Almont football ousts Ovid-Elsie, advances to Division 6 state final
GRAND BLANC — Like a battering ram, the Almont football team bulldozed its way forward. And when the dust settled, the path to victory was clear.
The Raiders overpowered Ovid-Elsie, 45-21, in a Division 6 state semifinal at Grand Blanc High School on Saturday.
Almont improved to 12-1 and advanced to next week's state final against Kingsley (11-2) at Ford Field in Detroit.
"Our kids are resilient — they just go and go and go," Almont coach James Leusby said. "They never stop, and they're tough-nosed kids ... we were getting what we wanted (today) for a little bit and then (Ovid-Elsie's defense) switched to an event front. So, it took us some time to figure that out. And once we did, we just kept driving in."
The Marauders finished the season 8-5.
"I saw a team that fell behind and tried to crawl back," Ovid-Elsie coach Travis Long said. "But give credit to Almont. They've got a really good team and they took advantage of all their opportunities today."
On the first play from scrimmage, Raiders running back Chase Battani took a handoff 61 yards for a score.
"It was an initially supposed to be an outside run," said Battani, who rushed for 122 yards on 14 carries. "But I saw the cutback, and (there was) only one guy there. So I just lowered my shoulder and kept going."
Ovid-Elsie answered on its opening drive, courtesy of a 5-yard run by Clayton Fruchey. However, the Raiders scored the next 21 points.
Battani broke multiple tackles on a 9-yard touchdown carry with 1:51 left in the first quarter. Then 1:33 into the second, Luke Winkler found the end zone on a 25-yard run. Four minutes later, he took a punt return 83 yards to the house.
"I saw my blocker to the left, saw a seam and hit it," Winkler said. "On that play, I knew I had it."
"The kid is amazing," Leusby said of Winkler. "He's the best athlete on the field, day in and day out. He's a little guy, but boy is he elusive and fast."
The Marauders stopped the bleeding 64 seconds before halftime with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tryce Tokar to Michael Bancroft. A successful point-after try made it a 28-14 deficit.
But Almont wasn't finished, as quarterback Chase Davedowski found Matthew Bacholzky for a 40-yard strike with 11 seconds left.
Ovid-Elsie drew closer early in the third quarter with Jamison Custer's 20-yard touchdown catch.
Still, the Marauders couldn't contain Battani, who punched in a 1-yard run late in the period. A fourth-quarter field goal from Sean O'Neil finished the scoring.
"Obviously, we fell short today, but we took that next step (this season)," Long said. "Our program's culture is to respond (to adversity). I challenged our kids when we were 3-4 with two games to go, and they (responded). I can't be more proud of a group of young men."
With the win, Almont clinched its first state final appearance since 2019.
"To play at Ford Field is something that a lot of kids dream of," Battani said. "We're living (that dream) right now."
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: MHSAA football playoffs: Almont ousts Ovid-Elsie, makes Division 6 final
