There are now 3 teams sitting at 2-0 in the Gold race as the Cards, Yotes, and Buzz Bugs moved to 2-0 with TC and the Tigers (thanks to a forfeit) sitting at 1-1. The Lions, Pack and Warriors remain winless thus far in league play (and in all games). The race for the Silver crown got underway as Kent City, Morley and the Cloud notched wins to go 1-0. Central Montcalm 28 Fremont 14 Hornet Fisher Wells caught three TD passes in the first half, 2 from his QB Kaleb Crooks and one courtesy of the Packers resulting in a pick 6 early in the contest and the hosts held a 21-0 lead when the teams hit the locker rooms for halftime. The Packers battled back in the second half with Justin Dirheimer punching it in for a 3 yard score followed by a successful PAT by David WachterLate in the period Kyler DeKuiper found Wei Chen and delivered a pass that resulted in a 66 yard TD. Another Wachter boot and the Pack were within a score. The host Hornets responded quickly and after a kickoff run into Fremont territory Mitchell Herald broke free on first down finding paydirt 39 yards later to stretch the lead to 14 where it stayed for the remainder of the game. DeKuiper finished with 14 completions for 196 yards but was picked off 3 times in the process. Chen caught 3 passes including the TD grab, Daniel Romero pulled in 4 and Michael Romero notched 3.Dirheimer led the ground game with a tough 62 yards against a formidable Hornet defense. Michael Romero led the team in tackles with 6 solo stops and 6 assists while Garret Hanshue finished with 5 solos and 5 assists. Fremont (0-3, 0-2) will head to Newaygo Friday to face the Lions while CM (3-0,2-0) will host the BR Cardinals. Big Rapids 34 Newaygo 14 After a scoreless first quarter the Lions took the lead early in the second courtesy of a Grant Harkness 30 yard toss to Amaree James that gave them the ball inside the Cardinal 10 yard line. Two plays later Harkness found the endzone and after a Remy Walls kick the visitors were up 7-0 The Cards answered with the Strickler to Strickland combo resulting in a 22 yard TD strike and after a Lion turnover the two combined again for a 6 yard score and BR was up 14-7. Late in the first half Harkness found Jayden Joseph who sped down the field for a 66 yard TD reception and after another conversion by Wells the teams went to intermission locked at 14. In the third the Cardinals went ahead 21-14 on yet another TD pass from Strickler to Strickland. Turnovers and penalties stalled the Lion offense and the hosts pushed across 2 more scores to finish on top in the conference clash. Big Rapids (2-1,2-0) will travel to Central Montcalm next week while Newaygo (0-3,0-2) will host Fremont. Grant 1 Chippewa Hills 0 (Forfeit) Well, we thought this might be Grant’s shot at getting into the win column and they did indeed notch a victory this week But it was a 1-0 forfeit that got them off the schneid as the Chippewa Hills squad was hit by COVID-19 issues leaving them short of players and resulting in a 1-0 loss to the Tigers. Grant (1-2, 1-1) will look to even their record and grab a W on the field next Friday when they travel to Tri County (2-1,1-1) to face off with the Vikings Reed City 18 Tri County 12 In a battle of conference contenders the host Coyotes needed to hold back a late Viking run to escape with the win The two teams played field possession for most of the first half as the defenses took center stage. Halfway through the second quarter the Coyotes broke the scoreless tie on a 33 yard pass reception. Minutes later the Viking possession stalled and they yielded the ball. The Reed City offense jumped on the opportunity and looked to enter intermission with a 2 score lead. Not so fast. The Vikings responded and pushed the ball in with seconds remaining and after an unsuccessful conversion hit halftime down 12-6. The teams came out in the second half and battled in the trenches once again before trading touchdowns in the 4th. As they had all ight conversion attempts fell short and the score gave the Yotes an 18-12 edge The Vikings had one more shot at scoring taking possession with just under 3 minutes left but a 4th and 12 attempt came up short and the hosts hung on for the win. Tri County (2-1, 1-1) will host Grant on Friday while Reed City (2-1, 2-0) will host Chip Hills (0-3, 0-2) Morley Stanwood 30 Holton 28 The host ‘Hawks held a 22-8 lead at the half but the Devs made a spirited