Week Four - You Better Walk The Walk

Week Four is gone. These seniors are beginning to run out of games. Many kids will play five more football games and never get to put on the equipment again.

Week Four is gone. These seniors are beginning to run out of games. Many kids will play five more football games and never get to put on the equipment again. Other players will get to make a run in the playoffs. A few very lucky student-athletes will get to go play in the collegiate ranks. It was a fantastic weekend for football, with the crisp, fall air filling our lungs and the leaves turning from green to crimson, yellow, and orange. As the leaves begin to fall, so do the dreams of throwing that championship winning touchdown pass, or catching it for that matter. Only 16 teams will be lucky enough to get into the title game at Ford Field, and only half of those will experience the thrill of victory. The point of no return is coming for teams to make the playoff push and it will get interesting, to say the least.

West

Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern 50 Hastings 40

Wow! These two teams put up a TON of points. GRFHE totaled nearly 500 yards of offense and sits at 4-0 for the first time in their football program’s six year history. It wasn’t easy for the Hawks though. Hastings quarterback Sean McKeough scored from 10 yards out with a little over 11 minutes left in the game to take a 40-35 lead. It then was Eastern’s Spencer Elliott who put his team back in control. He scored on a 40 yard run a little over a minute later and also ran in from two yards out with 2:02 left. Quarterback Zak Wilkerson had 111 rushing and was 15 of 23 for 197 yards. 150 of those yards came in the first half. One area Hastings did very well in was defense against the extra point. They blocked two PAT attempts. Dewey Slaughter had a great game for Hastings. He rushed 20 times for 144 yards and also had two receptions for 51 yards. McKeough finished the game with 146 rushing yards (including a 91 yard touchdown run) on 11 attempts and completed four of his 10 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.

North

Crystal Falls Forest Park 39 Ontonagon 8

After falling to Hurley last week, the Trojans of Crystal Falls rallied the troops and rode a tough defense to victory. It also helped immensely that Josh Siler ran for 315 yards and three scores. They racked up 488 yards of total offense (all on the ground, they were 0-5 passing) and just exploited the youth and mistakes of Ontonagon. Dan Renner had 10 tackles and recovered a fumble while his teammate Davis Burns had seven tackles. Trojan coach Bill Santilli knows that Ontonagon has the right players for the single wing and they executed fairly well, despite their youth. Santilli credited Dave Graff (defensive coordinator) and assistant Dave LaPoint for getting their defense rolling.

Capital Area

Hudson 35 Blissfield 30

When it came down to making plays, Hudson made them. They were six of six on fourth down in the game. The Tigers had 376 rushing yards on 57 carries. Chris Robbins had 149 yards on 14 carries and a pair of touchdowns. Teammate Drew Milligan had 114 yards and two scores of his own. For Blissfield, Cody Spotts went 13 of 21 for 127 yards and a touchdown while filling in for Eric Schmidt for the second straight game. Dylan Esterline caught five balls for 54 yards. Dalton Goetz had two touchdowns including a 40 scamper. Spotts tried to lead his team back from an 11 point deficit and was able to get a touchdown. Unfortunately, their onside kick attempt was not recovered and Hudson ran out the clock. Hudson has a full one game lead over the all Lenawee County Athletic Association teams.

Mid Michigan

Clare 28 Sanford Meridian 14

Clare head man Kelly Luplow called this victory “A huge win” and said that “We beat a very good football team tonight.” It was all Clare in the first half. Kris English ran in from three yards out, kicked three extra points, and tossed a six yard score to Matt English all in the first half. Mick McFadden also scored from two yards out with 36 seconds left in the first half. Early in the fourth quarter, Kris English was lining up for a field goal, but an offside penalty gave the Pioneers a fresh set of downs and Clare was able to punch it in. When the dust settled, Kris English had gone 11 of 15 for 169 yards and a score (and four extra points). Mike McFadden gained 73 yards on 21 attempts and scored twice. Brian Siegert had 12 tackles and two sacks. For Sanford, Eric Decker had 113 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Quarterback Alan VanNortwick went 11 of 19 for 117 yards.

Detroit

Grand Blanc 34 Howell 33

It was a Ryan Morley touchdown pass to Tony Jones with less than six minutes remaining that set up the victory and a defensive stand that sealed the deal for the Grand Blanc Bobcats. Morley finished the night 12 of 22 for 171 yards, two touchdowns, and ran seven times for 39 yards and two more scores. Tony Jones finished with five receptions for 75 yards and a score. Morley called an audible after seeing no safety to Jones’ side, hit him on a post pattern, and got the score. On the Howell side, Bryce Lindberg continued to run wild over the defense. He had 247 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. Quarterback Greg Cauley only completed two of his nine passes for 18 yards.