Mount Pleasant High School Football 2017

Oiler Football may be over for this year, but this season should be looked upon as a success. The team had a tough schedule the first five games, their record reflected this as they started the season 1-4. After the rough start, a lot of people may have given up on the team, but the team never gave up on itself. The guys knew they all had one another’s backs when everyone else had lost hope in them. The Oiler’s refused to roll over and give up on the season, they went on to win their last four games of the season and keep their playoff hopes alive. Now, we all know the playoff dreams didn’t come true, but this team would not give in and stood victorious the last four games this season. Over that four-game span, the Oilers outscored their opponents 181-46, now that’s making a statement. With the season coming to an end, we say goodbye to another group of seniors. To those seniors, do not hang your head, you persevered and showed the underclassmen how to never give up on their Oiler Pri...

Although, the Mount Pleasant Oilers football season for 2017 is over. The 2018 season is just beginning. Being a Mount Pleasant football player isn't simply playing each fall. It requires a year round commitment. Players will be strength and conditioning year round starting with winter sports or weight lifting. Following winter Oiler football players are required to play a spring sport, this is essential to prevent rust from a long offseason. As soon as the students are off for summer break the players will continue their strength and conditioning with morning workouts. These workouts are months before football practices begin. However it is necessary in order to keep up with the demanding physicality of football. Despite the fact that the next Oiler football game is nearly 10 months away. The upcoming Oiler football teams will be hard at work all offseason, in order to put themselves in the best position to succeed! -Spencer Arends *Not Affiliated with MPHS*

All season long, the Freshmen football team at Mount Pleasant found ways to be successful. They had two victories which stand out amongst their 8-0-1 season. The first came against the Davison cardinals . The final score was 26-14. The oilers controlled the game by running the ball and picking up key first downs when they needed to. Defensively, they played well with good form tackling and stopping the cardinals' run game. These two combinations allowed them to pull out a huge home victory at Community Memorial Stadium. Their victory against the Lapeer Lightning  also came at home. The oilers again showcased the ability of controlling the clock by winning with a score 28-19. The oilers were able to control the ground game enough to win, but there was huge contributions from quarterback Owen Cole. He made key passes in third down situations which either stopped moment gained by Lapeer or adding momentum by avoiding a three and out after a defensive stop. On the other side of the ba...

This weeks defensive player of the week is without a doubt junior Hunter Norris. Norris recorded 15 total tackles, with 9 of them being on solo adventures. He also added a fumble recovery to continue his career night. In what turned out to be the final game of the Oilers' season, Hunter truly put the team on his back defensively. Norris looks to be a force on the defensive side of the field next season, as he will be looked at as a senior and a leader in the 2018 campaign. *Not affiliated with MPHS Matthew Flahive

The Offensive Player of the Week recipient for Friday nights game against Saginaw Heritage was Cole Smallwood. The Senior put on a show for the Oiler crowd as he rushed for 191 yards on 26 carries. Smallwood also punched in 4TDs in Mount Pleasant's big win on Senior Night. After Friday night's impressive performance, Cole Smallwood had a season total 11 touchdowns and rushed for 593 yards. Unfortunately the Oilers did not make the playoffs as a 5-4 team, but Smallwood and the rest of the Oiler Seniors have a lot to hold their heads up high for. Go Oilers! Photo Courtesy Ken Kadwell, The Morning Sun -Brandon Hoffman *Not Affiliated with MPHS

On Friday night, Mount Pleasant came into Senior Night on a three game win streak and looking to extend it to four as they hosted the Hawks from Saginaw Heritage. The Oilers came out and picked up right where they left off from the week before. This week though, it was all about the run game. Senior Cole Smallwood led the Mount Pleasant rushing attack by having a 4TD night. Junior Kevin Davis contributed to the scoring by punching in a TD of his own. The Oiler Defense had another fantastic game shutting down the Heritage Offense and limiting them to only 6 first downs the entire game. Mount Pleasant shutout the Hawks in the first-half, leading 27-0. The second half was focused on defensive play as both teams only gave up a touchdown each, both coming in the 3rd Quarter. Mount Pleasant would go onto win 34-7, winning their fourth straight game. What a way for the seniors to go out on their last home game with a win. Go Oilers! Photo Courtesy by Ken Kadwell http://media.themornin...

