Three Marquette area football teams are postseason bound after the statewide playoff pairings were released on Sunday.
Westwood (7-2) is the #3 seed in Division Six District One and will travel to Calumet in the opening round. The Copper Kings (9-0) defeated Westwood 14-12 in the regular season, a game which ultimately decided the West PAC Division A championship. The September 7th meeting was the most tightly contested game Calumet has been involved in this season, having won the rest of their games by at least 22 points. The Patriots are back in the playoffs for the second consecutive year and for the third time in the last four seasons. Westwood ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak and have not been scored upon since September 14th against Ishpeming. Kickoff is set for 7:00 on Friday with the broadcast available on ESPN UP and on the ESPN UP app. The other District One matchup has Elk Rapids visiting top-seed Traverse City St. Francis.
Ishpeming (9-0) and Gwinn (6-3) will play each other in the opening round of the Division Eight District One tournament. Ishpeming, ranked 5th in the final AP poll, is coming off their fifth unbeaten regular season in the last ten years, capturing the West PAC Division B championship in the process. Gwinn started the season 4-0 before clinching a postseason berth with Friday night’s victory over Munising. The two teams met in the regular season on September 28th; a 44-8 victory for Ishpeming. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 kickoff on Friday.