Alger County showdown: Mustangs host Cougars on Friday with local bragging rights at stake

Superior Central football coach Todd Spranger likes the town of Munising. He likes the people. He likes the recreation opportunities.

He even likes the football stadium. With that said, he wants to bring an evening of pain Friday when his Cougars come to town to play Munising.

This is an 8-player football contest that won’t be top of mind to most of the world. But it means the world to Superior Central (2-4) and Munising (1-5) when they face each other at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Mustang Stadium.

This is a big game for Munising because it is also the “Rose Gold on the Gridiron” event, dedicated to raising funds and awareness for childhood cancer and breast cancer, where freshman Jackson Lasak, who was diagnosed with leukemia, will ring the bell at halftime to signal the end of his treatment.

“He is absolutely good friends with all the guys,” Munising coach Matt Mattson said. “He is a great kid, and we are here to support him. Hopefully, he has the battle won.”

Lasak did not play football, but he helped the coaches prepare the team each week. He’ll be ready this winter to show off his shooting skills in basketball as a guard/forward.

Munising and Superior Central are a 20-minute drive from each other, and they are playing for the Alger County championship. But are they rivals?

There is no trophy or jug to play for. There won’t be a victory parade to commemorate the battle. There is no history of epic contests. Fans will simply come dressed in orange and black or blue and silver and hope for the best.

Mattson said the rivalry may be more intense in basketball. Players from both schools play in rec league games against each other, as do town folks from both communities.

The folks from Munising talk about their historic rivalry with Newberry. Even Mattson fondly remembers battles with Rapid River when he played as a youth.

Superior Central quarterback Will Spranger said he considers Rapid River and Munising to be rivals because of their proximity to his school.

Coach Spranger wants to make this an annual event because the schools are so close to each other.

ESPN won’t be on hand to show highlights. Munising has lost 16 of its last 17 games, and Superior Central is a less than stellar 5-10 the last two seasons.

“It still means a lot,” Will Spranger said. “We badly want to beat them.”

Players will hit. They will run and will carve out every inch of turf they can.

“When they are out there hitting and competing, nobody is going to be thinking what their record is,” Todd Spranger said.

Munising players want to wipe away the stench of a 32-0 loss to the Gogebic Miners co-op team, in which the Mustangs moved the ball at will but kept stalling inside the red zone.

The score was 12-0 early in the third quarter when Munising drove inside the red zone, but guess what? They stalled and did not score. Gogebic countered with big plays, and Munising helped with missed tackles.

Running backs Brody Johns and Levi Hauler enjoyed nice games between the tackles, and tight end Blake Tyner made some good grabs outside.

Linebacker Ethan Petersen played like a bulldog in the trenches.

None of that, however, was enough to overcome missed red zone opportunities.