Tigers, Cloud, Vikes playoff bound? Packers drop their finale as Panthers win theirs
Grant 19 Kent City 0 The Grant Tigers hosted the Kent City Eagles for Senior night and what a night it was for the seniors who look to play in at least one more game in their final season as a Tiger. The Tiger’s defense stopped the Eagles offense the first two drives, the first with a fumble recovery at the Grant 31 and the second once again at their own 31 on downs. Senior Quarterback Brady Jacobs led the offense on an almost 5 minute drive capped off by his 4 yard touchdown run with 1:16 left in the first quarter . Senior Gage Scholtens' point after was good for a 7-0 Grant lead. Both defenses tightened up until the Tigers took possession at the Kent City 47 yard line with 44 ticks left on the clock. Jacobs completed a 15 yard pass to Senior Nathan Lang and followed with a 19 yard pass to Cohen Garrod. Jacobs then scampered around left end for 12 yard gain before scoring on the next play up the middle with 11 seconds left in the half for a 13-0 lead. After intermission the Tiger defense continued to play well and the offense took over with a long time consuming drive of over 8 minutes with Jacobs scoring from 5 yards out with 7:29 left in the game to take a 19-0 lead. Brady Jacobs led the Tigers with 175 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns, he was also 4/8 and 50 yards passing. The defense was led by senior Treyton Railling with 13 tackles, senior Brady Jacobs and Senior Angel Tello with 8 apiece. Junior Zachary Barnhart had 7 tackles and a fumble recovery. The win puts the Tigers (4-5) into the playoff picture so the team will undoubtedly be watching the Sunday Selection show at 5:30pm to see where they might be traveling for game #10. One possibility is a rematch with highly rated Comstock Park and a chance to avenge a season opening loss on the Tiger’s turf. Cadillac 35 Fremont 0 The Packers wrapped up their season Friday night on the road with a running clock in the second half as the playoff bound and state ranked Vikings sailed past their Fremont visitors. Cadillac’s offense scored twice and the defense added a pick 6 before the end of the first quarter and the hosts tacked on 2 more TD’s before intermission to build the 35-0 lead that would hold up as the final score. Alex Gleason completed 11 passes to a quartet of teammates but the Viking defense held the air game to 60 yards while picking a pair in the process. Gleason hit Wei Chen and Hayden Threatt 4 times, Justin Dirheimer twice and Owen VandenBerg once. Gleason also led the Packer running game with 69 yards while Dirheimer added 29. On defense, VandenBerg, Threatt, Michael Romero and Kyle DeKuiper led the team in tackles. Fremont finishes their season 1-8 Tri County 32 Manistee 28 The Vikings wrapped up a highly successful regular season with yet another dramatic comeback win on the road. TC came into the 4th quarter down 28-12 before tacking on 20 straight points and leaving town with their 8th win. The win should help give the Vikes a home game in the playoffs. Given the strong chance that the teams will be placed in the same district, a possible rematch of last week's epic battle with Big Rapids might be looming. Hart 28 White Cloud 6 Despite the loss the Cloud finished the season in the 32nd and final playoff spot for D8 so barring any possible changes after a handful of Saturday games involving other teams in the division, the White Cloud Varsity should hear their name called at The Sunday Selection Show. It would be no surprise to see them embarking toward Beal City next week. Hesperia 34 Shelby 14 The Panthers gave their first year coach Dave Smith his first win in the season’s final game. Brandon Quinn broke out with 4 TDs as he piled up 269 yards on the ground with Armando Escobedo adding another 99 rushing yards. Escobedo also picked off a pair of Tiger passes on defense. Scott Quinn also intercepted a pass for the Panthers.
