It’s official, both Hopkins and Martin will be at home for their post-season playoff openers this weekend.
Hopkins, with an 8-1 season record, will be host to Berrien Springs, which went 7-2. Meanwhile, Martin, which was 6-3 for the campaign, will entertain Holton, 5-4.
Berrien Springs is no stranger to the Vikings. The Shamrocks throttled them 31-0 in a regular season ballgame in 2015. Berrien Springs’s two losses this season came at the hands of playoff teams Muskegon Oakridge and Kalamazoo United, which very well could be the opponent of the winner of this opening round contest.
One ominous statistic is that the Shamrocks defeated Olivet, the only team to beat the Vikings this season, in Week Two, 43-35.
The playoff appearance will be the first for Hopkins since 2014. The squad won its last seven games in a row after that loss at Olivet and it scored a whopping 370 points for a 41 per game average.
Holton made the payoffs despite losing its last three games in a row. The Red Devils defeated Martin 21-6 in a regular season ballgame last year.
Martin suffered through a 56-game losing streak after its last playoff appearance in 2007 and this is its first winning season in 11 years.
The Clippers have come up with a high octane offense since being shut out in the season opener. They have tallied at least 48 points in five of their victories and have scored 335 for the season, average better than 40 over their last eight games.
Further information about game times and dates will be forthcoming Monday.
