By DOUG DONNELLY

Whiteford will face a second straight Lenawee County Athletic Association opponent Thursday when the 1-0 Bobcats travel to nearby Ida to take on the 0-1 Bluestreaks.

The Bobcats have moved up to No. 1 in some statewide polls, including the Detroit Free Press. They are No. 2 in the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association poll and No. 1 in Division 8 according to Friday Night Victors. Whiteford is coming off an impressive 36-20 win over Blissfield in the season opener in a game that saw the Bobcats built a 36-7 lead in the fourth quarter.

Ida lost to Airport in the waning seconds of its season opener, falling 35-32 when Airport scored a late touchdown to take the lead. The Jets threw for 199 yards in the contest. Ida rushed for 262 yards on 52 attempts against Airport, led by Zach Lindsay’s 93 yards on 23 carries. He scored three touchdowns. Bluestreak quarterback Nathan Miller and running backs Luke Levicki and Jaeden Gianino are also outstanding runners that the Bobcat defense will have to key on.

The Bobcat defense was led by Jake Iott in its first game of the season. Iott was in on 14 tackles and forced and early fumble near the goal line that helped end a Blissfield scoring threat.

On offense, the Bobcats completed just one pass – a 42-yard touchdown – while two backs had over 100 yards on the ground – Iott and Hunter DeBarr. That was despite the Bobcats missing one starting offensive lineman.

The game will be played at Hemelgarn Field on the Ida campus. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Whiteford beat Ida last season, marking the first time the Bobcats beat the Bluestreaks since the early 1970s when the teams were conference foes. Ida and Whiteford were both members of the River Raisin Conference and the Michigan-Ohio Border Conference.