North Branch ends a four-game skid with a 42-3 win over Croswell-Lexington

NORTH BRANCH, Mich. — Croswell-Lexington hasn’t won at home this fall. On the road, it was 2-1, and its Blue Water Area Conference game on Friday, Oct. 9, was another trip, to North Branch.

The Pioneers are 2-4 overall and 2-3 in the league, fifth in the standings, according to MaxPreps. North Branch is also 2-4, but 1-4 in the conference and sixth. The game was played at North Branch High School, and the NFHS Network listed it for streaming.

Croswell-Lexington’s two wins both came away from home and both were close, 20-14 at Richmond and 23-21 at Yale last Friday. The offense has been the issue. The Pioneers have scored 77 points in six games and were shut out 22-0 by Imlay City.

North Branch started 2-0 with wins over Gaylord and Yale, then lost four straight. The closest was a 35-34 overtime loss to Lutheran North on Sept. 25. Last week the Broncos fell 39-13 at Almont.

The schedules overlap almost completely. Both teams lost to Armada, Imlay City and Lutheran North, and the Broncos’ losses to Imlay City and Lutheran North were by a combined four points. Both beat Yale, North Branch by 20 and Croswell-Lexington by two.

Croswell-Lexington hosts Almont on Oct. 16 and closes the regular season at Gaylord on Oct. 23. North Branch hosts Richmond on Oct. 16 and visits Fenton on Oct. 23.

Updated Oct. 12, 2026: North Branch won 42-3, MaxPreps results show, ending its four-game losing streak. Croswell-Lexington is 2-5 and 2-4 in the league; North Branch is 3-4. Records above are as of the week of the game.

Updated Oct. 13, 2026: The headline and summary were changed to report the result of the game this story previewed.

Sources:
MaxPreps, Croswell-Lexington Pioneers varsity football schedule and results, 2026, accessed Oct. 8, 2026, https://www.maxpreps.com/mi/croswell/croswell-lexington-pioneers/football/schedule/
MaxPreps, North Branch Broncos varsity football schedule and results, 2026, accessed Oct. 8, 2026, https://www.maxpreps.com/mi/north-branch/north-branch-broncos/football/schedule/
NFHS Network, Croswell-Lexington vs. North Branch boys varsity football, Oct. 9, 2026, https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/north-branch-high-school-north-branch-mi/gam07b5cacb0d
Photo: Michael Barera, “Bradley Tech vs. Pulaski football 2025 20 (Bradley Tech on offense),” Oct. 17, 2025, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-corrected; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bradley_Tech_vs._Pulaski_football_2025_20_(Bradley_Tech_on_offense).jpg

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