Muskegon-area Week 6 football schedule: CatchMark Game of Week a big-time matchup

We’re still a week away from the monster matchup pitting crosstown rivals Mona Shores and Muskegon, and two weeks from the colossal collision between Montague and Whitehall.

Still, some interesting games are set for Week 6 of the high school football season in the Muskegon area.

Here is a graphic of this week’s slate, followed by details on the CatchMark Sports Game of the Week and other notables:

CATCHMARK SPORTSNET GAME OF THE WEEK

Hudsonville Unity Christian at Spring Lake, 7 p.m. Friday

Grabinski Field is the place to be this Friday, as Spring Lake hosts fellow unbeaten Unity Christian in a big-time matchup. This tilt has been selected as the CatchMark SportsNet Game of the Week.

Unity Christian has continued to roll since capturing the school’s first state football title in 2018. The Crusaders were unbeaten last season before they were forced to forfeit a district playoff game against Hamilton because of COVID-19. This season, Unity is steamrolling opponents by a combined scoring margin of 276-59.

Spring Lake joins Unity Christian, along with Coopersville and Grand Rapids West Catholic, atop the OK Blue Conference standings. It’s a logjam of four teams sporting identical 5-0 overall and 3-0 OK Blue records. The Lakers have outscored opponents by a combined 182-86 tally. Their most impressive win to date is the 56-21 blowout of Zeeland East in Week 2 in a game that was not nearly that close.

Unity Christian was the preseason pick to win the league, and the Crusaders have looked the part. Senior-laden Spring Lake might have something to say about that, however.

ANOTHER BIG ONE

Muskegon Catholic Central at Muskegon Heights, 7 p.m. Friday

MCC takes aim at win No. 500 in its tradition-rich history. The school has been playing football since 1953, and the Crusaders own an overall record for 499-209-7. In the MHSAA playoff era alone, MCC has captured 12 state titles, second only to Farmington Hills Harrison’s 13.

This matchup lost a little of its shine when Muskegon Heights suffered its first loss of the season in a 41-12 defeat at Ludington last week. Still, at 4-1, the Tigers are off to their best start since 2009. There is some excitement in the program, which hasn’t been seen in years.

ALSO OF NOTE

• Friday is homecoming for Whitehall, which hosts Ludington in a sneak peek of a future conference rivalry. Ludington and five other schools are joining the West Michigan Conference beginning with the next academic year. The Vikings and Orioles will be divisional rivals going forward.
• The Montague-Shelby matchup is one of five games nominated statewide for the Detroit Lions Michigan High School Football Game of the Week. The poll opened at noon today and closes at noon Wednesday.