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Despite loss, playoffs loom for Red Devils
Story and photo by Joseph Mclean The lights of Red Devil Stadium were shining bright for the CSAA crossover matchup. The Newaygo Lions rolled into town to take on the hometown Red Devils. This game was 8 years in the making as the last time they played was in 2013. The Lions took that one 54-36 and the last win for the Devs in the series was a 40-14 win in ‘07. A win would more than likely guarantee Holton a spot in the big dance. A loss would make that quest a bit tougher. The game opens with the Devs trying the helicopter kick, but it’s recovered by the Lions. The Devils stifle the running attack on the first couple plays before Grant Harkness finds Dylan Bazzett for the first down. It looked to be a turning point in the game when Harkness ran up the middle and got banged up but Wells takes the helm, and gets them inside the five. The Devils defense bending but not breaking as Chase Albright returning from injury makes the goal line stop on Jayden Joseph. The Devils offense can’t get going, and on the punt it’s bobbled in the endzone by Fowler and he gets tackled for a safety by Dylan Bazzett. With the Lions up 2-0 Harkness shows off the arm as he hits Bazzett on a 17-yarder to make it 9-0. The first frame ends with the Devs driving into Lion territory after Fowler’s arm starts to get going. Erickson catches the pass from Fowler and fumbles on the first play of the new quarter. The Devs hold the Lions to a 3 and out after a costly chop block penalty on 1st down. The Devils come to a big moment on 4th down and Fowler, a dual threat, sees the opening and goes. Fowler throws it up for Bret Hosmer who wrestles it away for the Devs first score. Halfway through the 2nd quarter and Newaygo is holding a 9-6 lead. The Holton defense makes another stand in their own territory as after a Joseph run, they throw the screen, but it’s caught with a knee down. Holton gets the ball back, but not for long. Fowler throws with a guy in his face, it’s tipped, and picked by Kody Bazzett. Newaygo would turn that into another score by way of Harkness hitting a wide open Josiah Long and Newaygo goes up 16-6 late in the half. The Lions recovered the kick after it rebounded off the Devils front line. Newaygo, trying to get a lengthy lead into half eventually finds the end zone as Harkness finds Wells who makes the acrobatic catch for the touchdown. They go into the break up 23-6. Coming out of the break both teams start flat with back to back 3 and outs. The Devils drive was all Erickson as he starts the drive with a big play, saves the drive with a 27 yarder on 4th and 2, and gets the touchdown from Fowler. Robins makes the difficult catch on the 2 pt to make it a 23-14 game. Harkness drops back to pass on the next drive, and gets sacked by Robins coming out of nowhere. A desperation throw by Harkness bounces off the hands of the receiver, and lands in the hands of Erickson deep in Red Devil territory. The Devils do nothing with the gift, and are forced to punt. The time is ticking for the Devs as they trail 23-14 going into the final frame. The Lions score quickly as a Harkness rushing touchdown gets set up by a Wells big time play. The Lions might have put the icing on the cake after that one as they lead 30-14. Fowler’s pass is intercepted by Miguel Alvarez, and the Lions defense takes the ball away from one of the best passers in the area! The Lions ride the back of premier runner Jayden Joseph who finds the endzone to put the Lions up by a commanding 23 points. Fowler runs the hurry up and finds Hosmer, and then hits Erickson who breaks the Newaygo defender to find paydirt. Fowler hits Robins for 2 to make it 37-22. Jayden Joseph adds to his big last career game campaign as he hits the left sideline, and scores easily to put the Lions up 43-22 with 1:22 left. On the last drive of the night, the Red Devils went for all pride. Fowler showed off his arm, and quickly moved the Devs down the field as he eventually hits Robins in the back of the endzone as he lays out with a toe tap. The Devs go a little Philly Special throwback as Nichols hits Fowler in the endzone to make the final 43-30. Newaygo comes in and gets the job done with an upset of the 5-3 Devils to push them to 5-4, and holding on to a playoff berth pending the result of some Saturday contests in D8. The tram will likely gather Sunday for the 5:30pm Selection Show on Bally to learn their fate for game #10. Teams to play in Volley Against Violence Tourney Saturday
