week 1 loss to DeWitt. The Northmen's offense needs to return to where it was the first three weeks, averaging nearly 40 points a game.

Alpena at TC West

RECORDS: Alpena (0-4); Traverse City West (3-1)

WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.

SERIES: Titans lead 24-0

LAST MEETING: West defeated Alpena 49-0 in 2020

RADIO: FM-106.3

ONLINE: nfhsnetwork.com

BACKGROUND: Traverse City West continued on the wrong end of a streak last week with its third straight loss to intra-city rival Traverse City Central in the Patriot Game, but the Titans can take solace in knowing they are on a 24-game run in the right direction against Big North Conference foe Alpena. That solace will only continue if West can push that to 25 games against the winless Wildcats. A victory for Alpena would also put a halt to the program's current 12-game losing streak and break the Cats' curse against West.

Kingsley vs. Grayling

RECORDS: Grayling (3-1); Kingsley (4-0; No. 4 in Division 5)

WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.

SERIES: Grayling leads 4-3

LAST MEETING: The Stags defeated the Vikings 40-21 in 2020

RADIO: FM-104.5

ONLINE: nfhsnetwork.com

BACKGROUND: Kingsley might have a losing record against Grayling at 4-3, but the Stags have won the last three battles between the Northern Michigan Football Conference — Legends Division foes. The Stags have not allowed more than 21 points in any of those victories. The Kingsley offense, which spreads the wealth among its talented roster, is averaging 44 points a game, and the defense has allowed just 29 points all season. Grayling hasn't seen live-game action since Sept. 10 after taking a win via forfeit against Kalkaska last week.

BEAR LAKE at BRETHREN

RECORDS: Bear Lake (3-1); Brethren (0-4)

WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.

SERIES: Brethren leads 5-0

LAST MEETING: The Bobcats took down the Lakers 30-9 in 2020

BACKGROUND: Although the Bear Lake football program is in just its fifth year, the Lakers had not won more than two games until this season. Bear Lake looks to continue adding checks in the win column Friday against Brethren, and a victory would mark the Lakers' first-ever win against the Bobcats. Brethren is struggling through the first half of the season and has been outscored 146-46 in its four losses. The two schools share a football field, so that advantage is up for grabs.