Blue Water Area football: Week 5 roundup
Week five did not disappoint with a full slate of exciting rivalry matchups.
Port Huron Northern managed to escape the Crosstown Showdown with a last-minute win, the Croswell-Lexington Pioneers clipped the Yale Bulldogs in overtime, and Marine City put together a big third quarter to defeat Marysville.
Let’s take a closer look at some of last week’s games:
Port Huron Northern 14, Port Huron 7
The Huskies led 14-0 in the first half, but the Big Reds returned from the locker room ready to go in the second.
Junior Gavin Troy was responsible for the lone Big Red touchdown on a 55-yard run with 11:09 remaining in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 14-7.
Leading the Huskies offense was senior quarterback Dylan Bloink who finished 9-for-17 on the night with 88 passing yards and 59 rushing yards. He threw one touchdown to freshman Cam Harju on a 17-yard pass and ran one in on a 3-yard rush. Junior Maximus Williams added 37 yards on three receptions and senior Hayden Prone added 20 yards on nine carries.
Northern’s defense made a big statement with seven different players recording five or more tackles. Junior Daniel Moore tallied eight tackles, including 4.5 for loss and a sack. Junior Austin Haeck was responsible for the game-ending interception with 59 seconds remaining in regulation, securing the Huskies’ victory.
Northern improves to 5-0 in sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the MAC-Blue while Port Huron falls to 3-2 on the year, 2-1 in the league. The Huskies will host Fraser this Friday (1-4) and the Big Reds will travel to L’Anse Creuse North (1-4).
Cros-Lex 32, Yale 29
The Bulldogs hosted the Pioneers for this neighboring rivalry and stunned their opponent with a quick 12-0 lead in the game’s first four minutes. By the end of the first quarter, however, the Pioneers had recovered to even the score 12-12.
To start the fourth quarter, Cros-Lex scored to regain the lead at 26-19, but in the last three minutes, Yale found the end zone to tie the game and send it to overtime. The Bulldogs kicked a field goal first, earning a 29-26 lead, but the Pioneers took advantage of their turn with a touchdown to win the game.
Junior quarterback Gavin Espinoza led the Pioneers with an 18-for-34 performance, totaling 312 passing yards and three touchdowns while running for 42 and another touchdown. All three of his touchdown passes were to senior receiver Trevor Soule who had 156 yards on 10 receptions. Sophomore John Herman added 94 yards on the ground and another touchdown.
Yale junior quarterback Connor Jakubiak went 11-for-26 on the night with 151 passing yards and one touchdown, but it was senior Josh Craig who threw two touchdown passes, totaling 109 yards. Craig also led the Bulldog defense with six tackles, including one for loss and one sack.
Senior James Bahr put together a great game on both sides of the ball, running for 29 yards, tallying three receptions for 42, and totaling four tackles, including two sacks. Senior Khazen Morton also added 95 yards on three receptions for two touchdowns.
Despite the overtime scare, Cros-Lex remains perfect on the season at 5-0 and will return home to play Almont (3-2) this Friday. Yale will be on the road at Imlay City (0-5).
Marine City 48, Marysville 20
The Mariners have won their last four games, improving their record to 4-1 on the year with the recent victory over rival Marysville. They led 14-0 at the half, a comfortable lead made even more so by a 21-point third quarter.
Marine City seniors Jeff Heaslip, Zach Tetler, and Parker Atkinson led the team offensively. Heaslip threw 9-for-13 for 119 yards, Tetler had four receptions for 56 yards and added another 42 on the ground, and Atkinson had a 98-yard punt return, 32 receiving yards, and 23 rushing. Sophomore Paul Muscat had 110 rushing yards for one touchdown and junior Cameron Milewski added 49 for two more.
Junior Bodie Ramsey continues to lead the Mariner defense. He’s averaged 10 tackles per game this season after adding 10 more to his total last night. Senior Brock Osterland added nine, including one tackle for loss.
Marysville senior quarterback Noah LaValley was 3-for-7 on the night for 35 yards. Junior Carter Saccucci led with 142 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and freshman Aiden Murphy added one more rushing touchdown.
The Mariners lead the MAC-Silver at 3-0 and will play Lamphere (2-1) on the road this Friday. Marysville (1-2 MAC-Silver) will play at Clintondale (0-3).
North Branch 74, Hamtramck 6
Hamtramck may have scored first, but that would be its only touchdown of the game. The Broncos put up 54 points in the first quarter in dominant fashion and went on to score once more in each of the following quarters.
North Branch executed just 25 offensive plays, scoring on nearly half of them. Senior Aiden Swoish led with four touchdowns, including one interception returned to the end zone. Senior Trey Hebberd totaled 84 rushing yards and two more touchdowns, while senior quarterback Will Damaska added two more on the ground.
Senior Griffin Mabery had one more interception to help the Broncos defense and fellow senior Jaryn Howland recorded eight tackles on the night.
North Branch remains one of three unbeaten area teams at 5-0 and has defeated opponents 55-5 on average. The Broncos will host Richmond this Friday.
OTHER AREA SCORES
Richmond 20, Imlay City 0
Armada 14, Almont 10
Lamphere 42, St. Clair 0
Cass City 20, Sandusky 14
Harbor Beach 56, Marlette 16
Peck 46, All Saints 18
Oakland Christian 52, Deckerville 44
Ubly 66, Memphis 0
Cardinal Mooney 41, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 7
STANDINGS AND RANKINGS
To view the latest BWAC standings, click here.
To view the latest MAC standings, click here.
Latest Blue Water Sports Media Association Poll:
Voted on by Brady Beedon and Dennis Stuckey of Get Stuck On Sports, Brenden Welper of The Times Herald, and Calli Newberry of The Sports Report.
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