 The week 9 predictions vs Heritage are as follows… Matt: Mt. Pleasant 35-6 The playoffs are on the line and it’s senior night. I expect to see the Oilers come out harder than they have all year! Spencer: Mt. Pleasant 27-14 Mt. Pleasant will come out on top, giving their fans a great performance in what could be their last game of the year. Jon: Mt. Pleasant 24-21 Heritage and Mt. Pleasant have played each other for years creating an “unspoken” rivalry. It makes things interesting, especially considering the Oilers need a victory for a potential playoff berth and it being a memorable last home game for the seniors on senior night. Noah: Mt. Pleasant 42-13 Mt. Pleasant has all the momentum coming into this game as they are playing for a potential playoff berth after starting the season 1-4. I expect them to win big and keep the strength moving forward.

Well Oiler fans, it all comes down to this Friday. Standing at 4-4, Mount Pleasant must win the final game of the season against Saginaw Heritage in order to finish at 5-4. If the team loses, they are eliminated from playoff contention and the season ends. If the Oilers get the job done, there will be a chance-a slim chance-but a chance nonetheless to make it to the playoffs. Should the Oilers win, they will have to wait until Selection Sunday to find out their playoff fate. For the seniors on this squad, this will be stressful and emotions will run high as they await the potential end of their high school football careers. If they don't hear their name called, it will be a crushing blow to all the hard work they put in this year. However, if their name is called, it will be reason to celebrate as Oiler football lives to play another week. Saginaw Heritage comes in at 2-5, so they will be looking to play the spoiler role against Mount Pleasant. In addition to fighting for their p...

Mount Pleasant's Freshmen Football Team Dominance For those unfamiliar with the ninth grade football players at Mt. Pleasant high school, let me inform you all. They are traveling to Heritage tomorrow with a record of 7-0-1, the tie coming against cross-town rival Midland. The last two years have been a struggle for the freshmen team posting records of 5-4 in 2015 and 4-5 in 2016. A large part of this year's team success is because of the involvement Varsity head coach Jason Mcintyre has with the rocket league team in Mount Pleasant. Not only does he familiarize them with the play calling and running exact plays which the high school does, but he also teaches them proper fundamentals of form and angle tackling, blocking, ball security, and basic zone coverages. All of which are things freshmen coaches struggle teaching because players have only played football since middle school or it may be their first year. His involvement directly translates to the high school level and s...

Defensive Player of the Week (10/8/17) Our selection for defensive player of the week against the Arthur Hill Lumberjacks goes to Hunter Norris accumulating eight tackles with five of those being solo tackles. Hunter controlled in between the tackles well all night as Arthur Hill tried establishing the run game. Hunter has played solid at the mike position averaging 6.4 tackles per game. For coach Mcintyre, he his pleased to have Hunter returning for one more year as a senior. Hunter and coach Mcintyre are looking to ride their success with a win against Heritage to finish with a winning season. 

The Offensive Player of the Week recipient for the second straight week is Jackson Ostrowsky. The Junior Quarterback picked apart the Arthur Hill Defense completing 8 of 11 passes for 203 yards on Thursday night. Ostrowsky threw for 4 TDs in the Oilers 56-18 victory over the Lumberjacks.  Jackson and the rest of the Mount Pleasant Offense have found a common identity of scoring early and often and taking control of the game. This Friday night, Mount Pleasant closes out their regular season looking for a big win and hopefully a playoff birth by hosting Saginaw Heritage High School on Senior Night.  Kick-off is set for 7:00pm at MPHS. Go Oilers! Photo Courtesy by Ken Kadwell http://media.themorningsun.com -Brandon Hoffman *Not Affiliated with MPHS

Mount Pleasant had a shortened week to prepare for their game against Arthur Hills High School as the game was moved from Friday night in Saginaw to Thursday night in Mount Pleasant. The Oilers did not have a hard time getting pumped up for this game being they received an extra opportunity to play in front of the hometown crowd. Similar to the past couple weeks, Mount Pleasant dominated from the opening kick-off. The Oilers would score on the opening possession of the contest and their defense did a phenomenal job shutting down the Lumberjacks. At the end of the First Quarter, Mount Pleasant had a 20-0 lead. They would not let up their attack and continued to ware down the Arthur Hill defense by dominating the second quarter and going into half time leading 43-6. The Oilers smoothly sailed through the second half and would go onto win the game with the final score being 56-18. Mount Pleasant made it three in a row after winning Thursday night and look to continue with there winning w...

As many members of the Oiler community have heard, Tommy Arends and Andrew Scully suffered season ending injuries during the game Thursday. Unfortunately, as a result of a freak play, Tommy completely severed his small intestine and during another play Andrew Scully Fractured his collarbone. While injuries are a nature of the sport, Tommy's particular one is very peculiar as on-site doctors agreed they have never seen anything such as this. A severed intestine is something one may suffer as a result of a car accident, but rarely would you expect on the football field. Yet, here we are. Thursday, after a reception Arends was tackled. He was down for a short time and as trainers walked onto the field he found the strength to walk to the sideline of his own accord. While the trainers checked on him they thought it best for him to get checked for internal bleeding. While at McLaren ER, the staff recommended him to be transferred to Midland. It was at Midland where tommy was rushed into...

