For the first time in as long as many of us can remember, FHC will enter the District Finals this Friday at Portage Central.  With Portage Central coming off a big victory, FHC will look to stop them in their tracks and take a District title back to the halls of FHC.

Stopping the run– This will be the biggest key for FHC on Friday against a run heavy Portage Central team. PC has a very similar offense to the one of Battle Creek Lakeview, who FHC dominated in their last game at home. Last week the Ranger’s defensive line and linebackers were able to effectively stop the run, and this week the task will be just as important.

Limiting turnovers– It was just two games ago that the Rangers had turnover issues in their win against Wayland to end the regular season. They bounced back last week by going without a single turnover. If senior quarterback Tanner Hallock is as locked in as he was last week, the Rangers should have no trouble in this area.

Ty Collins– Senior running back Ty Collins is returning to the field this Friday and will head the Ranger’s running attack. Sophomore Cam Deines has been able to fill the void the past two games after being pulled up from the junior varsity team. Cam may see a carry here and there, but the majority of the load will go to Ty. It will be essential for the Rangers to get Ty back in the groove that he was in earlier this season.

Big Plays– The Rangers’ offense has been nothing less than explosive throughout the season. FHC has not been afraid to air it out to big play guys such as junior Bryce Clay and senior Jack Uecker. With Bryce and Jack returning kicks, there is big play potential for the FHC special teams unit. The Rangers have been able to beat people in the air all year, and it should be no different this week.

Tackling-The veteran Ranger defense has many individuals that will lay their body out for the team. They have had minor struggles with missed tackles, but have improved over the past couple of weeks. Look for the senior-led defense to be very active as they play in arguably the biggest game of their high school football careers.