Photos by Bobbie Cruzan Story By Ken De Laat White Cloud 50 Hesperia 28 It was the 75th meeting between these long time rivals and the action on the White Cloud field didn’t disappoint the lively home crowd. The game resembled a track meet with 78 points being put up between the teams and a flurry of big plays highlighting the action. Before the game the school honored veterans and first responders in a tribute to the memory of those lost in the 9/11 attack. This one was closer than the score indicates and it was early in the 4th, before the Indians were able to distance themselves from a stubborn Panther squad. The game was stalled after the opening kickoff when a White Cloud player was shaken up and a Hesperia player was ejected from the game after drawing an Unsportsmanlike Conduct flag. The penalty gave WC the ball in Panther territory and on the second play from scrimmage Reece Johnson took a handoff and scapered 34 yards for a TD. He tacked on 2 more points running in the conversion and the hosts led 8-0. The Panthers got the ball and began to move downfield behind a 37 yard run by QB Blake Sayer. The drive came to an end when Jaydan Graves picked off a pass attempt. The teams exchanged possessions and before the 1st quarter ended Jayden Robinson faked a pass and ran it in for 6. The conversion failed and it was a 14-0 Indian lead. The Panthers regrouped in the 2nd driving downfield for a scoring drive led by Sayer who took it in from 7 yards out. The ever reliable Lacy Mey split the uprights and it was a 14-7 game giving the Hesperia crowd something to cheer about. Then disaster struck. First, Robinson grabbed the kickoff and sprinted downfield for an 80 yard score. Then on the ensuing kickoff the ball was fumbled giving the Indians the ball on the Hespo 42. 4 plays later Dalton Crawford scored from 17 and after a Robinson run for 2 the Cloud pushed their lead to 28-7. But the Panthers weren’t done. On 4+5 Sayer called his own number and 62 yards later he put the Panthers back in the game. Mey converted to make it 28-14 and the teams went to intermission. On the first play from scrimmage in the second half Sayer struck again, this time a 60 yarder and after Mey punched it through it was a 28-21 game. WC responded quickly when Robison saw a wide open Graves downfield and landed one in his lap for a 46 yard TD. The conversion failed and on the next Panther possession Sayer hit Thor Klaus for a 50 yard score and Mey's conversion put the Panthers within striking range at 34-28. WC responded with a drive that ended when Johnson bounced off a pair of tacklers and punched it in for a score then followed it up with the conversion run and the hosts held a 42-28 lead. Early in the 4th Hesperia looked to get back in the game and was set to score with a first down on the WC 1. The D-line for the Cloud came up big, stopping two runs. Hespo decided to go to the air for the score but Robinson stepped in front of the receiver and 99 yards later pushed the Indian lead to 48-28. Johnson ran for 2 and the Indians hit the 50 mark. Robinson had a career night scoring on a kickoff, an interception, a run and a pass finishing with 300 all purpose yards. Johnson ran for 139 yards, scored 2 TDS and added 5 tackles on defense while Graves led the defense with 8 tackles and an interception. White Cloud (1-2, 0-0) opens conference play Friday when they host Lakeview. Hesperia (2-1, 1-0) will welcome in the Norsemen of North Muskegon. Newaygo 40 Grant 0 The last time the Lions won 3 in a row was in ‘14 when they shared a conference title with Reed City. On Friday they continued their impressive start to the season by besting the Tigers in the latest edition of this storied rivalry Ethan Reyburn piled up 121 yards on the ground scoring 3 TDs behind a spirited effort from the O-line. Caden Grassman, Julian Guarjardo and Porter Smolinski also found paydirt and the Lion D pitched a shutout in a game that was never in doubt. Xavier Stroud was all over the field on defense posting 7 tackles, recovering a fumble and adding a pick to his stat sheet. Luis Ceja Alvarez accounted for a team high 10 tackles while Henry Wood finished with 8. It was the 75th meeting between the two neighbors since records were kept, and with 3 straight wins the Lions now hold a 39-36 edge in the series. .Newaygo (3-0, 1-0) will travel to Tri County (3-0, 1-0) on Friday while Grant (1-2, 0-2) will face another longtime rival Friday when WMC member Fremont (0-3, 0-2) comes to town. Ludington 43 Fremont 12 The Orioles ran off 34 unanswered first half points in a rout of the Packers in the WMC contest. Ludington quarterback Cameron Gunsell had his way with the Packer defense as he tossed for 258 yards including 4 TDs. Karter Frens accounted for both Packer scores with a pair of TD runs and finished with a team high 82 yards.Brayden Crosley hit in 8 of 13 passes for 58 yards with 3 going to Jacob Burns with Asa Barnhard and Khai Noordyk each pulling in a pair. On defense Triton Corrigan picked off a pass to go with his 8 tackles, Trentyn Corley posted 9 tackles while Noah Hansen and Barnhard accounted for 8 apiece. Fremont (0-3, 0-2) l visit Grant (1-2, 0-2) on Friday. Ravenna 2 Holton 0 (Forfeit) Injuries and numbers (lack of) forced the Red Devils to forfeit. Other Scores CSAA Big Rapids 33 Reed City 14 Tri County 48 Morley Stanwood 14 Central Montcalm 59 Chippewa Hills 15 Kent City 44 Lakeview 6 WMC- Lakes Montague 55 OV 14 Zeeland West 60 Whitehall 43 Manistee 49 Oakridge 22 WMC Rivers N Muskegon 36 Mason CC 20 Hart 30 Shelby 6
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