BLOG 14: GLIAC Teams Should Begin To Separate Themselves This Week

By Sandy Gholston

BIG RAPIDS – Now that the non-conference preliminaries are done, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams begin league play with six contests this weekend.

Ferris State has a big job as head coach Jeff Pierce’s squad heads down to Ohio to take on Ashland University in a 1 p.m. contest from Community Stadium. The nationally-ranked Eagles are still stinging from a week-one non-conference mild upset loss to nationally-ranked Bloomsburg, 49-42. Although Ashland is 0-1, the 24th-ranked (American Football Coaches Association) Eagles have plenty of talent, they’re a well-coached team and they have plenty to play for with playoff hopes and a league championship still realistic possibilities.

Here’s the rest of the action around the GLIAC for week two of the season:

Tiffin (0-1) at Findlay (1-0): These two Ohio-based schools battle it out beginning at 12 p.m., from Donnell Stadium, in the first-ever league contest for the visiting Dragons. Findlay was a 26-0 winner last week over Urbana.

Wayne State (1-0) at Saginaw Valley State (0-0): The Cardinals have entered the national rankings in spite of not even playing a game last weekend at Wickes Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 12 p.m. In this intriguing matchup, the visiting Warriors are hungry to spring an upset of Saginaw Valley to spoil the Cardinals’ opener and the debut of their first-year head coach (Jim Collins). Wayne snuck away with a 14-10 win over former GLIAC rival Mercyhurst.

Hillsdale (1-0) at Michigan Tech (1-0): Both teams are coming off big non-conference wins (Hillsdale was a 49-6 winner over St. Joseph’s while Michigan Tech won a 26-21 decision over Winona State) and this could be an interesting contest. Hillsdale has a strong all-around squad, but Michigan Tech boasts some offensive firepower of its own that could test the visiting Chargers as the teams kick off from Sherman Field beginning at 1 p.m.

Northwood (0-0) at Northern Michigan (0-0): The Timberwolves and Wildcats both start their seasons this weekend in what should be an intriguing contest up in the Superior Dome with kickoff scheduled for 4 p.m. Northwood has a new head coach, but one who is familiar with the program. Northern Michigan is building to climb its way back into the upper-division of the GLIAC.

Indianapolis (1-0) at No. 2 Grand Valley State (0-0): Grand Valley is the prohibitive favorite to win the GLIAC while Indianapolis will be hoping that having a game under its belt could pay off. The Greyhounds claimed a 40-14 win (last Thursday) over Kentucky Wesleyan, but will have a tall task visiting Lubbers Stadium in Allendale in this 7 p.m. contest.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com