By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
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Joe Reddinger has coached Iron Mountain North Dickinson in Michigan's Upper Peninsula for 30 years and has been waiting for a season like 2006 for a long time.
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North Dickinson struggled for wins in Reddinger's first five years. But in season No. 30, his squad is 10-0 and plays Upper Peninsula Power Crystal Falls Forest Park this weekend for a district title and the right to advance to the third round of Michigan's five-week football playoffs.
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The school's first winning season was in 1982. North Dickinson made the playoffs for the first time in 1991.
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"I thought we were good enough to do this well from a physical standpoint. The question was if we were mentally tough enough,"ÿ Reddinger said.
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Despite being 10-0, North Dickinson had a tough predistrict game last week, coming from behind to beat Bessemer.
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"We were down but we came back," he said.
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North Dickinson has a fierce rivalry against Forest Park.
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"We're only 20 minutes from them," Reddinger said. "That adds more pressure."
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North Dickinson made it to the state finals in 1998. The team uses a T backfield on offense and is led by Damion Smith, with more than 1,000 yards rushing.
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Beal City Gears Up for Frankfort
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Beal City is a perennial small-school football power in Michigan and is hoping to make it to the state finals on Thanksgiving weekend.
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Beal City enters the district finals this weekend with a 9-1 record.
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"I thought we'd be decent, but we're pretty young," said Beal City Coach Larry Rea. "They've definitely come a long ways. We're not as big as we've been in previous years. We have dedicated kids."
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Dillon Leasher is the leading running back for Beal City, while Travis Getford is the leading tackler.
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This weekend, Beal City plays another perennial small-school state power, Frankfort.
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"It's an exciting time of year for our school. There's a lot of pressure on everyone," Rea said.
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Girls Basketball
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Chassell is a school of less than 100 students in Michigan's Western Upper Peninsula.
But the Panthers, led by Coach Russ Ryynanen, are off to an impressive 16-0 start during the 20-game regular season.
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"We returned three starters from last year," Ryynanen said. "We're starting two seniors, two juniors and a freshman. We've done pretty good. We won the Copper Country Conference Monday night and now have a 9-0 record in the league."
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Ryynanen's daughter, senior Adena Ryynanen, is averaging 12 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game. Jessie Soumis is averaging 13 points and six rebounds a game. Junior Marie Kilpela is averaging 11 points and three rebounds a game.
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Kilpela's sister, freshman Gina Kilpala, is averaging 10 points and three rebounds a game.
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"We've had some close games," Ryynanen said. "We were down by double digits and came back to win in the fourth quarter."
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Chassell was 18-2 last year.
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"The year before last year, the best record was 15-5," he said. "We won our first district title ever. It's a wonderful thing. These kids have dedicated themselves to the game."
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The state tournament begins Nov. 13 and Ryynanen is hoping for a long postseason.
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"We've had five different high scorers for a game," he said. "We've done it with quickness. We've defended some big teams."
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Cross Country
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Saturday is the big day for cross country runners across Michigan. It's the date of state finals for four divisions, boys and girls. The races are at Michigan International Speedway, the home for NASCAR races.
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One of the girls teams that hope to take a state title is Rockford, located near Grand Rapids. Rockford is in Division 1 which includes the largest schools in the state.
Rockford won a regional at Carson City to qualify for the state race.
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"The girls stepped it up," coach Ben Watson said. "The state finals will be tough. We have a chance for first place. But our girls will have to have a good day. Livonia Churchill will be a tough team to contend with."
Temperatures for the races are expected to be only in the high 30s or low 40s.
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"It'd be nice if the weather was good," Watson said. "But everyone has to run through it."