White Cloud Coach Desiree Strait: The Lady Indians have had a busy week of volleyball and it will continue, as we participate in Hesperia's Volley Against Violence tournament this coming weekend. We finished 2-2 on the week with wins against Lakeview and Benzie Central, but fell short to Reed City and Kingsley. Leaders on the week were Abby Derks with 19 kills followed by Carsyn Scarlavai with 12. Carsyn was also able to rack up 30 assists. Our back row was led by Elizabeth Compeau with 22 digs and Jaden Gomez with 19. Lakeview - 25-11, 25-16, 25-20 Reed City - 10-25, 16-25 Kingsley - 17-25, 16-25 Benzie Central - 26-24, 26-24 Hesperia Coach Monica Grimard: Although Senior Night ended in a loss to the Mohawks, Coach Grimard was happy with the performance of her team that has had a host of difficulties this year The Panthers kept pace with the Mohawks throughout all three sets of the match, which was a much better match than their first match-up at Morley. The Panthers lost 0-3, with the scores 20-25, 20-25, and 18-25. The offensive was led by seniors Elli McAree and Emmet Tinkham with 7 and 6 kills respectively, along with 5 kills from sophomore Kayla Rumsey. Lacey McCallum had 20 assists on the night with 2 aces. Defensively, senior Emma Joppich led with 17 digs, Junior Emma Muckey, recently returning after a preseason injury, had 14 digs, McCallum and Ali Townsend had 8 and 7 digs respectively on the night. Tinkham, Rumsey, McAree, and Caitlyn Frees each had a block on the night for the Panthers. Lori Vargas Volley Against Violence The Panthers will play again on Saturday, October 23rd in their 10th Annual Lori Vargas Volley Against Violence Tournament, raising money and awareness for the early warning signs for dating and domestic violence. Proceeds for Saturday's events are given to WISE of Newaygo, Osceola, and Mecosta Counties. 15 Teams will compete on Saturday for the day-long, awareness event. Raffle prizes will be given out, awareness information from WISE, there will be a drop off box for anyone wanting to donate toiletries for the shelter at WISE, and tons of volleyball to be played! Raffle prizes include our annual handmadeVAV quilt, 2 Lions and Packers Tickets for Jan. 9th game, gift certificates for several area businesses, gift baskets, 2-18 rounds of golf with a cart at Waters Edge in Fremont, $200 gift certificate for Amish Furniture, and more. The Fremont Area Community Foundation is matching what is raised at this event with a grant .50/$1.00 to be given to WISE for awareness education and local support of their shelters. Holton, Grant, White Cloud still have a shot at the dance with new playoff qualifications
By Ken De Laat, N3 Sports Newaygo (1-7) at Holton (5-3) The Red Devils sit in the 27th spot in the D8 playoff race with the top 32 teams getting an invite to game #10.They have an impressive offense led by Fowler’s arm with Ericson, Hosmer, Robins and Nichols among his TD targets. The defense rises to the occasion with several players capable of creating opportunities. Their 3 losses include the season opener to Hart, a tough 2 point loss on the road to Morley and a Kent City game that got away from the Devs via turnovers. The Lions? They’ve won once, a mid season home victory over Fremont. They’ve been in some games but hit a low point last week in a loss to a Chip Hills team that had not even come close in any other game this season Still, there’s that Lion Pride to play for if not a playoff spot. The Perfect Storm here however, is that the Lions have struggled all year with yielding big plays while Holton thrives on delivering such plays. The RD's are at home, had a rest week courtesy of a Wyoming Lee forfeit, and would love to take their high octane offense into the second season with first year Holton Coach Alex Smith. White Cloud (4-4) at Hart (3-5) The Cloud has a shot at the playoffs! They currently rank 28th in playoff points for D8 and a win at Hart Friday would likely earn them a seat at the dance for the first time since ‘03. I know, I know they were in last year but so was everyone else so it's not like it was earned. But they most likely need this win. And while it took a visit from winless Shelby to snap the Pirates 5 game skid, they are 2-0 against the Silver having dispatched Kent City and Holton, two of the upper echelon teams in the division in the early part of the season. It would be great to see the Cloud players take the field in a postseason battle. Even if it meant facing off with a D8 powerhouse like Beal City or the Heights. But they can’t fall behind early on the road and need to minimize the turnovers that have haunted them in their losses. Kent City (5-2) at Grant (3-5) In D5 the Tigers sit at 33rd just one spot away from being in the postseason party. Even though they have yet to beat a team with a winning record. Of course they would probably need a team or two in front of them to lose even if they beat the Eagles but if they falter in game #9 there won’t be a game #10. Despite a better record the Eagles would need more help than Grant for a shot at the dance. They are 38th and among the teams in front of them is the Morley team (34th) the Eagles had to forfeit to. A win over Grant would elevate their chances and combined with a few falters by the teams in front of them the Eagles could, and should be in the playoff picture. Fremont (1-7) at Cadillac (6-2) Cadillac is in. The Packers have won once. Cadillac gave Reed City their only loss. Reed City dropped 30 3rd quarter points on the Packers last week. It’s been a tough season for Fremont on and off the field. A year that began with a bit of promise is ending with the same scarcity of wins Packer fans have witnessed the last half dozen years. It’s on the road and while the Vikings have lost to each of the Traverse City schools, they also grinded out a win over a really good Portland team last week. The hosts will be wanting to pad their resume to secure a home game in the second season. The Packers will give them a game, but this one’s stacked against them. Tri County (7-1) at Manistee (5-3) The Vikings are in. Manistee is likely in but a loss could jeopardize their spot. TC could be seeing a rematch of last week's battle in Big Rapids in game #10 Hesperia (0-7) at Shelby (0-8) The best shot at a win for the Panthers comes in their final game when they visit the Tigers of Shelby. Why? Well, while Hespo has been outscored 316- 77 the Tigers have been dominated by a 418-24 margin. If the Panthers can score 3 times they should end the season on a high note, but final games with 2 teams looking to notch their first win? Could go either way Ciolk, Cruzan, Canning & Canning Finish Top Ten
Photos by Joan Ludke Coach Atwood: The CSAA Silver competed at Lakeview on October 19th for the final jamboree of the year. White Cloud boys narrowly missed the clean sweep with a three point loss to Kent City. The Indians still came away with the overall Championship trophy for the first time in school history. Sam Martini from Kent City, was the meet winner. White Cloud had Nathan Ciolk 2nd, Coleson Cruzan 4th, Kobe Canning 6th, Kaleb Canning 9th, Carson Foondle 13th, Ashton Byle 14th, Malachi Graves 16th, Christian Ringler 19th, Avery Bowman 20th, Keagan Kailing 28th, and Wyatt Karnes 32nd. Congratulations to the White Cloud Boys! In the girls race, Kent City was the undefeated champion. Winning the race was Miranda McNeil from Morley-Stanwood. White Cloud finishers were Andrea Feldpausch 12th, Kiara Edwards 14th, Jolena Deaton 21st, Ryleigh Balke 22nd, Cecelia Rodriguez 24th, Allie Rodriguez 25th, and Sydnee Ochs 30th. Nice job, ladies! Three Cloud Harriers Land First Team Honors
1st team All-Conference Boys Sam Martini (KC) Nathan Ciolk (WC) Jaren Vogel (KC) Kobe Canning (WC) Coleson Cruzan (WC) Tyler Vining (MS) Leto Pendleton (KC) Girls Lila Volkers (KC) Miranda McNeil (MS) Alyeska Linsley (KC) Isabella Max (KC) Kierra Flegel (KC) Emily Lantzer (KC) Gracie Houtman (KC) Honorable Mention Boys Carson Foondle (WC) Sam Freeland (KC) Stephen Priese (HESP) Kaleb Canning (WC) Shelby Hopkins (MS) Christian Ringler (WC) Malachi Graves (WC) Girls Vanessa Peltoniemi (HOLT) Alisha Esquivel (KC) Aubrey Goyings (HOLT) Cassandra Biot (HOLT) Andrea Feldpausch (WC) Hadley Tiffany (LKVW) Molly Willson (LKVW) Kiara Edwards (WC) Team Standings Boys White Cloud Kent City Morley-Stanwood Hesperia Holton Lakeview Girls Kent City Morley-Stanwood White Cloud Holton Lakeview Hesperia Tigers Lose Nail Biter While Vikes Win One; Packers Fall To Champs; Lions, Cloud, and Panthers Defeated
