 Photos by Bobbie Cruzan Chippewa Hills 62 White Cloud 24 The Warriors came into the Cloud looking for win #1 on the season and posted it in a convincing fashion as they ran past the WC defense led by CH running back Clay Farrell who tallied 184 yards and 3 touchdowns on the night. Jayden Robinsin threw for 2 touchdowns and Clifford Magnan tossed another while Reece Johnson scored one on the ground. Bryson Knight gathered in a pair of TD passes and Edgar Rodrigues nabbed another one. On defense Maganan picked off a CH pass and Jacob Anibal paced the defense with 7 tackles. White Cloud (0-1, 1-4) will play their final home game of the season Friday when they welcome in Morley Stanwood (0-2, 1-4) Shelby 30 Hesperia 25 The Panthers battled on this WMC-Rivers matchup but the Tigers outlasted their hosts to post their first conference victory. Blake Sayer had another good night passing as he connected on 14-18 for 218 yards and a TD, while Skyler Stalbaum banged out 109 yards on the ground while crossing the goal line twice. Sayer added 45 yards rushing and connected with Ian Klaus (4 receptions,73 yds), Thor Klaus (4- 54 yds) and Eli Edens (4-74 yds and a TD). Stalbaum finished the night with 9 tackles and Sayer added 9 tackles and a pick. Hesperia (0-2, 2-3) face Ravenna (2-1, 3-2) Oakridge 56 Fremont 6 The Eagles got the ball 7 times in the first half. And 7 times they crossed the goalline rushing to a 49-0 lead at intermission and cruising to a one sided win over the Packers in the WMC Lakes contest.This one was over early as Eagle running back Bryson Stephenson tallied 3 TDs in the first quarter. Khai Noordyk led the Pack’s ground game with 74 yards and Karter Frens added another 62, but the Eagle defense along with some untimely miscues by the visitors set the tone for the night. Fremont QB Brayden Crosley was under pressure most of the night tossing for just 47 yards and yielding a pair of interceptions. Asa Barnhard caught a 41 yard pass and added 8 tackles across the line and Tritan Corrigan anchored the defense with 11 tackles. Fremont (0-3, 1-4) will visit Orchard View (0-4, 1-4) on Friday.  
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 The medalists- Photo by Andrea Atwood On Saturday, September 28, the White Cloud Cross Country team traveled to Shepherd High School for the Shepherd Invitational. The flat, fast course produced great times all day, and our runners were no exception. In the boys' varsity race, Coleson Cruzan and Kaleb Canning both moved up on the record board with 16:31 (6th place) and 17:10 (11th place), respectively. Wyatt Karnes finished 39th, with another race under the 19-minute barrier (18:36). Joey Coon ran 18:55 for 50th place. Angelo Hinson was 55th (19:07), and Avery Bowman was 75th with his best time of the season of 19:43. There were 155 runners in the race and 20 scoring teams. White Cloud finished 3rd. In a race of 123 girls, Charlotte Karnes ran under 30 minutes for the first time (29:26) and finished 113th. PR's were set by Charlotte Karnes, Canning, Coon, Cruzan, Hinson, and Wyatt Karnes. Medal winners were Cruzan, Canning, and Wyatt Karnes.  Fremont runners at Calvin University with their former track teammate and current Calvin student athlete Victoria Ekkel Story and photos by Michael Paige Fremont cross country runners turned in some great performances at the Calvin University Cougar Falcon Invitational on September 21st. The weather was warm and the newly mapped out course was a little wet, but still pretty flat course that ran fast and the Fremont runners took advantage and had many season and personal records. The Fremont boys started out the day with a 4th place finish with 122 points. Seniors Carter Sherman and Cole Lowery both earned medals. Carter placed 5th with a season best time of 16:20 and Cole placed 20th at 17:07, his personal best. According to Coach Cliff Somers, “Carter ran a really smart race putting himself in the lead pack early, and then moved up in the second half of the race.” Blake Taylor (27th – 17:27), Issac Romero (31st – 17:33) and Chase Lowery (45th – 18:09) also placed in the top 50 to round out Fremont’s top five. Sophomore Mossen Green placed 49th with a PR time of 18:27 and senior Brandon Rasmussen, in his first big meet as a member of the varsity team, ran a personal record time of 19:58. Fremont had two runners in the boy’s freshman race, and both performed very well with big personal records. Max Taylor ran a 19:33, good for 20th, earning a medal and a spot on the varsity squad for the next race. Jacob Christoffersen placed 38th at 21:04, a 20 sec. PR over his previous best. On the girl’s side, the Packers placed 5th with 148 points, again setting many personal and season bests. Junior Linnea Paige ran a season best 19:58 and finished 8th to earn a medal. Per Coach Somers, “Rachel Maddox (31st – 22:01), Kira Manchip (32nd – 22:11) and Joelle Patten (36th – 22:24) all finished in the top 40 to give us a decent scoring punch.” Ava Krohn was also in the top 5 in 51st place with a time of 23:58. Maddox, Manchip and Krohn all ran personal bests and Patten had her season best. Jailyn Saum ran a PR of 24:31 and Rocquel Richards had her best time of the season at 25:12 rounding out the varsity runners. Fremont had three girls, Riley Chase, Alayna Bukala and Madison Dunbar, run personal best times in the junior varsity race. Chase ran a time of 26:01, good for 24th and a medal. Bukala placed 54th at 29:12 and Dunbar 65th at 30:15. Fremont runs again on Oct. 1 at Ludington.
 Mystery Ref pondering the possibility of seeing the obscure Fair Catch Kick rule come into play By Ken DeLaat Newaygo at Reed City The roots of this rivalry came in 2012 when, after Reed City put a pasting on the Lions during the regular season, Newaygo went to the ‘Yotes house 7 weeks later in the District Finals and knocked them out of the dance. Two years later the Reed City squad did the same, losing their regular session matchup and sending the Lions home in the post season opener. In recent years it has been all Reed City who have beaten the Lions by an average of 37 points the last 4 games, but this is a Lion team on a mission. Newaygo sits atop Division 6 in playoff points, having slapped the lone loss on three teams who are probably headed to the postseason. Reed City is a tough place to play and the Coyotes have a large and loud following. The Lions are having a magical season and a win here makes believers out of all of us. It would also add to the makings of a title game with Big Rapids in 2 weeks. The key will be not letting the hosts jump out early and forcing the Lions to play catch up. Fremont at Oakridge The Eagles have a pretty fair program with 19 straight playoff appearances. This year they are 2-2 and with 4 tough opponents coming up they will need this one to help keep that streak alive. The Packers beat up on a struggling Grant team last week to post their first victory. They will probably add to the win column this season but it’s not likely to happen this Friday at Oakridge. Chippewa Hills at White Cloud Which defense will rise to the occasion in this matchup? Both teams know how to score but the Cloud has yielded 175 points and the Warriors have seen 222 points on their opponents side of the scoreboard. Chip Hills hasn’t won a game yet but they have faced a much tougher schedule than WC with each of the 4 teams that bested them likely to play at least 10 games. If the hosts fall short CH will be the third team to record their lone win (so far) against the Cloud. I don’t doubt that Jayden Robinson and Co. will put some numbers on the scoreboard. It remains to be seen if they can put up enough to make up for a rather porous defense Shelby at Hesperia The Panthers were pummeled by North Muskegon last week but the Norse are the cream of the Rivers Division of the WMC. The Tigers are not. They haven’t won since a season opening rout of White Cloud, the team that ran away from Hesperia a couple of weeks ago. The Panthers possess some talent particularly with the elusive Blake Sayer and 2 way standout Skyler Stalbaum, but they don’t seem to be able to stop teams from scoring the past 2 weeks. This may be the best shot the Panthers have at another win with 4 formidable opponents looming after this one, but they will need to stop making huge mistakes on defense if they are to stay in this one. Grant at Big Rapids Injuries and low numbers led to the Tigers forfeiting this one, but chances are pretty solid that they would have lost this one. The Cardinals are cruising since an opening loss to highly rated Paw Paw, the home of Charley Maxwell who, to people as old as I am, remember him for his proclivity to hit homers on Sunday and the ‘Paw Paw’ nickname Ernie Harwell bestowed on him.  The White Cloud Cross Country team competed at the Veterans Serving Veterans Invitational in Cadillac on Saturday, September 21. In the D3-D4 division, the White Cloud boys finished 4th, behind three D3 schools. Two of our runners, Coleson Cruzan and Kaleb Canning, earned coveted top-ten spots, finishing 2nd and 10th, respectively. Seven boys posted personal best times, most notably Coleson Cruzan (16:49) and Kaleb Canning (17:18), whose efforts earned them places on the record board. In only his second race, Caleb Leys proved to be a force with a finishing time of 18:27. Wyatt Karnes shattered his previous best by breaking the elusive 19-minute barrier, running 18:47. Joey Coon shaved 22 seconds off his personal record, clocking in at 19:06, and Angelo Hinson took almost a full minute off his best time this year, finishing in 19:11. Avery Bowman finished 7th for White Cloud, running 20:46, while Zeke Hensley sliced off 17 seconds from last Saturday’s time, finishing in 23:08. Coleson and Kaleb both medaled in the Varsity race. In the crowded Reserve race, Tyler Higgins finished 89th out of 125 runners, posting a time of 23:22 and taking 40 seconds off his best time this year. Charlotte Karnes, our lone entry in the women’s Varsity race, also had a great performance, besting her personal record by 1:18. Our next race will be a Hoka two-miler at Chip Hills this Thursday, prior to the start of the JV football game. The White Cloud Cross Country team competed in the first CSAA Jamboree of the year on Tuesday, September 17. The boys team finished second behind a tough Central Montcalm squad, beating Kent City, Lakeview, and Morley-Stanwood. Coleson Cruzan finished second with his season best time of 17:14. Kaleb Canning was sixth, Wyatt Karnes was 10th. Running his first race this year, Caleb Leys was 12th, followed by Joey Coon 13th and Angelo Hinson 15th. Avery Bowman was 20th, Tyler Higgins 33rd, and Zeke Hensley was 34th. In the girls' race, Mikayla Goebel was 19th and Charlotte Karnes was 33rd. Posting season best times were Avery, Coleson, and Wyatt. Caleb Leys set a new personal best. The team will race in Cadillac on Saturday.  Blake Kerr rolls out to pass for a touchdown  Senior Luis Alvarez listens to his coaches intently during a timeout A Run at History: Newaygo Defeats Tri-County in Two Day Battle Photos and story by Alexis Mercer The last time Newaygo was 4-0 on the season was in 1997. The Lions’ head coach was Mark Puff and the quarterback was Joe Tofferi. Tri-County was being coached by John Goodin, who stood on the sidelines as an assistant coach last night for the Vikings. The Lions and Vikings that year faced off in week 2, with Newaygo winning only 6 to 0. Their other victories coming from Whitehall, Hesperia and White Cloud in the NCAA conference. This year, the Lions have defeated Kent City, Central Montcalm, Grant and now Tri-County, after what was an emotional evening of well executed football on Friday followed by a short continuation on Saturday. Newaygo started with a statement on its first drive of the game, driving up the field and scoring off a 25 yard pass to Hunter Yearsovich. Aiven Warmbein followed it up with an extra point to go up 7-0.  A massive Homecoming crowd cheers on the Vikings while the Lions attempt to stay undefeated  Tucking the ball with experience, Porter Slominski forges ahead Not able to match a first drive score, the Vikings punted the ball back to the Lions and the defense reigned supreme. Ethan Reyburn found the endzone again in the second quarter, reaching over the goal line after a 10 yard run up the middle. Another point by Warmbein put the Lions up 14-6. It was Reyburn yet again who found the endzone, running an impressive 50 yards to get there. Going into the locker rooms at half, the Lions were up 21-6. For much of the first half the Vikings had run the ball, but in the kickoff return to start the second half, they didn’t have to run any extra downs to score: Cole Plotts took the ball into the endzone, dodging every last Lion along the way. Vaughn Veltman then passed to Chase Keller for a 2 point conversion. The score was 21-14. Newaygo answered with a pass to Porter Slominski, who ran 55 yards. Warmbein hit yet another extra point to go up 28-14.  Ethan Reyburn ended the series with multiple touchdowns  Running with speed and agility, Ryan Pickerd makes gains For much of the first half the Vikings ran the ball. By this point in the game, the tried and true Phil Butler pass offense came to life in a big way. Coach Butler has been passing the ball since his days playing on the very field he was coaching on 22 years later. He then ran the spread under Coach Kreps at Hope College. There would be no question that his players would be ready to get the ball down the field quickly and efficiently. So after a fumble by Newaygo on the 40 yard line, Tri-County’s Keller scored again and a pass to Cade Hallman for 2 put the Vikings up by 2 points 30-28. Hunter Yearsovich got extra yards after a catch, but his touchdown was called back for a block in the back. So instead Henry Wood received a 12 yard pass for the Lions, and Warmbien’s 5th kick for an extra point was good to put the Lions at 35-30. It was at this point when the night took a terribly horrifying turn. Jayden Button, a star player for the Vikings, collapsed on the field. He was assisted by medical personnel and surrounded by his coaches and loved ones for the extended period before the ambulance made it to the field. He got taken to the hospital, and the remainder of the game was up in the air with everyone concerned for the well-being of the young man.  Noah McLaughlin walks off the field during a timeout  Coach Ralph Munger coaches his boys to a victory Eventually it was agreed upon that the game would resume Saturday at noon. Word was given by Tri County staff that Button was stable and undergoing tests, so the game would continue where it left off: with 7:54 left on the clock. It would be the Lions’ ball on first down and the ball on the 17 yard line. Saturday at noon the game resumed, albeit with a more solemn feel. The time remaining played into both coaches’ strengths: Munger the master of Wing-T, running the ball and therefore the clock as quickly as it could go; Butler passing and making large gains in a short amount of time with the clock stopping often. In the end, the Lions would prevail. Ethan Reyburn dove for another touchdown in the bright midday sun with Kerr kicking the extra point in. Tri-County matched the Lions’ score with a touchdown by Bryce Reed, but there wasn’t enough time for the Vikings to close the gap. Newaygo would take away the win 42-38.  Konner Bisel leads the way after a sack in the backfield  Pack off the Schneid, Cats clout Cloud, Norse sail past Panthers Photos by Bobbie Cruzan Story by Ken DeLaat Fremont 41 Grant 6 Midway through the first quarter Ethan DeLong took it to the end zone from 3 yards out to cap the Tiger drive and stake the hosts to a 6-0 lead giving the Tiger faithful something to cheer about. But that would be their last lead and the last time they would find pay dirt as it was all Packers from there on out. With just under 2 minutes in the first Fremont took the lead when QB Brayden Crosley called his own number and scored from the 3. Khai Noordyk busted through the line for the 2 point conversion and it was 8-6 Pack. Karter Frens finished off a Fremont drive in the second and the teams reached intermission with the visitors up 14-6. The Packers stretched their lead with a 3rd quarter score by Noordyk and later in the third Crosley crossed again on a 53 yard scamper to make it 26-6 heading into the final frame. Noordyk broke away for a 51 yard TD early in the 4th and the Packers got the conversion on a toss from Crosley to Talen Reichert-Slater. They added one more score when, backed up in the shadow of their own endzone, Frens got a couple of key blocks and tore downfield for a 97 yard TD.. Frens added the PAT with a boot through the uprights and the Packers celebrated win #1. Frens finished with 268 yards on the ground with Noordyk tacking on another 116. \ASa Barnhard led the team in tackles with 9 followed by Noordyk, Wyatt Schoemaker, Jacob Burns, Trentyn Corley and Michael Robinson with each. DeLong, who scored the lone Tiger TD led his team in rushing, finishing with 86 yards. The Grant defense was paced by Jack Swanson with 8 solo tackles and an assist, Pail Bonney with 6 solos and an assist, Ethan Dean with 5 solos and an assist and Aiden Booth with 5 solos. Fremont (1-3, 0-2) returns to WMC action Friday when they travel to Oakridge while Grant (1-3, 0-2) will head north to take on the Cardinals of Big Rapids. Lakeview 46 White Cloud 13 The Wildcats came into this one looking for win number one but also looking for some kind of offense after scoring just 19 points in their first three games. On Friday in White Cloud they got both as the visitors stuck 46 points on the board and captured the CSAA White contest. After running wild last week against Hesperia, White Cloud struggled to find any offensive rhythm, fell behind early and dropped their CSAA White conference opener. Jayden Robinson tossed a TD to Edgar Rodriguez Jr. and returned a kickoff for another score finishing with 216 total yards. Jose Saavedra-Mena led the team on Defense with 6 tackles. White Cloud (1-3, 0-1) will try to get back in the W column Friday when they host Chippewa Hills (0-4, 0-2) North Muskegon 42 Hesperia 7 The Norse are a strong football team coming into this one off a big win over the MCC Spartans and boasting a wicked running game as well as possessing a productive air squad. On Friday the Panthers could not stop either as NM ran off 3 first quarter TDs and by halftime the hosts were down 35-0. Skyler Stalbaum scored the lone Panther TD finishing with a hard earned 42 yards on the ground. Blake Sayer completed 11 out of 18 passes for 155 yards with Ian Fox (5, 58yds) Eli Edens (4, 37yds) and Dominic Smith (2, 60 yds.) being the recipients of his throws. On defense, Thor Klaus, Edens and Fox each collected a half dozen tackles while Noah Walker recovered a fumble to go with his 4 tackles. Hesperia (2-2, 0-1) will host Shelby (1-3, 0-3) Friday in a WMC matchup.
   Kraai, Lowman, Paige and Grierson duke it out on the Branstrom Park course Story and photos by Michael Paige Fremont hosted the first West Michigan Conference Lakes Division meet this year on Sept. 17th at the hilly Branstrom Park course. Ludington, led by sophomore Annabelle Lowman (21:51) and senior Nadia Grierson (21:54) won the meet with a team score of 31. Whitehall senior Cami Kraai (22:09) and Fremont junior Linnea Paige (22:17) ran with the leaders in a close pack the whole race. Ludington senior Summer Brower (22:50) rounded out the top 5. According to Fremont Coach Cliff Somers, “The girls turned in a great team performance to place 2nd with 54 points. We had a tight group of Rachel Maddox (24:19), Kira Manchip (24:37) and Joelle Patten (24:59) placing 8th, 10th and 12th and that really helped us. The improvement of Ava Krohn (27:36) in the 5th spot, placing 20th, also helped us place 2nd.” Jailyn Saum (28:03) placed 25th, Rocquel Richards (29:29 – 30th), Jessie Kendziorksi (30:01 - 34th), Riley Chase (30:36) completing her first race in 39th, Alayna Bukala (32:38 - 42nd) and Madison Dunbar (34:20 - 47th) rounded out the team of Fremont runners. Next up, the Fremont runners will compete at Calvin College on Saturday, Sept. 21.  Kira Manchip and Joelle Patten  Rachel Maddox taking on the Branstrom course  Linn ea Paige running toward an 8th place finish among 300 competitors. Story and photos by Michael Paige Much of the success of the Fremont Cross Country teams over the years can be attributed to training. Packer runners typically run hundreds of miles throughout the year, many during the summer months in anticipation of the upcoming fall season. Fremont coach Cliff Somers rewards those that hit certain milestones with a trip to East Lansing to compete in the annual MSU Invitational, held at the Forest Akers East Golf course on the south end of campus. This year 4 girls ran the miles necessary to run in the Bronze (Division 2) race. Fremont Junior Linnea Paige placed 8th out of over 300 runners with a time of 20:11. According to Coach Somers, “While she wasn't happy with her time, I thought Linnea ran a great race. She was 13th at the mile and finished in 8th. Not a huge difference in number but she had to work really hard to cover some pretty big open gaps on her own to close up to 8th.” Senior Rachel Maddox finished 77th with a PR time of 22:35. Sophomore Kira Manchip ran a 30 second PR of 22:54 and placed 86th. Junior Rocquel Richards moved up each mile and finished with a great final 400 meters to finish 201st at 25:56. With 4 athletes the girls did not score as a team. The boys ran in the Bronze Division 2 race this year. Per Coach Somers, “Fremont Senior Carter Sherman went through the first mile in 13th, then faded a little to 16th at the second mile. He did a great job fighting his way across a gap and then finishing strong in the last 800 to move up to 12th at the finish.” Sherman ran a personal season record time of 16:45. Senior Cole Lowery had a strong finish to place 44th at 17:34. Senior Blake Taylor (17:41 – 48th), Junior Issac Romero (18:26 – 94th) and Junior Chase Lowery (18:46 – 110th) also ran hard to finish well after a fast first mile. With five runners, Fremont compiled a team score of 306, good for 9th out of the 36 teams in the Bronze Div. 2 race. Mystery Ref has denied that his goal is to become the oldest active official By Ken DeLaat, N3 Sports Newaygo at Tri County Whaddya got Lions? With Coach Munger,who knows a bit about winning football games (338 and counting we believe) on the sidelines, the Lions have run off a 3-0 start and find themselves involved in an early season game with (gasp!) possible title implications. The win over Grant was expected by most but the week before they bested a tough Hornet team in their hive, a game that could have been a turning point for a team that seems to be going into games convinced they can win. Friday is the first of two games against teams at venues that can be, shall we say, less than inviting for visitors.This is a tough one. The Vikes are always a handful on their home turf and Coach Butler’s point-a-minute offense presents a challenge. But they haven’t faced a defense like Newaygo yet. And the Lions seem to be getting better as the season progresses and that’s on Coach Munger and his staff. It’s a team that certainly has some talent, but when you get players to truly, not just verbally, believe in themselves? Anything is possible. Add: The Lions are ranked #9 in D6 in the latest AP poll. Fremont at Grant The N3 Packer Prognosticator is back this week and tells us Fremont will get off the schneid when they visit Grant Friday. A bold prediction given that the Tigers have been outscored 96-6 the past 2 games, but hey, we’re just happy to have him back. Grant may have a couple of wins on their remaining schedule but I would be surprised if this was one. The Packers, despite an 0-3 start, have fared better than the Tigers against tougher competition. This is Fremont’s opportunity to get the offense on track and develop some traction. The Tigers are having trouble stopping teams. Even the anemic K-ville offense scored three times on the defense and turnovers and errors have stifled too many drives. Not saying they couldn’t win this one with a break here and there, but the PP guy says 2 TDs and I’d be surprised if it was that close. Lakeview at White Cloud Jayden Robinson and a strong supporting cast put on quite the show last Friday in a hard fought battle with Hesperia. The officials likely lost a few pounds from having to sprint up and down the field repeatedly in this 78 point, 11 touchdown contest. Now the Indians welcome in Lakeview for their first conference game. The Wildcats have been outscored 130-19 in their first 3 but the teams they played are a trio of pretty good squads who are each likely to play a game 10. The issue for the Cloud is the defense. Granted facing a QB like Blake Sayer is no picnic, but my hunch is there were too many big plays allowed for Coach Trice to be too happy with their performance. I like the offensive talent on this team. Robinson is the centerpiece but this team has a lot of people who can score. They should be able to send fans home happy if those big plays don’t detour them. North Muskegon at Hesperia Coach Fehler’s youthful players from last year have become a solid team particularly on offense. Blake Sayer should be up for an Oscar for the amount of time he's been watched on film by upcoming opponents. Defensively there are too many holes and a good offense will exploit those holes. The Norsemen have a good offense. A really, really good offense. They have one of the toughest non conference schedules around and NM took down a high octane Mason County Central team last week They have 3 tough games coming up after this one and could be caught looking ahead, but that’s not likely with a program that has come to see the playoffs as an annual event in recent years. Sayer will see a lot more pressure than he has thus far this season, but he’s a gamer and won’t be easy to bring down. However, unless the Panthers have somehow revamped their defense, particularly against the pass, they will need a lot of things to go their way to capture this one. Hopefully Ms. Mey will get an opportunity to tack on a few PAT’s for the Panthers. |
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