By DOUG DONNELLY

OTTAWA LAKE – Whiteford has won back-to-back outright league championships twice in its 60-plus year history. Tonight, the Bobcats can do for a third time.

Whiteford has already clinched no worse than a share of the Tri-County Conference title with a 3-0 record in the four-game slate. Erie Mason and Madison are tied at 2-1. A Whiteford win tonight clinches the outright title. A loss gives Erie Mason a share and puts Madison in a position to win its first-ever league title with a win over Sand Creek.

“The (outright) league title is something that we have all decided from the beginning that we want that really bad,” said Whiteford senior Shea Ruddy. “We are going to do everything we can to win it and not share it with anyone.”

The Bobcats have been firing on all cylinders over the last several weeks. The defense has allowed just three touchdowns over its last 16 quarters.

“(Loy Norrix) tried to throw the ball a lot and our defensive backs did a great job in coverage, and we got great pressure on the QB,” Whiteford coach Todd Thieken said. “I thought Coach Paige, T.J. Thieken, and coach Dupree did a great job getting our DBs ready.”

The offense has scored 54, 68 and 66 points in the last three games.

“Our kids have focused on getting better each day, and in the month of October and November in practice, that even has to come to a new level,” Thieken said.

Whiteford’s offense has had the ball 63 times this season and has scored touchdowns on 47 of those drives.

Ruddy has led the way, breaking multiple Bobcat game and career records along the way, including a 5-touchdown pass performance Friday against Kalamazoo Loy Norrix. That win vaulted the Bobcats into the No. 2 spot in all of Division 8 playoff points. Whiteford is ranked No. 1 in several statewide rankings and polls.

Erie Mason won its first five games of the season but has lost two straight games. Quarterback Vaughn Brown has thrown for 1,546 yards and 17 touchdowns this season.

Whiteford won two straight River Raisin Conference titles in 1964 and 1965 and three straight TCC titles in 2016-2017-2018. The Bobcats have six TCC titles in all (1994, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022).

Here are some additional notes to get you ready for the game: