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INDIAN RIVER — It’s playoff football time.
For the Inland Lakes Bulldogs, that means the quest to get back to the Superior Dome begins.
After capping off a 9-0 regular season with a 50-8 victory over Gaylord St. Mary on Friday, the Bulldogs (36.250 points) will be a host in the first round of the 8-Player Division 1 playoffs when they take on Blanchard Montabella (6-3).
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The Inland Lakes-Blanchard Montabella winner meets the winner of Atlanta (6-3) and Alcona (8-1) in the regional final the following week. If No. 1-seeded Alcona (37.556) beats Atlanta, it will host the No. 2-seeded Bulldogs as the Tigers have more playoff points than Inland Lakes.
EARLY LOOK: The Bulldogs should be well positioned to get to the regional final with the homefield advantage, but a potential road clash in Alcona is a major challenge. Alcona’s only loss this fall came against an excellent Deckerville (9-0) team on Friday. Inland Lakes captured a 22-6 home win over Alcona in the first round last season.
If Inland Lakes finds a way back to the semifinals, a rematch at Pickford (9-0) looks likely as the Panthers have been a dominant force this season. The Bulldogs reached the state title game with a 12-0 victory over the Panthers in Pickford, then fell to defending champion Martin in the championship at the Superior Dome in Marquette.
There’s no doubt the Bulldogs have a difficult road back to Marquette, but they’ve shown in the past and this season that they’re more than capable of winning the big games.
The Daily Tribune will update this story with playoff dates and times once they become available.
Here’s a look at this year’s 8-player matchups:
MHSAA 8-Player Division 1 Football Pairings
REGION 1 Munising (6-3) 28.667 at Pickford (9-0) 38.250 Norway (7-2) 32.111 at Ishpeming (6-2) 33.583
REGION 2 Atlanta (6-3) 27.708 at Alcona (8-1) 37.556 Blanchard Montabella (6-3) 28.667 at Indian River Inland Lakes (9-0) 36.250
REGION 3 Bay City All Saints (7-2) 31.778 at Deckerville (9-0) 41.000 Fulton (8-1) 33.556 at Kingston (7-2) 34.111
REGION 4 Martin (7-1) 34.083 at Gobles (9-0) 37.500 Mendon (8-1) 34.889 at Climax-Scotts (8-1) 35.556
NOTABLE NORTHERN MICHIGAN PLAYOFF GAMES
Division 3, Region 1, District 1: Bay City John Glenn (5-4) at Petoskey (9-0)
Division 6, Region 1, District 1: Negaunee (6-3) at Boyne City (7-2)
Division 7, Region 1, District 1: Charlevoix (6-3) at Traverse City St. Francis (6-3)
Division 8, Region 1, District 1: Bark River-Harris (5-4) at East Jordan (7-2)
8-Player, Division 2, Region 1: Gaylord St. Mary (7-2) at Powers North Central (8-1)
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
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