INDIAN RIVER/ONAWAY — Eight-player football is going to get a heck of a lot more competitive in Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula during the regular season.
For programs from around this neck of the words, they’re cool with it.
Starting this season, Inland Lakes and Onaway will play in a new 8-player league, one that pits them against opponents they don’t always face. Those games will happen in the coming weeks as both are members of the football-only Bridge Alliance Conference, with the Bulldogs competing in the Straits division and the Cardinals in the Valley.
The good news is that the Bulldogs and Cardinals will continue their rivalry in a Bridge Alliance crossover matchup.
After five consecutive seasons of winning the Ski Valley Conference, the Bulldogs will aim to maintain their title-winning ways in the Straits Division, which features Pickford, a team Inland Lakes has clashed against over the last three postseasons. In addition, the Straits also features St. Ignace, Rudyard, Brimley and Newberry.
“It’s going to be really competitive,” Inland Lakes coach Meyer said. “These guys are excited at the way some of the stuff lines up. We get a lot of winnable games that are going to be absolute tests early that we’re hoping to come through on, and in the last few weeks there’s some ultimate tests that look like late-round playoff games.”
During the formation of the Bridge Alliance, which combined 8-player teams from the Upper Peninsula and lower Northern Michigan, programs were put together based on enrollment size, with the structure set to remain in place for two years before being reviewed following the 2027 season.
The conference was supposed to include 14 teams, but Pellston, which was originally expected to be a program in the Straits division, decided not to join. One of the other key reasons why the conference was formed was to reduce travel.
Following five years of conference, the Bulldogs can’t wait to show what they’ve got against newer opponents.
“Last year we blew out teams, and it didn’t give us as much competition as we needed to go into the playoffs, so it’s good this year that we’re going to have a bunch of competition and know what it feels like to be playing in the mud in those tight games,” Inland Lakes senior Landon Fenstermaker said.
At the same time, the Bulldogs maintain their rivalry with Onaway as well as the showdown with Gaylord St. Mary, which will be a crossover game since the Snowbirds are in the Valley. As for Onaway, it’ll have its fair share of tests in the Valley, which consists of Gaylord St. Mary, Central Lake, Cedarville, Bellaire, Forest Area and Engadine.
“We have a tough schedule this year,” Onaway coach Micah Bailey said. “It’s tough, but I’m excited to see what we can do against some of those teams.”
Like their M-68 rivals from Inland Lakes, Onaway’s players are looking forward to the Bridge Alliance challenges.
“I like it because it’ll be new competition,” Onaway senior Zach Schmoldt said. “I’m hoping for good things this year.”
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Inland Lakes, Onaway eager for challenge of new Bridge Alliance league
Reporting by Jared Greenleaf, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jared Greenleaf, Cheboygan Daily Tribune | USA TODAY Network