Reed City 46 Fremont 21 Credit the gritty Packer team for putting up a valiant fight against the state ranked and now conference champion Coyotes. The Reed City resume didn’t impress the visitors who held their hosts scoreless in the first quarter and after the Yotes capped a drive with a short TD run and a 2 point conversion the Packers responded with a drive of their own that found paydirt when QB Alex Gleason followed his O-line in from a yard out to make it 8-7 Reed City. The Coyotes responded with another score before intermission to build a 16-7 lead at the break but the Packers were still in the game But there is a reason Reed City is ranked high and atop the CSAA Gold. Their depth and talent emerged in the third when they came out of the break and piled up 30 points scoring twice before a Justin Dirheimer 27 yard run to daylight for the visitors and twice more after. The Pack got on the board one more time in the 4th when Gleason hit Michael Romero for a 9 yard strike and David Wachter converted for the third time. The 21 points put up by the Packer offense was the most scored by any team this season against the vaunted Coyote defense as Dirheimer pounded out 164 yards on the ground and Gleason tossed for 112 with Wei Chen, Romero and Hayden Threatt pulling in most of the short yardage throws. Chen led the defense in tackles followed by Romero, Owen VadenBerg and Garrett Hanshue. Reed City (6-1, 7-1) takes the title outright and will end their regular season against another state ranked team, the D4 Whitehall Vikings, before entering the playoffs. The Pack (1-6, 1-7) will finish their season on the road against Cadillac. Central Montcalm 25 Grant 21 The Tigers traveled to Central Montcalm to take on the Hornets Friday night. The Tigers got into a big hole in the first quarter. The Hornets dominated the first quarter, scoring early and taking a 6-0 lead. A Grant pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown with 5:57 left in the first quarter, making it 12-0. The Hornets then scored on the last play in the 1st quarter to take a 18-0 lead. The Tigers put together a touchdown drive scoring with a Brady Jacobs 10 yard touchdown pass to Gage Scholtens with 5:42 left in the half and the teams reached the break with the Hornets holding an 18-7 lead. The Tigers recovered the onside kick to start the second half and drove down the field, capped off by a 12 yard touchdown pass from Jacobs to Nathan Lang, making the score 18-14 Hornets. A great defensive stop by the Tigers at their own 11 yard line propelled the Tigers on another drive, ending with Jacobs running 50 yards for a touchdown and taking a 21-18 lead with 19 seconds left in the 3rd. A turnover by the Tigers on their 30 yard line gave Central Montcalm just enough time to score the game winning touchdown with 53 seconds left. Jacobs led the offense with 104 yards rushing, one touchdown, two passing touchdowns, and 68 yards on 6/12 with one interception. The defense was led by Treyton Railling with 8 tackles, one tackles for loss and one pass breakup Jacobs finished with 8 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and two pass breakups andNolan Corvers had 7 tackles and one tackle for loss. Tri County 30 Big Rapids 28 It was just the kind of game one would expect from a pair of high octane teams occupying the upper echelon of the CSAA Gold. With the homecoming crowd as a backdrop the Cards jumped out to a 14-0 lead field by a TD run by Wil Strickler and his scoring pass to Jamal Strickland. The Vikes struck back before halftime as QB Tyler Tompkins fired a TD pass but failed to convert and the teams reached intermission with the Cards on top 14-6. The second half scoring began with Nate Lovell busting through for a 10 yard TD run but once again the Vikings failed to convert and trailed by 2. After a stalled drive by the hsts TC took over deep in their own territory and used their vaunted running game to march down the field with Trent Behrenwald and Lovell tacking on big gainers before Lovell found paydirt from a tard out and the Vikes had their first lead at 18-14. TC scored again when the o-line opened a big hole and Behrenwald took it home 75 yards later. For the 4th time the conversion fell short and TC held a 24-14 advantage, The Cards offense came to life and scored twice in the 4th to take a 28-24 lead and with TC pinned back into their own territory it looked like a homecoming win for BR. But it was not to be. Tompkins hit Behrenwald with what would have been the game winner but he was stopped at the Cardinal one yard line with seconds to play. Two plays later Lovell took it in again