Football Playoffs Kick Off Tonight in Wyandotte

As takes the field tonight at home, it will mark the team’s sixth straight state playoff appearance. 

opponent, Ypsilanti Lincoln (6-3), is seeing its first postseason action in school history. In the previous five seasons leading up to 2011, Lincoln won only three games, suffering three winless seasons during that stretch. 

This year, however, Lincoln was able to break out of those losing ways and earn a spot among the 256 teams now competing for state titles.

Although the Downriver League champion Bears are favored, Wyandotte head coach Ron Adams said he expects a tough battle when the teams square off at Roosevelt Stadium.

“We know that Ypsilanti Lincoln is a team that has made significant improvement in the last year,” Adams said. “We expect it to be a great challenge.”

With round one of the state playoffs getting underway tonight, here is a quick breakdown of the matchup between Wyandotte and Ypsilanti Lincoln.

Offense

Seniors and have powered a strong Roosevelt running game to lead an offense that has scored 304 points in 2011. Junior quarterback Kevin Matejko has been effective when called upon, throwing for 918 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Lincoln, which has scored 173 points this season, relies heavily on the run game as well, with George Miller as the leading rusher and quarterback TJ O’Bryan also a major threat to run. As for the passing game, O’Bryan’s completion rate is below 50 percent, but he has thrown for 987 yards and seven touchdowns this year.

Defense

An overall strong and quick Roosevelt defense has posted two shutouts and allowed only 90 points this season. Helping to lead the unit has been Matt at the inside linebacker position, junior defensive lineman Kyle Campbell and senior defensive back Edge Jelsemeno.

Lincoln has allowed 143 points this season, only 39 less than it has scored. Its only shutout win came at Belleville (1-8), a 27-0 victory over a struggling Tigers team in week one.

Strength of Schedule

Wyandotte has faced five teams that finished the regular season with a winning record, handily defeating four of them. The Bears beat postseason-bound and as well as playoff bubble teams and .  A was Roosevelt’s first regular season loss in two years.

Lincoln’s regular season primarily consisted of struggling opponents, with only two foes that finished their regular season with a winning record–Chelsea (7-2) and Adrian (5-4). Aside from a 27-12 win over Adrian, Lincoln’s other wins came against teams such as Ann Arbor Huron (1-8), Tecumesh (2-7) and . Low points of the season were a and a .

Intangibles

Coming off a heartbreaking defeat at Southgate last week, Wyandotte should be fired up tonight to avoid another letdown. A win against Lincoln sets up a possible rematch with the rival Titans next week, something the Bears said they'd look forward to. Also, Roosevelt will be playing on its own turf in front of a charged up home crowd that it will not want to disappoint.

Lincoln will face a big test tonight as this is its first postseason appearance ever and it is playing on the road as an underdog. However, time will tell if that rattles the team and leads to disaster, or inspires more effort from the players as they take on Roosevelt. Also, a large show of support is expected tonight as Lincoln fans typically travel en masse to away games and many will likely make the journey to Wyandotte.

Tonight’s first round playoff game at Roosevelt Stadium kicks off at 7 p.m. Ticket price is $5 and fans wanting to get a seat in the bleachers should arrive early.