By DOUG DONNELLY 

OTTAWA LAKE – There’s always something on the line when the Whiteford Bobcats and Summerfield Bulldogs meet on the football field and this year is no different.  

The 8-0, No. 1 ranked Bobcats will travel to Petersburg to take on 5-3 Summerfield Friday in an important game for both teams. The Bobcats can clinch their third straight outright Tri-County Conference championship with a victory and cement themselves as the No. 1 seed in Division 8 with a win. Summerfield, on the other hand, will clinch a playoff berth by beating Whiteford. 

The Bobcats have won 22 straight games and are seeking win No. 23 – which would tie them for the second longest winning streak in school and Monroe County Region history. 

Summerfield started the season 4-0, lost three straight games, then bounced back last week with a victory over Quincy. 

“They are getting better,” Whiteford coach Todd Thieken said. “They are a younger team. I think their coach is doing a really good job with the kids. They play hard and try and capitalize on other teams’ mistakes. On defense, they get after it.” 

Dylan Szegedi is in his first year at Summerfield.  

Quarterback Trace Secor leads the Bulldogs with 816 yards passing and 12 touchdowns. He’s completing 58 percent of his passes and has rushed for 132 yards. His favorite target has been Tyler Dafoe, who has 16 catches for 365 yards and six touchdowns. 

Jake Wadsworth has rushed for 602 yards and is averaging 5.3 yards per rush.  

Mitchell Gomulinski has 80 tackles and Brenden Myshock 67 to lead Summerfield’s defense. 

Thieken said the Bobcats have to concern themselves with getting better as they prepare for the playoffs – to play their game. 

“Our thing is we have to play to our level and not worry about who we are playing,” he said. “We don’t want to put ourselves into situations they can capitalize on.” 

Freshman quarterback Tre Eitniear has 10 touchdown passes this season and is 8-0 as a starter. Senior running backs Jake Iott (618 yards), Hunter DeBarr (590 yards) and Drew Knaggs (446 yards) lead the backfield. Ryin Ruddy is a dangerous runner, passer and receiver. Kolby Masserant has nine touchdown catches. 

On defense, Iott has 105 tackles on the season along with two fumble recoveries. Ruddy has been in on 74 stops. Mason DeBarr has eight tackles for loss and Masserant has five interceptions.  

The Bobcats are No. 1 in numerous statewide Division 8 polls.  

Summerfield is on the playoff bubble. The Bulldogs rank No. 28 coming into the game. A win gets them in, and they still might have a shot if they lose. 

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Petersburg.  

Here are the pregame notes, rosters and stats: