Following a monstrous win over Montague last week, Reed City will take on first-year playoff team Hart in their fourth consecutive district championship game this Friday. In preparation for the game, here’s a full in-depth look at the matchup including the history, schemes, numbers, and bracket implications for the two programs.

 

HISTORY

Like Montague, the Pirates hold the edge over the Coyotes all-time in the series with a 9-5-1 record. The last matchup between the two teams came all the way back in 1965, when Hart took down Reed City 24-7. For those interested in the last time the Coyotes beat the Pirates, you will have to look back seven years earlier when Reed City won 21-14 in 1958. Both teams also spent time in the same West Michigan Conference between 1957 and 1965, until the Coyotes moved into the US-10 conference while Hart stayed in the West Michigan Conference and have continued to do all the way to 2023.

Hart enters this game with an all-time program best 9-1 record and their first true playoff performance aside the COVID 2020 season. The Pirates have had a winning record over the past two seasons, their first winning years in over three decades. In Hart’s only playoff game, they were overpowered by future state champion Montague 75-0. In consideration of common opponents, Hart’s only loss this season came at home against North Muskegon 34-14 in week five. Another team that fell to Norseman this year: Montague a week later by a score of 34-7. The Pirates also took down Kent City at home a week ago by a score of 44-22, a team Reed City pummeled 40-6 on the road earlier this year.

 

SCHEME

Like Montague, Hart runs a similar spread look out of the shotgun offensively. Where the Pirates made bank against Kent City last week and other opponents this season is using a lot of cross motion fakes from their interior fullbacks and h-backs. Their unique formation gives a lot of options for their run-heavy offense both between the tackles and on the outside. Their QB does have a solid arm for occasional deep shots, but he also will keep it on designed runs quite often as one of their top playmakers. For Reed City, a mix up of 5-2 and 4-3 fronts as well as spacing on the boundaries for their corners will be something to watch defensively, especially after their strong tackling performance last week.

Defensively, Hart trusts their toughness and tackling in a similar type of formation as Reed City. While not as bold in playmaking as their offense, their defense shows glimpses of big stops at the expense of being overly aggressive and giving up big plays. Against a tougher passing offense like North Muskegon, they did show a tendency to play more spread out and conservative outside the box and in the secondary. In pertaining to Reed City’s offense, it’ll will be interesting to watch how they respond to the Coyotes’ strong outside running game and potential playmaking ability through the chance of play action. This could possibly lead to more inside run success as the game progresses if their offense starts out fast on Friday.

 

NUMBERS

By the decade, the 2020’s have been successful for both programs. Reed City has won 36 of 44 games so far in this decade, calculating as a .818 win percentage. For Hart, their best football has been over the past four years with a .571 win percentage and 20 wins total.

Both teams also share similar numbers in enrollment. According to MHSAA.com, Hart’s 2023 enrollment stands at 413 people while Reed City’s stands slightly higher at 428. When it comes to the history of enrollment, this is where the schools differ. Hart has never grown more than 468 since 1985, where Reed City had a max of 729 students back in 1998 and has slowly decreased since.

This year, the Pirates enter the game with the upper hand offensively scoring a whopping 41.6 points per game, including a pair of 50-point performances and a remarkable 72-point output in week 7 against Holton. Reed City follows up averaging 32.2 per contest on the offensive side of the ball while averaging 17.2 points defensively to Hart’s 15.1. Based on scoring and yardage totals, it’s fair to expect an offensive shootout this Friday night.

 

BRACKET IMPLICATIONS

Friday’s winner will not only take home the district 43 title but will advance to the region 22 title game the following week. They will play the winner between host Chesaning, who stands at 9-1 after a dominating win over fellow CSAA foe Central Montcalm 31-12, and Midland Bullock Creek, who pulled off a major upset over top-seeded Clare on the road 22-19.

The game would be at Reed City if the Coyotes won, regardless of outcome in the other matchup. Hart needs to win and Midland Bullock Creek to win to host, otherwise, they will travel to Chesaning if the Indians were to come out on top. This is due to the playoff point totals, in which Reed City leads at 46.444, followed by Chesaning at 42.000, Hart at 40.000, and Midland Bullock Creek with 34.223.

 

BROADCAST INFORMATION

For all the play-by-play action, tune in to Y102 starting at 6:45 P.M. Listen in on 102.3 FM, WYBR.com, or the WYBR mobile app.