comeback to pull within a 2 point conversion of tying the game in the final minutes. That 2 pointer was stopped by the MS defense and despite an impressive effort the Red Devils would be tacking on a loss in their conference opener. Austin Fowler hit on 12 of 20 passes including a TD toss to Rice Robins who finished with 50 yards. Bret Hosmer tallied 56 receiving yards, Kevin Erickson gained 35 and Cameron Edgerton added 16. Kaleb Nichols led the rushing game for Holton grinding out 57 yards and a touchdown. Fowler also ran for a 6 pointer. Dylan Cartwright paced the defense with 11 tackles followed by Robins with 7 and Fowler and Nichols finishing with a half dozen each. Holton (1-2, 0-1) will visit White Cloud while Morley Stanwood (1-2, 1-0) will take on Kent City in Eagle country. Kent City 48 Lakeview 6
0 Comments
Klimek notches hat trick; Late penalty shot salvages tie for Cards
Photos By Kacey Nelson Fremont traveled to Big Rapids on Thursday afternoon in a showdown of unbeatens in conference play. Fremont got off to a quick start with two goals by Marcus Klimek in the first ten minutes of play. Big Rapids answered with 12 minutes left in the half on a goal from Aiden Harron. The score was 2-1 at the half. Harron scored again early in the second half, knotting the game at 2-2. Klimek answered with 23 minutes to play to once again put the visitors up. With 8 minutes to play in the match a penalty kick was called and Branden Pippen finished off the scoring for Big Rapids. The final was 3-3. Logan Nelson and John Vissia had assists for the visitors. Fremont ended with 8 shots on frame and Big Rapids had the same. Carter Miller made 5 saves in net for the Packers and Big Rapids also made 5 saves. Fremont moves to 2-1-3 overall and 2-0-1 in the conference. Big Rapids moves to 5-0-4 overall and 1-0-1 in the conference. The Packers continue conference play Tuesday when they host the Eagles of Kent City (3-2, 2-0). 9 boys finish in Top 15
Photos by Joan Ludtke Coach Atwood: Last night, the White Cloud Cross Country team competed in their first CSAA Jamboree of the season. The boys took first place with a score of 30 points, 15 points ahead of second place Kent City. Runners 1-5 for White Cloud produced an impressive 1:18 gap. White Cloud also placed 10 runners in the first 18 places. First for White Cloud (2nd overall) was Nathan Ciolk (18:52.9), followed by Kobe Canning (4th overall, 19:19.6), Coleson Cruzan (5th, 19:20.12), Carson Foondle (9th, 20:00.66), Christian Ringler (10th, 20:11.8), Malachi Graves (20:13.05), Kaleb Canning (20:16.98), Tristan McHaney (20:38.61), Nik Parks (20:52.14), Ashton Byle (21:21.53), Avery Bowman (21:44.87), Keagan Kailing (22:47.11), Wyatt Karnes (24:57.26), and Zane Keith (33:14.76). The girls finished third, behind Kent City and Morley Stanwood. Leading the girls was Annie Feldpausch (25:22.55). She was followed by Kiara Edwards (25:23.24), Jolena Deaton (28:43.64), Ryleigh Balke (32:45.91), Allie Rodriguez (35:54.19), CeCe Rodriguez (36:58.91), Lillie Keith (40:41.81)and Sydnee Ochs (46:04.71) Personal best records were posted by Kiara, Ryleigh, Malachi, Carson, Wyatt, Zane, Avery, Kaleb, and Coleson. Congratulations to all the runners! Morley Stanwood 3 White Cloud 0 White Cloud Coach Strait: Last night the Lady Indians lost a battle to a tough Morley Stanwood team. After a rough start, we battled back and put up a stronger fight, but still fell short. Ceara Bode and Jaden Gomez both served up 7 points and 1 ace. Carsyn dished out 6 assists and also contributed defensively with 9 digs. Aby stepped up on offense with some aggressive swings while earning 4 kills. Kent City 3 Hesperia 0 Coach Grimard: The Panthers had a difficult time getting their rhythm against the Eagles in tonight's conference match in Kent City. In sets one and two, the Panthers were off their game offensively and defensively, losing 11-25 and 8-25. In Game 3, the Panthers were in step with the Eagles grabbing the lead at 15-11 when Senior Captain Caitlyn Frees, went on a short serving burst to take the lead. Kent City rallied back and the game was tied up again at 18's. Although they didn't capitalize on a couple of key opportunities for the win, the Panthers were able to end the game 22-25, knowing what they need to do to see different results when they play the Eagles at home. Offensive leaders were Alex Glenn with 6 kills, Elli McAree and Sophomore Kayla Rumsey each adding 4 kills for the Panthers. Caitlyn Frees and Lacey Mc Callum had 3 and 2 aces respectively at the service line. McCallum had 13 assists on the night. Defensively, Glenn led with 11 digs while Rumsey added a solo block. Panthers move to 2-1 in league standings and will face the always tough Morley Stanwood Mohawks on the road next week in league action. White Cloud at Hesperia The Cloud is 2-0 for the first time since most of their seniors were getting ready to enter preschool. Of course one of those wins was the forfeit by Wyoming Lee but hey a win is a win when the last time the team notched 3 victories in a season was also that 2007 year that began 2-0. The Panthers are 0-2 and both teams that bested them have yet to lose. Coach Smith will have the Black Cats ready for their home opener so this one should be a battle between a pair of long time rivals in what might be the final CSAA season for Hesperia who are likely headed to the WMC. Fremont at Central Montcalm The buzz in Stanton is that this Hornet team might well be contending for a title after consecutive wins over Morley and Newaygo. They are traditionally tough at home and containing Kaleb Crooks can be a challenge. The Packers are 0-2 but young and improving. This would be a huge step forward after dropping a pair to the O’s and Cards but it’s an uphill climb on the road against a team with title hopes. Newaygo at Big Rapids The Lions have been a pretty good team in the first half thus far but turnovers have hurt them after intermission. Facing down a tough CM team, QB Harkness came in and lit a spark on the offense toward game's end but the deficit proved too much to climb. This is a tough road contest with the Cards christening their new field and the Strickler to Strickland combo giving fits to pass defenses thus far. The Lions feel like a team that is almost there. Hopefully they arrive on that new Big Rapids field on Friday. Holton at Morley Stanwood The ‘Hawks have dropped their first 2 but their competition has been pretty tough. The Devs beat Coleman after a loss to Hart in the opener. It’s the first of 3 road games in a row for Holton. A win would be huge for the team under the first year tutelage of coach Alex Smith but it is not going to be an easy task. The good news is the Mohawk defense isn’t winning any awards thus far and the Red Devils have been able to move the ball. Whether they can do it on the Morley field will determine the eventual outcome. Tri County at Reed City How good are the Vikings? This Friday will reveal whether TC is a likely contender or another Gold team looking up at the Coyotes in the standings. Coach Butler’s team plays an uptempo game on offense which might help put the rugged RC D off stride but the game is in Coyote country, always a tough venue for visitors. I like TC’s chances here but they will need to minimize mistakes and take advantage of any miscues on the other side to take home a W. Grant at Chippewa Hills The Tigers are off to a slow start but the schedule maker didn’t do them any favors as they have faced 2 of the top teams in the region in Comstock Park and Reed City. This one should give Coach Stephan a good shot at notching win number 1 if the offense can get the ball across the goal line which has been a challenge thus far. In fact the two teams combined have scored just 2 touchdowns in 16 quarters of play this season. CH has also started with 2 rugged teams including a Gladwin squad that has outscored opponents 132-0. And the Warriors are playing at home for the first time this season. A loss would give the Tigers an 0-3 mark for the first time since 2013 when they finished 1-8 and would make for a long bus ride home from Remus. Lakeview at Kent City The Eagles would have to self-destruct to lose this one. The Packers welcomed Chippewa Hills on Tuesday afternoon for a CSAA conference meeting. Fremont was up 5-0 at halftime and ended the match with 20 minutes to play 8-0. Marcus Klimek led all scorers with 2 goals and 2 assists. Lorenzo Liuzzi, Chaz Miller, John Vissia, Logan Nelson, Trent Buitendorp, and Carter Miller all added single goals for Fremont. Carson Herman added two assists while Liuzzi, Miller, and Conner Roesler had an assist each. Fremont outshot Chippewa Hills 28-0. Andrew Bloomfield made 20 saves for the visitor. Fremont improved to 2-1-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference. Chippewa Hills dropped to 0-6 and 0-2 in the conference. The Packers travel to Big Rapids Thursday to face the Cardinals (4-0-3, 0-0) Big Rapids 40 Fremont 13 The first quarter played pretty even as the Cardinals capped off an early drive with a 3 yard TD run by Justin Gorczewicz and the Pack answered later in the opening frame when Justin Dirheimer found paydirt, also on a 3 yard run. While the hosts missed the point after, they were in the game and trailed by just a point. BR’s Gorczewicz took another one across the goal line early in the 2nd quarter and the teams hit the locker room with the visitors holding a 14-6 edge. Then came the second half. The Cards accounted for the next 26 points as quarterback Wil Strickler fired off a pair of TD passes and ran for another before David Miller broke free for a 56 yard scoring run. With minutes left Dirheimer got the Pack back on the board with an 18 yard run, but by then the result was destined for the books and Fremont fell to 0-2 and 0-1 in the CSAA. Packers Alex Gleason and Kyler DeKuiper combined to toss 10 passes for 138 yards with Wei Chen pulling in 7 of those while amassing 92 yards. Michael Romero, Owen VandenBerg and Daniel Romero paced the defense in tackles. Dirheimer finished with a game high 137 yards rushing. It doesn’t get any easier for the Fremont squad who will head to Stanton Friday to face the 2-0 CM Hornets. Tri County 46 Chippewa Hills 7 The first quarter saw the Warriors hanging tight with the uptempo Vikings trailing just 8-7 after one. From there on it was all Vikings as they rolled to their second win of the young season behind an unstoppable rushing attack. Nate Lovell crossed the goal line 3 times while piling up 91 yards on just 9 carries.Trent Behrenwald tallied twice on the ground finishing with 75 yards and Dave Sheehan broke loose for a 59 yard score. Coach Butler: "All around our guys played a good game. Proud of them. They cleaned up some things from week 1. “What we’re seeing from the guys doesn’t show up in the stats. Guys hustling, blocks down field, celebrating teammates." The Vikes (2-0,1-0) will face tough opposition on the road Friday when they travel to Reed City to face the Coyotes (1-1,1-0) St. Louis 39 Hesperia 18 The Panthers were battling hard on the road trailing by just 2 points entering the fourth but the Sharks fed on mistakes by the visitors and ran away with the non conference win. Brandon Quinn had 160 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown, while Amando Escobejo had a touchdown and Hunter Billman had a short TD run. Sam Koch finished with a team high 8 tackles. The Panthers (0-2) host White Cloud (2-0) Friday in the conference opener for both teams. Reed City 28 Grant 0 The Coyotes jumped out with 2 quick scores and the Tiger offense struggled as the host dropped their second game of the season. Brady Jacobs pounded out a tough 139 yards but the RC defense never allowed their hosts to cross the goal line. Treyton Railling led the team in tackles with 13 and Jacobs finished with four while Nolan Corvers and Kaiden Pascoe tallied 3 apiece. Holton 28 Coleman 14 The Red Devils evened their season mark at 1-1 with the win over the Comets. They open conference play Friday on the road against Morley Stanwood (0-2) Lions Fall to Hornets in Home Opener By Alexis Mercer Central Montcalm 29 Newaygo 13 The Lions knew going in that the Hornets would be a formidable opponent. With a flashy, effective offense and solid defense, the young Newaygo team would have to be on their game in every aspect to pull out a win. In the first half, the Lions managed to keep the offense quiet. Central Montcalm's first time on the board was thanks to a safety. Two points for the visitors after 12 minutes had ticked off the clock. The second quarter excitement came from a brilliantly executed flea flicker from Remy Wells to Jayden Joseph, who then ran the ball in for a 71 yard touchdown. But the Hornets wouldn't let the Lions have the lead going into the locker rooms. Quarterback Kaleb Crooks punched in the ball for a touchdown and a 9-6 lead. Newaygo's defense would not really be the root of the issues that arose in the second half. In fact, defensive linemen Seth McGowen and Cameron Goodin would prove to be thorns in the side (and back, and legs, and arms) of the Hornets' offense. But the plentitude of Lion turnovers would instead be their downfall.
