Unbeaten Pickford meets defending champion St. Patrick

Pickford's 5-0 Panthers face Portland St. Patrick, the defending Division 2 eight-player state champion, at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at a neutral site in Indian River.

The matchup headlines a full slate of Eastern Upper Peninsula football. Pickford coach Josh Rader told the Soo Leader, which first reported details of the game, that his team contacted St. Patrick over the summer when both programs had an open date. The distance between the schools led them to agree on Indian River.

Rader said in August that the Panthers upgraded their 2026 schedule after a 2025 season that ended with a regional championship loss at Norway. The St. Patrick game was part of that plan.

"We want to make sure that we play tough games," Rader told the Soo Leader. "You wanna be able to get in the playoffs … and if you don't play tough teams, you're not ready for it."

The Panthers have backed up that ambition on the field. Pickford beat previously unbeaten St. Ignace 44-14 on Sept. 18, a game in which senior Mason Andrzejak scored a rushing touchdown and returned an interception 40 yards for another score, according to EUP News. The Panthers followed that with a 46-14 homecoming win over Newberry, where senior Carter Rye rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.

Pickford opened the season with 15 varsity players, all juniors or seniors, according to an August Soo Leader preview.

Portland St. Patrick went 13-0 last fall and beat North Dickinson 53-0 in the state title game. The Shamrocks graduated nine seniors from that squad but enter Friday at 4-1. Their lone loss came against unbeaten Montabella.

The Soo Leader reported that junior Emmet Fandel has emerged as a dual-threat weapon for St. Patrick. In a 49-14 win over Breckenridge on Sept. 17, Fandel rushed for 251 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries and completed six of eight passes for 98 yards and another score. Senior fullback Caleb Pline and quarterback Jerryd Scheurer also return for the Shamrocks.

Rader described St. Patrick as athletic and said his game plan centers on ball control and winning the line of scrimmage.

A Pickford win would move the Panthers to 6-0 heading into a Friday, Oct. 9, game at Inland Lakes.

Other EUP games Friday, Oct. 2