Here are the picks for Mt. Pleasant's week 8 match up versus Arthur Hill... Matt: Mt. Pleasant 55-7 Mt. Pleasant finally breaks 50 points in this huge win over Arthur Hill. Brandon: Mt. Pleasant 49-7 I believe Mt. Pleasant owns this game and only lets up a touchdown late in the 2 nd half. Spencer: Mt. Pleasant 48-7 I think Mt. Pleasant realizes they have to win to keep their playoff chances alive and pulls out a win. Jon: Mt. Pleasant 42-14 I have confidence that Mt. Pleasant uses their momentum and rolls over Arthur Hill. Noah: Mt. Pleasant  35-12 Mt. Pleasant started 1-4 and have won back to back games to keep their playoff hopes alive, I don’t see them stopping now.  

The Oilers have a nice matchup tonight versus Arthur Hill High School. They will be taking on the Lumberjacks in what should be a good matchup. The Lumberjacks have yet to put a mark in the win column this year, they’re currently 0-7. The Lumberjacks are going to be hungry for their first win of the season but, they are coming into this game with no momentum as they have been outscored by at least 20 points in every game so far. The Oilers are sitting at 3-4 and will be fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive. Unlike the Lumberjacks, the Oilers have momentum behind them as they are coming off back to back blowout wins. Overall expect to see a tough fought battle on both ends, the Oilers have more to fight for with a shot at the playoffs riding on these last two games. It also helps the Oilers to have this game changed from a road game to a home game. Get out and support your Oilers tonight as they fight for post season action! *Not affiliated with MPHS -Noah Burgess

For the second week in a row Mount Pleasant played dominant football in their 43-7 win over Bay City Western. These types of wins are always nice as it gets your depth players more time on the field while your starters can rest. As such, a bunch of Oilers made plays in big ways. According to Max Preps ( http://www.maxpreps.com/games/football-fall-17/bay-city-western-vs-mt-pleasant/10-6-2017-nvz7CKF-p02Lfo64MD2jqQ.htm#tab=box-score&schoolid=1271a89c-b85b-44dd-a791-5382496c6363 ) 25 oilers recorded tackles for a total of 111 (includes assisted) The Defensive Player of the Week for this game goes to Hunter Norris. He tallied for himself 6 solo tackles while also making 7 assisted tackles. In games like these it is hard to give one single player considering the volume of players that are getting snaps. Norris however stood out as a player who was able to make plays for the Oilers consistently while he was on the field. Norris will look to continue making big plays for the Oilers as t...

The Offensive Player of the Week recipient for Friday night's Homecoming game was Jackson Ostrowsky. The Junior Quarterback completed 12 of 19 passes for 195 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jackson also had 4 carries for 27 yards, totaling his offensive night to 222 yards in 43-7 win over Bay City Western. Ostrowsky and the Oiler offense have shown again just how strong their offense can be in another game where they won big. Mount Pleasant's game this week has been moved from Friday night to Thursday night and will be played at HOME instead of at Arthur Hill High School. Kick-off set for 7pm. Go Oilers!

Mount Pleasant's upcoming away game has been rescheduled for home this Thursday night! This gives the Oilers a chance to play an extra game in front of all their fans! The oilers are hoping to continue the momentum from last game. *Not affiliated with MPHS* -Spencer Arends

Mount Pleasant continued to keep their season alive with another big win on Friday night. This was also Homecoming for the Oilers as they hosted the Warriors of Bay City Western. Mount Pleasant made great use of the home field advantage, getting the crowd into the game early by scoring quickly on the first drive of the football game. The Oiler Defense came up big forcing Bay City to fumble on their first possession of the ball game. The offense for Mount Pleasant marched right back down the field quickly making it a two possession game after the first quarter with the score being 13-0. The Oilers would not look back as they continued to hammer on the Warriors going into the half leading 37-7. Mount Pleasant would go cruise through the second half by winning the ball game with a final score of 43-7. Confidence continues to build as the Oilers continue to grind out wins in hopes for a playoff birth come the end of October. This upcoming week, Mount Pleasant will be on the road playing...