Central Montcalm would capitalize on the Lions offensive errors and score three more times before the Lions found the end zone again, going up 29-6 with 10:47 left on the clock. Though the deficit would prove to be too much, 2nd half quarterback Grant Harkness for the Lions would not give in and moved the ball around the field well, including many running yards on his own and a running touchdown with seconds left on the clock. Holton and White Cloud took to the Red Devil court Tuesday and put on an early season showing of some outstanding gamesmanship . It was a seesaw battle throughout and when the dust finally cleared it was a 2 point edge in the 5th set that delivered the victory to the visitors. Coach Strait: “Last night, the Lady Indians squeaked out a win against Holton in 5. It was a great match to watch, coach, and play. Both sides put up a great fight and we were able to pull out the win. Ceara Bode led in points with 11 and 2 aces, followed by Carsyn Scarlavai and Lilly Holmes both with 7 points. Aby Derks had a great night on the net with 8 kills with Ceara pitching in 5. Carsyn and Jaden Gomez led that offense with 10 and 4 assists, respectively. Defensively, Elizabeth Compeau led with 9 digs, followed by Ceara with 7. We continue conference play on Wednesday when we travel to Lakeview.” By Ken De Laat
Local teams went 2-5 in their season openers. This week the Lions, Tigers, Packers and Vikings kick off the quest for a conference crown against their Gold opponents while the Panthers and Devils tune up for the start of Silver play with a second non-con matchup. White Cloud has already moved to 2-0 by virtue of a forfeit by Wyoming Lee. They will open league play with a visit to Hesperia next week. Central Montcalm (1-0) at Newaygo (0-1) Thursday In a game that saw the unheralded 12th player known as Momentum switch teams at the half, Kent City’s talent for capitalizing on mistakes helped them christen their new field with a win. The Hornets looked strong in taking down Morley at home last week. It looks to be a tight conference race with a few teams likely to emerge as prime contenders in the next couple of weeks. Whoever wins this one is likely to be in that conversation. Big Rapids (0-1) at Fremont (0-1) Friday One of two Friday games this week. The loss The Cards couldn’t stop Dylann Merlo as he and the rest of the Broncos galloped past their visitors dropping 42 points on BR. But the Cardinals did score 30 so there is that. The youthful Packers put up a good fight against a tough Oriole team and less a few turnovers they might have made the score a bit tighter. They’ll get better under Coach Carpenter and this would be a good game to start that climb. Reed City (0-1) at Grant (0-1) Thursday The Coyotes lost a tight game to Cadillac in a clash between two of the state's powerhouse programs. The Tigers were blasted by Comstock Park as the Panthers put up double nickels on the Tiger home field. Yeah, it doesn't get any easier this week for Coach Stephan and his team, but if, as Gandhi once said, adversity is the mother of progress ... Hesperia (0-1) at St Louis (1-0) Thursday The Panthers fell to the Manton Rangers last week and face the Sharks who won a 49-30 shootout against Calvin Christian a team that hasn’t beaten anyone not named Lee since 2016. Coach Smith’s team will be taking about a 2 hour bus ride to get there. Here’s hoping the ride back is something other than dead silent. Chippewa Hills (0-1) at Tri County (1-0) Friday I got a feeling Coach Butler has a pretty good team over there in Howard City. We will know how good after they tangle with Reed City next week. Lakeview lacked the talent and depth to stay with the Vikings in their first win and the Warriors couldn’t score and couldn’t keep the Gladwin team out of the end zone. Coleman (1-0) at Holton (0-1) Thursday The Red Devils exchanged blows with Hart early but the Pirates prevailed. The Comets won their opener 61-0. Maybe their opponent Farwell didn’t have the horses to put up much of a fight but man, 61 points. That's a lot of points. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories |