St. Ignace, Rudyard and Pickford head into their regular-season football finales this week with playoff positioning at stake after sharply different Week 8 results.

In the Oct. 19 playoff point standings reported by MLive, Pickford ranked second in Michigan’s 8-player Division 1 with a 34.286 average, while Rudyard was ninth at 32.411. St. Ignace ranked seventh in 8-player Division 2 at 32.750.

Rudyard travels to Cedarville-DeTour on Friday, Oct. 23, according to Rudyard Area Schools’ calendar. Pickford hosts Onaway that night, according to Pickford Public Schools’ calendar. St. Ignace closes its regular season at Central Lake.

St. Ignace enters finale after 73-point win

St. Ignace improved to 7-1 with a 73-22 victory over Stephenson in Week 8. Stephenson became a late replacement opponent after Brimley forfeited earlier in the week, Soo Leader reported.

According to its recap, Jed Brady rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Liam Brown added 93 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

Quarterback Caden Lester completed 10 of 14 passes for 149 yards and ran for a touchdown. Colt Fettig caught four passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns, while Brown had five receptions for 79 yards and a score.

Fettig also recorded 12 tackles and an interception. Brown finished with nine tackles and an interception.

Bickel leads Rudyard past Newberry

Rudyard improved to 6-2 with a 34-6 win over Newberry, relying on its running game while its only pass attempt fell incomplete.

Blake Bickel rushed for 217 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, according to Soo Leader. Emmett Grenfell added 51 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries, while Kane Savoie gained 31 yards on 11 attempts.

Nathan Enriquez led the Bulldogs with seven tackles. Levi Mayer recorded six and Cameron Rau had five.

Pickford looks to rebound

Pickford enters its home finale against Onaway at 6-2 after a 42-0 loss at unbeaten Gaylord St. Mary.

The Panthers ran 59 plays to the Snowbirds’ 21 and controlled possession for nearly 38 minutes, according to Soo Leader. Gaylord St. Mary nevertheless improved to 8-0, with touchdowns on both a punt return and a kickoff return contributing to the shutout.

Carter Rye rushed for 106 yards on 26 carries. He completed 5 of 17 passes for 23 yards with an interception.

Cedarville-DeTour hosts Rudyard; Sault visits Boyne City

Cedarville-DeTour brings a 2-6 record into its home finale against Rudyard after losing 60-6 at Central Lake.

Trevor Barr gained 105 yards on 22 carries and scored the Islanders’ only touchdown, according to Soo Leader. He also recorded 12 tackles and an interception. Landon Barr added eight tackles.

Sault Ste. Marie fell to 0-8 with a 40-0 loss to Alpena. Soo Leader reported that no statistics were provided for that game.

The Blue Devils finish the regular season at Boyne City on Friday, Oct. 23, according to WZMQ’s football schedule.