Every week on this Blog, I will be making my selections on local games and trying to pick the winners of those games each week. The games posted will be within my seven county window (Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo, Saint Joseph and Van Buren) and will cover ALL games. Games predicted below are not in any specific order, just by order of the school alphabetically by county.

Last Week: 30-9 (.769)
Season: 63-20 (.759)

Top Three Games of the Week
1. @ Saugatuck 31, Watervliet 17: It’s the battle of two Southwestern Athletic Conference teams that are unbeaten. Saugatuck and Watervliet have started strong. One has to lose, why? Watervliet has had trouble, in the past, shutting the Wing-T down.
2. @ Dowagiac 38, Vicksburg 17: Dowagiac may very well be the best team in the Wolverine “B” Conference this year and Vicksburg, after losing many seniors last year after a playoff birth, is 2-0 as well. Dowagiac’s offense is stout, led by multi-college recruit Brett Scanlon. After seeing Dowagiac last week, great team.
3. @ Mendon 48, Edgerton (Oh.) 41: This could easily be the “GAME OF THE WEEK” in the area, overall, as Ohio powerhouse Edgerton takes on Michigan powerhouse Mendon. Last year, Edgerton beat Mendon in Ohio, 47-28. This year, the game will be a lot closer and could swing either way. Favorite: Mendon at home.

Friday Games
@ Allegan 41, Comstock 7
@ Fennville 28, Lawrence 14
@ Byron Center 31, Hamilton 10
Holland Christian 31, @ Wyoming Rogers 27
@ Hopkins 51, Kent City 7
Marcellus 35, @ Martin 20
@ Otsego 38, Paw Paw 34
@ Plainwell 28, Three Rivers 20
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern 28, @ Wayland Union 20
Delton-Kellogg 41, @ Vermontville Maple Valley 17
Hastings 31, @ Caledonia 27
@ Grand Rapids Catholic Central 28, Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg 21
Saint Joseph 38, @ Benton Harbor 7
Berrien Springs 38, @ White Pigeon 14
Buchanan 28, @ Wyoming Kelloggsville 26
@ Saint Joseph Michigan Lutheran 48, Eau Claire 10
New Buffalo 2, @ Covert 0 (FORFEIT)
Niles 27, @ Mattawan 14
@ Saint Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic 55, Three Oaks River Valley 6
Portage Northern 21, @ Stevensville Lakeshore 20
@ Cassopolis 48, Centreville 20
Edwardsburg 49, @ Bronson 12
Climax-Scotts 30, @ Bellevue 20
Schoolcraft 56, @ Galesburg-Augusta 14
@ Portage Central 21, Kalamazoo Central 7
@ Parchment 31, Kalamazoo Christian 13
Battle Creek Pennfield 49, @ Kalamazoo Hackett 6
Coldwater 28, @ Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 20
@ Richland Gull Lake 31, South Haven 8
Pittsford 38, @ Colon 28
@ Olivet 28, Constantine 22
Battle Creek Harper Creek 41, @ Sturgis 17
@ Bangor 38, Decatur 21
Hartford 38, @ Bloomingdale 31
@ Gobles 28, Lawton 22

Saturday Game
Coloma 31, @ LaPorte LaLumiere (Ind.) 21

Every week in the HartfordFootball.com Blog, I will be posting a Blog on the previous weeks three stars (standout performances by teams and/or players), three not-so top three stars (poor performances by teams and/or players) and be posting my Top 10 “Class B” (Big School) and Top 10 “Class C-D” (Small School) rankings for the week. Remember, the rankings are based on Class B, C and D teams in my seven county area: Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo, Saint Joseph and Van Buren counties.

Three Stars
1. Saugatuck Indians: Everyone said Saugatuck may have a let down season after making it to Ford Field last year and losing in the state finals. All they’ve done is rack up 55-16 and 42-0 wins the first two weeks, led by senior quarterback Brad Speet and running back Lance Kleino. Talk about the “WOW” factor.
2. Alex Padla, Berrien Springs: Talk about a quarterback lighting up Berrien County. Padla, the Lakeshore transfer to Berrien Springs, lit up the skies with a six of eight passing night, throwing for 168 yards and three touchdowns. Think Lakeshore is missing this kid about now? One word: DUH.
3. Decatur’s New Field: Decatur opened its brand new facility last week to the public, complete with a new track and football field (albeit grass). From the pictures I’ve seen, it looks great. The action on it last week? Not so much. Decatur won 10-8 in an ugly mess.

Three Not-So Top Stars
1. Portage Central: What is going on with the Mustangs? I’ve picked them to win both games this season, but yet, they sit 0-2? One thing has killed them: the fumble bug. They have turned it over more than a half-dozen times in two games. The goal is to keep the ball in your hands. Or else, the Mustangs may be 2-0. Still a playoff contender.
2. The Weather: Was it September last week or was it July? This guy was very unsure. The temperature at game time last Friday in Hartford: 84 degrees. Not very fall like. And it took its toll on the players, too. I saw more cramps last Friday then in an entire season. Lucky, this week, about twenty degrees COOLER.
3. Open Dates on the Schedule: Listen, I know it can be hard to schedule games, but listen up: open dates in a schedule does not do a team good. Buchanan had an off week last week because no one would play them. Buchanan, still at 1-0, probably won’t have much trouble rebounding, but come on, nine games schedules are best!

Top 10 BIG SCHOOL Rankings
1. Saint Joseph (2-0)
2. Edwardsburg (1-0)
3. Otsego (2-0)
4. Berrien Springs (2-0)
5. Dowagiac (2-0)
6. Hastings (2-0)
7. Buchanan (1-0)
8. Stevensville Lakeshore (1-1)
9. Vicksburg (2-0)
10. Paw Paw (2-0)

Top 10 LITTLE SCHOOL Rankings
1. Mendon (2-0)
2. Saugatuck (2-0)
3. Lawton (2-0)
4. Watervliet (2-0)
5. Climax-Scotts (2-0)
6. Hartford (2-0)
7. Gobles (2-0)
8. Constantine (1-1)
9. Schoolcraft (1-1)
10. Niles Brandywine (2-0)