The atmosphere is electric around Mount Pleasant High School which always happens this time of year. Why? Homecoming. Homecoming is a time where students can showcase their school-spirit, their creative minds, and their football team. Homecoming also makes students do some crazy things once in awhile. Such as wearing ridiculous outfits to school, asking their future ex-girlfriend to the homecoming dance, creating an alternative homecoming (😅), and once in awhile a student might find him or herself making outlandish guarantees. Well in this case the crazy student is Tommy Arends and the outlandish guarantee is win by at least three touchdowns. Now you might be thinking... "win by three touchdowns? There's nothing crazy about that." And you would be right. However, it's not the winning by three touchdowns which has us concerned. During the annual homecoming assemble Tommy Arends in front of close 1200 students on one end of the gym and a bleacher full of communit...

For homecoming week, The Mount Pleasant Oilers take on the Bay City Western Warriors. The Oilers are coming off a huge victory over Flint Southwestern with a score of 48-14. They were able to run and pass the ball successfully obtaining 368 yards in total offense. Cole Smallwood ran the ball 14 times for 137 yards and three touchdowns. Jackson Ostrowsky completed seven of eight passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. If they see the same success offensively, the Oilers have an excellent chance to be victorious because the Warriors have a 200-point differential between them and their opponents. Through the first six games of the season, they have only scored 20 points. If the Oilers score early, they will put extreme pressure on the Warriors to respond offensively. Furthermore, the Warriors run the spread offense most of the time. Therefore, expect the Oilers to stay in their base cover-four defense keeping everything in front of them challenging the Warriors to run the football. The O...

The Oilers put on a show last week vs Flint. There wasn't one player that stood out individually, Mainly due to the offense putting up a hefty lead and the defense not being able to stay on the field. Which is a great, it is always a good thing when your defense can get the ball back ioffense often.The highest tackle total of the game for a single player was 8 (Kevin Davis) with 4 solo and 4 asst.  http://www.maxpreps.com/games/football-fall-17/flint-southwestern-academy-northwestern-vs-mt-pleasant/9-29-2017-ROy5Nd41bUWOKNfzVnYY0A.htm#tab=box-score&schoolid=1271a89c-b85b-44dd-a791-5382496c6363 The low individual tackle total wasn't because of a lack of effort on the defense but moreso an unrelenting lead by the Oilers allowed many of the second and third string players seeing a fair amount of playing time. As such, while this may be an unpopular decision, Defensive Player of the Week has to go to the whole defense. They were flying to the ball fast, breaking up passes, cr...

It is Homecoming week! Our Mt. Pleasant Oilers are hosting the Bay City Western Warriors this Friday at 7pm. The Homecoming Royal Ball will be Saturday from 6pm – 12am. The school spirit is at an all time high this week as the students have been showing their Oiler Pride for spirit week! The themes for spirit week are... Monday- Comfy Day Tuesday- Twin Day Wednesday- Wacky Wednesday Thursday- Color Wars Friday- Blue and Gold Day Of course since it is Homecoming, there has to be a King and Queen. The 2017 MPHS Homecoming Court consists of Lily Kowalcyk, Lucas Dye, Bennett Cox, Rena Angera, Ace Cordell, Taylor White, Justin Hassen, Sana Gala, RJ Araway, Ally Bishop, Peter Smith, Rachel Moran, Cade Wischmeyer, Katie Fisher, Cole Smallwood, and Presli Schumacker. We wish the best to all of these individuals, but most of all, GO OILERS!! *Not Affiliated with MPHS* -Noah Burgess

The Offensive Player of the Week recipient is Cole Smallwood. The Senior had 14 carries for 137 yards. Smallwood also punched in 3TDs as Mount Pleasant went on to win big Friday Night against Flint. This was also Smallwood's first multi-touchdown game of the season. Cole and the rest of the Oiler offense came out firing on all cylinders. Mount Pleasant's offense will look to continue to gain momentum this week as they will host Bay City Western for their 2017 Homecoming Game on Friday Night. 7:00pm Kick-Off at Mount Pleasant High School. Go Oilers! *Not affiliated with MPHS* -Brandon Hoffman

Talk about a statement win. The Oilers hosted the Flint Southwestern Jaguars on Friday night, and Mount Pleasant found success early and often. The Jaguars were overmatched from the opening kickoff, as the Oilers scored on their first two plays of the game. Flint didn't make it easier on themselves by losing the ball on a fumble on their very first play of the game, giving the ball back to Mount Pleasant and quickly making the score 14-0. It was all Mount Pleasant from there as they made the score 34-0 at the end of the first quarter, and 48-6 at halftime, and ultimately finishing the game with a score of 48-14. This was a huge confidence booster for the Oilers as they continue to fight for every win they can find to keep playoff hopes alive.  Mount Pleasant hosts Bay City Western this Friday night. As it is Homecoming week at MPHS, expect to see another excellent performance from the Oilers as they look to continue their playoff hunt. Go Oilers!