ESCANABA - Andrew Pratley remembers the last time he coached his West Branch Ogemaw Heights football team against a squad from the Upper Peninsula.

"It wasn't pretty," said Pratley, whose Falcons fell at home to Kingsford 51-12 in a 2007 district final. "They were very physical and obviously very talented."

According to Pratley, both of those qualities could summarize this year's version of the Escanaba Eskymos. Escanaba and Ogemaw Heights meet in a Division 3 district final Saturday at West Branch at 1 p.m.

Esky advanced with a 28-27 double overtime thriller at Cadillac while the Falcons avenged a Week 2 loss to Petoskey with an 8-0 win.

Pratley sees a lot of similarities between the Eskymos and the 2007 Flivvers.

"I think Escanaba personifies the typical U.P. team," he said. "They remind me of that Kingsford bunch, plus they have very talented players. VanEffen (Mitch) is as good as anyone we've seen this year, maybe since the Kingsford loss."

Ogemaw Heights boasts a few good players as well, including junior quarterback John Hughes. Hughes has thrown for 1,015 yards and nine touchdowns, and is also the leading rusher with 846 yards and 13 TDs.

"John has been a great leader for us, kind of a quiet leader actually," said Pratley. "He has been a playmaker all season and really makes things go in our spread option offense."

Esky coach Dan Flynn says stopping Hughes is priority No. 1 .

"Hughes is their general, he is the guy who carries the ball the most, and that offense revolves around him," said Flynn. "We need to slow him down."

With the exception of Hughes, Ogemaw Heights has sported an entirely new backfield this season. "We rotate five or six running backs and it seems like we've had a different leading rusher each week," said Pratley.

Sheldon Roberto averages seven yards per carry, and Tyler Brindley is at 5.6 yards an attempt. Brindley also starts at middle linebacker. Receiving targets include 6-foot-7 Alex Jennings and Kyle Bellor. Bellor has caught just 14 passes, but six of them have gone for scores, and he averages over 40 yards per reception.

Flynn feels the Falcons are strong in all phases. "They have a good running game, their passing game complements it, they play great defense and also have a good kicking game," he said.

Speaking of good kicking games, Travis Villeneuve's boot in double overtime provided the Eskymos with their one-point win over Cadillac. Villeneuve was perfect on four attempts against the Vikings.

"The overall kicking game has been huge, very important to our season," said Flynn.

Pratley believes one of the keys will be to match Escanaba's intensity.

"The coaching staff and I saw Esky last week (the win over Cadillac) and they're very physical, so we need to be ready for that," said Pratley. "We also need to figure out a way to control VanEffen and not forget about their quarterback (Max VandeWiele) who is also very talented. He does a great job running their offense."

According to Pratley, the field at Ogemaw Heights is in amazingly good condition, something both teams would welcome with open arms after the rain and mud-soaked playing surfaces of a week ago.

"We had a forfeit win over Cheboygan (in week 9) and played at Petoskey last weekend, so we haven't been on the field for essentially three weeks. It drains well and is great shape for this time of year. You would be hard-pressed to find a field in this good of shape that isn't artificial turf."

Saturday's winner will meet the winner of the Mt. Pleasant-Linden game (also Saturday) next weekend for the regional championship.

Prep grid slate

District championship

All times are EST

Division 3

Escanaba (8-2) at West Branch Ogemaw Heights (9-1), 1 p.m. Saturday

Division 4

Big Rapids (9-1) at Kingsford (8-2), 2 p.m. Saturday

Division 5

Negaunee (7-3) at Menominee (8-2), 2 p.m. Saturday

Division 6

Iron Mountain (8-2) at Calumet (9-1), 7 p.m. Friday

Division 7

Westwood (7-2) at Ishpeming (8-2), 7 p.m. Friday

Rudyard (8-1) at Traverse City St. Francis (10-0), 7 p.m. Friday

Division 8

Stephenson (6-3) at Bark River-Harris (9-1), 7 p.m. Friday

Forest Park (8-2) at Lake Linden-Hubbell (10-0), 1:30 Saturday