Week Two - Backfield In Motion

The second week of football has been played. Now that school has started back up, most teams will begin to play on Friday nights exclusively. Many teams are

The second week of football has been played. Now that school has started back up, most teams will begin to play on Friday nights exclusively. Many teams are starting to get into their league schedule and they know these games are extremely important…especially if they want to win the conference championship. Some players are starting to feel the effects of the games; bumps and bruises are starting to show up and this is where summer weight lifting/conditioning comes into play. For those who put in the time during the summer, they can definitely feel its affect while those who didn’t put in the time are also feeling its affect, but in a much more negative way.

Some of you listen to Spartan Nation Radio and know I have a segment on there with Hondo on Thursdays. We each pick who we think will win the games and talk about last week’s action. Right now, Hondo and I are tied at two wins and three losses each. Tune in this Thursday to see how we faired against each other. This is virtually the only time you’ll hear Hondo pick a winner by emotion rather than sound reasoning, but this is virtually the only time you can pick a winner based on emotion. Oh, the joys of high school football!

North

Clare 32 Beal City 14

The Pioneers might have lost a lot of starters, but it didn’t seem that way. They were able to limit Beal City offensively and force mistakes. Clare struck first, on a Travis Smith 56 yard touchdown run and again with a Smith one yard run, all in the first quarter. The senior running back ran the ball 19 times, gained 150 yards, and scored three touchdowns on the game. Beal City stormed back in the second quarter, scoring twice on defense. The first was a 30 yard interception return by Mark Gallinger. With a minute until the half, the Aggies tied the game with a 74 yard fumble return by Nick Pasch. That was the end of the scoring for Beal City though. Gallinger ran nine times for 37 yards, which was the majority of the 49 total offensive yards Beal City gained. It was a sloppy game though, the teams combined for nine turnovers (four for Clare, five for Beal City).

West Coast

Stevensville-Lakeshore 35 Battle Creek Central 12

The Lancers of Stevensville-Lakeshore got their coach back on the sideline and also got the victory. With a running clock in the second half (meaning S-L was up by 35 or more points) they were able to get more players into the game. Quarterback Alex Padla ran for 114 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and completed five of his six passes for 72 yards and another score. Robert Shelby busted a 69 yard rushing touchdown and ended the game with 84 yards. Battle Creek Central’s Kypree Taylor caught a 56 yard touchdown pass from Rashad Clark. Clark also ran in an eight yard touchdown. In regards to total yards, S-L gained 373 total yards (271 rushing) and BCC had 91.

Capital Area

Lansing Catholic 30 Fowlerville 0

Cooper Rush, the junior quarterback for the Lansing Catholic Cougars, took control and led his team to victory. He gained 108 yards on 13 carries while scoring three touchdowns. He also threw the ball 12 times, completed five of those passes, and gained 95 yards. Running back Andrew Robeson rushed for 84 yards and a score as well. Matt Macksood ran six times for 29 yards and pulled in four footballs for 90 yards receiving. The defense didn’t allow Fowlerville to even get a first down in the second half and only allowed 92 yards of offense from the Fowlerville squad. Josh Sefton gained 13 yards on six carries and Nate Wilkinson gained 11 on his eight totes. Sefton also caught a football and gained 20 yards. Fowlerville quarterback Tim Wedesky completed five of his 14 passes for 58 yards.

Detroit

Brighton 19 Westland John Glenn 14

The Bulldogs of Brighton were led by Shane Dokey. He rushed for 100 yards and scored twice. He also made plays in the defensive backfield, like breaking up a pass in the end zone after Westland John Glenn stormed back and had a chance to steal a last second victory. For the Rockets of John Glenn, quarterback Jeff Kuhary completed eight of his 27 passes for 133 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. WJG was able to get some big plays in the fourth quarter; Kuhary found Mark Layne for a 76 yard touchdown score on a quick slant. On the next possession, they forced a fumble that Rico Cole picked up and ran in from 11 yards out. Brighton’s defense held Westland John Glenn to 15 yards rushing.

Mid Michigan

Flint Powers 23 Flint Northwestern 6

This isn’t how Flint Northwestern coach Andre Rison envisioned his football season starting. With a 23-6 loss, they find themselves in a 0-2 hole to dig out of. Flint Powers got up early with a Drew Fortier 49 yard touchdown run and Garrett Pougnet’s one yard plunge, both in the first quarter. Quarterback Dan Meissner completed three of his five passes for 29 yards. Fortier finished with 92 on 12 carries. Tony Bryant toted the rock five times for 36 yards and a touchdown. On the Flint Northwestern side, Dontrail Arnold had another nice day at quarterback. He completed 19 of his 45 passes for 326 yards and a touchdown. The lone score for the Wildcats was on a 76 yard pass from Arnold to Michael Henry. Henry finished with 117 yards on five catches.