There was no surprise Friday night in Martin’s opening night of the football post-season playoffs.
The Clippers, who had their sights set on their third state championship in the last four years of eight-man football, handled visiting Marcellus for a second time this fall in a 40-0 verdict.
Martin scored two touchdowns and two, two-point conversions in the first quarter and then repeated the offensive performance in the second period, taking a comfortable 32-0 advantage into intermission. They scored one TD and one two-point conversion in the third period and let the score stand until the end.
The Clippers have qualified for the playoffs in all eight years since switching from 11-man to eight-man football. They own a 10-0 overall record now this season.
Martin’s next opponent will be Climax-Scotts, which Friday night defeated Gobles 72-62 in the opening round. The Panthers also beat Gobles in their first regular season game last August.
Kalamazoo United 41 Hopkins 20
The Vikings gave the combination Kalamazoo team (Kalamazoo Hackett and Kalamazoo Christian) a decent battle all night long, but fell short near the end.
Hopkins drew first blood by going up 7-0 in the first quarter, but then fell behind 21-14 at the half. The Kalamazoo squad opened up a 27-14 cushion early in the fourth period before the Vikings added a TD but no conversion in the last stanza.
Hopkins ended the season with a 5-5 overall record. Kalamazoo United will take its 8-2 record into the next round.
