By Chad Wingert (Contact / Staff Bio)

Originally published November 4, 2009, 02:55 p.m. EST. Updated November 4, 2009, 02:55 p.m. EST

By Chad Wingert

Sports Editor

MILLINGTON — If you plan on attending Friday night’s second-round playoff game between Vassar and Millington, one thing is for sure:

You’d better get there early.

Both towns and their surrounding areas are gearing up for the game between the Vulcans and Cardinals. The rivalry is one of the oldest in the state, dating back to 1955. And, after taking a year off last season, both squads are anxious to face each other again.

“Vassar is a great town and we are very excited for this game,” Millington head coach Tim Furno said Friday after the Cardinals’ win over Carrollton.

“We invite this rivalry. It is one of the oldest in the state and we would like to play it again someday.”

Only two years removed from the Tri-Valley East conference, Vassar will travel to Millington for the first time since the Vulcans’ departure. These two schools have never met up in the playoffs, but if the Vulcans want to look at their past meetings with the Cardinals, they may not want to look too hard.

Millington has won 20 of the last 22 meetings between the two schools, which includes a Cardinals’ win streak dating from 1985-2000.

But, as we glance over towards the Vassar side of things, they do have a few things in their favor.

Not only did Vassar end their second season in the Greater Thumb West with a share of the conference crown, they also are coming fresh off of the school’s first-ever playoff win - a win in which they proved all the nay sayers wrong and blanked state-ranked Flint Beecher, 28-0.

The Vulcans have also played the toughest of competition throughout the regular season, including two Thumb area teams that are still alive in the MHSAA playoff race - Reese and Ubly.

“Meeting up with Millington again is like a dream come true,” Vassar head coach Jason Kiss said after Friday’s win over Flint Beecher. “This game has a lot of history. Small Town vs. Small Town. It’s going to be great.”

Millington - they took on two playoff teams during the regular season in Garber and North Branch, both of whom faced early exits in the playoffs.

So what are the keys to victory for these two squads?

For Millington, it will be keeping the ball in Justin Stutler’s hands and keeping the ball away from Vassar.

If there is one common thread to the Cardinals’ winning ways as of late, it all lies within the clock. Millington does a great job at eating up the clock with their talented running game and yes, that goes beyond Stutler. Look out for Jesse Stewart and Cam Wilson coming out of the backfield as well.

Another player who might be a key factor in this game will be Cardinals sophomore kicker Mitch Wilkerson. Against Carrollton, Wilkerson went 4-for-4 on PATs and kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone five times on kickoffs, leaving the Cavs with little room to work.

Also, Millington’s defense has held their opponents to 111 total points this season while Vassar has allowed 201.

For Vassar, the key will be taking advantage of their athleticism. This means using Troy Hecht, Keif Vickers, Kyle Auernhamer, Jeremy Schiefer and Madison Harper to their full potential.

Vickers will be looking to top his 111-yard, four-touchdown performance from last week while Hecht hopes to break out after being held to just 78 total yards in that same game.

For both teams, turnovers could be the deciding factor.

Millington is coming off of their first game without a turnover, while the Vulcans’ offense can get a little crazy at times. But, weather permitting, fans can expect to see a tight, clean game between these two squads.

This game featuring Vassar and Millington can be heard on Mix 92.1 with Derek and Christian, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Now we turn the table to the north as Reese (8-2) travels to St. Charles (9-1) for their second-round matchup with the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs compete in the Tri-Valley West conference and are coached by Brady Lake, who is in his second season as head coach. In his two years, Lake has compiled an 18-4 record, along with earning back-to-back trips to the playoffs.

Like Reese, St. Charles split their conference title three ways, sharing it with Carrollton and Ithaca. The Bulldogs are making their fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs and their 11th trip overall. In 1999, St. Charles captured a Division 6 State title, but the school’s signature moment this season came when the Bulldogs trounced Saginaw Valley Lutheran by a score of 84-0. In this game, St. Charles ran up 56 points in the first 12 minutes of the game.

St. Charles is led by senior running backs Tyler Niemand and Travis Crane. Nieman has totaled 764 yards and 12 touchdowns on 50 attempts this season. He has also caught three touchdown passes and even completed one pass for a score.

Crane has rumbled for 549 yards and four touchdowns on 74 carries this season while quarterback Dugan Roosa has found the end zone seven times on the ground and thrown for three more.

After defeating Sandusky 51-12, St. Charles is averaging 42 points a game while allowing just 12.4. For the Rockets, they come into the game with a 31.8 point average per game while giving up 12.6.

These two teams do have a bit of history that dates back to October 28, 2005. On that date, Reese defeated St. Charles in the opening round of the playoffs. That is the only other time these two schools have connected.

The key for the Rockets has to start on the defensive side of the ball.

In Reese’s first-round playoff win over Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port, the Rockets forced four turnovers and held Lakers quarterback Luke Voelker to just 62 all-purpose yards.

Reese will also need big games out of Travis Mendyk, Travis VanAlst, Kyle Yackin and sophomore quarterback Jimmy Hahn.

Hahn will be making just his second start under center but his job becomes a lot easier when surrounded by Mendyk and VanAlst. Mendyk is fresh off of a 181-yard, two-touchdown performance while VanAlst also found the end zone while totaling 34 yards on seven carries.

Last week, Yackin and Jared Bender were also able to come up with interceptions for the Rockets. Bender, along with Jake Beirlien, also recovered fumbles on the night. Defensively, one to watch for is Kyle Kinasz, who had 10 tackles last week, has been a leader on the defensive side of the ball game in and game out for Reese.

If the Rockets can contain Nieman and force a few turnovers in the process, look for them in round three of the playoffs for the first time since 2005.