and the Vikings tallied a tough road win behind some dramatic heroics and a stoic group of linemen Coach Butler: “Proud of our kids. They fought until the last second and believed in themselves. It was a great high school football game in a great atmosphere.” Chippewa Hills 24 Newaygo 7 The Warriors came into this one having been outscored by opponents 260-35 in their 6 on-field contests and the 0-7 record they brought into the game included a forfeit. The Lions were looking to end a 3 game losing skid and hopefully rebound from last week's runaway win by Reed City. Chip Hills came up with the big home win to end their season long losing streak and extend the Lions slide to 4 games. Newaygo (1-6, 1-7) finishes the CSAA season in a 3 way tie for the cellar along with CH and Fremont. They conclude their season on the road against the Holton Red Devils who will be vying for a spot in the playoffs. Chippewa Hills (1-6, 1-7) hosts the Bucks from Pine River. White Pigeon 51 White Cloud 0 The Cloud ran into the D8 force that is White Pigeon Football Friday night and the result showed why the Southwest 10 Conference team will be heading for postseason action. White Cloud (2-3, 4-4) will finish up their regular season next week when they set sail to Hart and take on the Pirates Manistee 56 Hesperia 0 Ludington 35 Morley Stanwood 6 Morley Stanwood 25-25-25 White Cloud 10-11-5 Last night the Lady Indians had a difficult time getting started against a tough Morley Stanwood team. Leaders on the night were Carsyn Scarlavai with 5 kills and Abby Derks with 3 kills. Elizabeth Compeau led with 11 digs, followed by Krystianna Faltinowski with 6. We continue conference play next Wednesday against Lakeview. Kent City 25-25-25 Hesperia 19-11-11 After a promising start, the Panthers could not keep pace with the Eagles of Kent City. In Game 1, the Panthers led 7-2 to start the set, then let go of the lead when Kent City went on a 6 point serving run.to take the lead. The Panthers battled back but ended the game 19-25. In Game 2, the Panthers started out 7 points down and could not recover losing 11-25. Game 3, started out better for the Panthers but again they found themselves in trouble against the powerful serving and offense of the Eagles, dropping game 3, 11-25. The Panthers drop to 3-5 on the season with only 2 league matches remaining, next Wednesday's Home Senior Night against the Morley Stanwood Mohawks and a final road match against the Holton Red Devils. Tomorrow night, October 14th, the Panthers will play a non-league home Tri- against the Hart Pirates, beginning at 5:00, and the Eagles of Oakridge, at 7:00, following the match between Hart and Oakridge at 6:00p.m. Offensive leaders for the night were Emma Joppich, Emmit Tinkham, and Kayla Rumsey all with 3 kills each. Elli McAree and Lacey McCallum each added 2 kills for the Panther offense as well. McCallum had 11 assists and 2 aces, while a host of Panthers added an ace for the team. McAree had a single block for the night and McCallum and Joppich led with 14 and 12 digs respectively for Hesperia. By Ken DeLaat, N3 Sports Fremont (1-5, 1-6) at Reed City (6-0, 6-1) The Coyotes are ranked 6th in D6, are heading for the playoffs, and need this win to secure the Gold title they have dominated since 2011 winning 8 of them outright and sharing the crown with Newaygo in ‘14. And they’re at home, a tough venue for visiting teams. Unless the stars somehow align in a pattern that tosses every break and every call Fremont’s way, allows then to miss not a single opportunity, delivers a dominant turnover ratio and includes a few players from the RC squad being deemed ineligible due to the discovery they formerly played pro ball, this one likely falls to the Coyotes. Reed City is a very good team, the only squad to beat Tri County (also a very good team) and their lone loss was a 4 point season opener road game against the 11th ranked team in D4 from Cadillac. The Pack got a big win last week. A win they badly needed. But this week there’s a high hill to climb and the season ain’t going to get any easier because next week the Pack finishes their season with another road game. Against Cadillac. You know, the only team to beat the Coyotes. Newaygo (1-5, 1-6) at Chippewa Hills (0-6, 0-7) The Lions tendency toward second half struggles wasn’t a factor last week when Reed City rolled past them early and often. But hey, if there’s a club for teams that the ‘Yotes have rolled past, it’s a big club. Newaygo has lost a few tough ones this season. Their record doesn’t reflect the quality of the team but they have been bitten by big plays and costly turnovers all season long. They have an opportunity to capture a road win in Remus Friday and though it may not save a disappointing season, a victory will make that long bus ride home a bit more pleasant The Warriors can’t score and can’t stop opponents from scoring. The Lions have the talent to take this one but late season games on the road against winless teams playing for nothing but pride can be dangerous so they can’t afford to let CH hang around. Grant (3-3, 3-4) at Central Montcalm (3-3, 4-3) Three of Grant’s 4 losses came against state ranked teams and the 4th was to a 5-2 Big Rapids squad. The Hornets have lost 3 of 4 and their only win against a team with a winning record was their season opener over Morley (3-2, 2-0 in forfeits). The Tigers have gotten better on offense to compliment their rugged defensive play. They have to go into the Hornet's nest to play this one and CM can still decide their own playoff fate if they take this one and beat Ravenna next week. This one is not going to come easy, but the Tigers should be able to stay with the Buzzboys if they can contain Crooks and Wells. Tri County (5-1, 6-1) at Big Rapids (5-1, 5-2) This one is for second place unless a Packer miracle win occurs in Reed City The Vikes are rated 11th in the state in D5. A narrow loss to Reed City cost them a conference crown but they have won 4 straight since then and no other team has scored more than twice on the TC. The Cards are opportunistic and can score quickly, but the TC defense has delivered some big plays for Coach Butler and a couple here would give the Vikings some serious momentum going forward. And. like I said, second place. White Pigeon (6-1) at White Cloud (2-3, 4-3) The Cloud has had a good season but to have a shot at the postseason they will have to contend with the red hot team from White Pigeon,the 9th ranked team in D8. WC wins have come against teams with a collective 1-19 record island that doesn't include the 0-5 Lee team that has forfeited its season. Their 3 losses came from teams with winning records. White Pigeon has a winning record. It is the final home game for the Cloud and the fans will turn out to see how the team fares but the hosts better bring their ‘A’ game to this one and hope for a few fumbles going their way. The visitors count heavily on their ground game and won’t toss many passes but they have piled up yards behind some strong line play. WC needs some big plays and some big breaks to have a shot here. Manistee (4-3) at Hesperia (0-4, 0-6) The Panthers struggle to score and, outside of being blanked by 7th ranked MCC last week, Manistee doesn’t. Holton (3-2, 5-3) over Lee The RD’s get a forfeit to set up a playoff qualifying game with Newaygo next week. At home. Photos and story by Alexis Mercer
Assisted by Jack Mercer Newaygo Lions 13 Reed City Coyotes 50 The Lions and all their fans knew it would likely be a rough homecoming against an undefeated in the CSAA Gold Reed City. Whereas Reed City has found themselves on the right side of luck and also stacked with talent and size, Newaygo has been fielding one unfortunate situation after another, including a slew of injuries. Instead of letting the Coyotes come in and own their field, however, the Lions stood tall and proud and gave it their all. The two teams play completely opposite games offensively. The Lions attempted 35 passes for 160 yards to Reed City’s 3 attempts for only 4 yards. But the Coyotes ran 43 rushing plays for a massive 382 yards to the Lions’ 17 for a net gain of only 8. The Lions had a few highlights on the evening, the first coming from freshman Ethan Reyburn, who got moved up to varsity mid-season after a key injury necessitated his help. His incredible speed and some great blocking led to a kickoff return for a touchdown in the 1st quarter. Remy Wells once again found the end zone for another 6 points in the 2nd quarter with Josiah Long completing the extra point to score the Lions’ final points of the night. Cameron Goodin took his opportunity to shine, placing his punts deep. He punted four times for a total of 194 yards and an average of 48.5, helping the Lions keep the Coyotes away from their end zone as much as possible. |
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