Blue Water Area football: Week 7 roundup
What a week for local high school football fans: league titles were won, underdogs came out on top, and two perfect seasons were ruined – all in one Friday night.
Marine City and Cardinal Mooney each clinched their league titles in undefeated fashion; Port Huron Northern fell to Warren Mott, leaving the Huskies to share the MAC-Blue title with Port Huron High; and Armada topped North Branch, so now three 5-1 BWAC teams left to battle for a championship this Friday.
Here’s a quick look at a few of the games, a list of scores, and the latest rankings:
North Branch controlled much of the first quarter to find the end zone and take an early lead, but the Tigers didn’t back down. By halftime, they led 16-7 and eventually pulled away to 30-14 to start the fourth quarter.
Sophomore quarterback Lucas Pratt threw 4-for-8 and totaled 48 yards for one touchdown on the night. He also rushed for two touchdowns. Fellow sophomore Zac Dykes had two of the Tigers’ touchdowns, one receiving (24 total yards) and one rushing (75 total yards). Dykes also had 10 tackles.
Senior Kyle Coenen was responsible for several key first downs for Armada, leading the team’s running game with 153 yards on 25 carries. Fellow senior Vinny Fodale added 95 yards of offense for one touchdown, and seven tackles and one interception on the defensive end.
Against a stifling Armada defense, the Broncos were forced to rely on their passing more than in any game this season. Senior quarterback Will Damaska was 8-for-15 with 194 yards and three touchdowns, two to senior Griffin Mabery (82 yards) and one to senior Aiden Swoish (60 yards). Senior Ryan Henne led North Branch on the ground with 75 yards and one touchdown.
Armada and North Branch each stand 5-1 in conference play and are in a three-way tie for first with Croswell-Lexington (5-1). The Tigers will travel to Richmond (2-4) this week and should they win, they will tie for first overall with the winner of North Branch v. Cros-Lex.
Marine City 47, Clintondale 8
The Mariners haven’t lost a league game since 2018 and they weren’t about to spoil that streak Friday night – despite a slow start to a 12-8 lead to start the second half over the Dragons.
They exploded in the third quarter with three scores and added two more in the fourth, running away with a win and their fourth straight MAC-Silver title.
Marine City relied on its youth as sophomore Cooper Letson scored the first two touchdowns and totaled 30 yards of offense, and junior Cameron Milewski added two more touchdowns and 65 yards.
Senior quarterback Jeff Heaslip was 9-11 on the night with three touchdowns, once to Letson, once to sophomore Collin Gabler (16 yards), and another to senior Parker Atkinson (156 yards). Senior Anthony Ruffino added 75 rushing yards and sophomore Paul Muscat had 63.
Senior Brock Osterland led the Mariners defensively with 12 total tackles and senior Cole O’Kroy added eight more.
This week, the Mariners, now 6-1, 5-0 (MAC-Silver), will travel to play the 5-2 MAC-Bronze champion Center Line.
Almont 44, Richmond 0
Coming off of a big win against Cros-Lex in week 6, the Raiders carried a lot of momentum into their home game against Richmond Friday night. They held the Blue Devils scoreless with just 91 yards of offense on the night while managing 422 yards of their own.
The senior-sophomore duo of Matthew Measel and Chase Battani scored all of the Almont touchdowns. Measel had 58 yards for two scores and Battani added four more with 178 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Senior Bryce Ferman, back from injury, added 80 yards on eight carries.
As effective as he was on offense, Battani managed four tackles (three for loss), and two sacks on the defensive end Friday night. Junior Ayden Ferqueron led with nine tackles (one for loss).
Richmond’s sophomore quarterback Anthony Bonnetti was 6-for-24 on the night with 58 yards. Four of his completions were to fellow sophomore Trey Graham who had 46 yards on the night.
Senior Blake Esselink, who was injured in week 1, returned to the field to add two tackles for loss to help the Blue Devils, while sophomore Jacob Fink led with five tackles and four assists.
Almont (4-2 BWAC) will host Yale (3-3 BWAC) this week as the teams wrap up conference play. Richmond will host rival Armada for the battle of the shared jug trophy.
OTHER AREA SCORES:
Brown City 60, Deerfield 38
Caro 13, Reese 12
Cardinal Mooney 39, Cabrini 0
Cros-Lex 39, Imlay City 7
Deckerville 58, Mayville 34
Kingston 62, Capac 14
Laker 32, Bad Axe 14
Marlette 46, Memphis 16
Marysville 20, St. Clair 0
Peck 44, North Huron 6
Port Huron 35, Sterling Height 20
Ubly 42, Sandusky 8 Warren mott 14, Port Huron Northern 10
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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