Week 2 Football roundup: Fowlerville wins in OT after losing 16-point lead
A football game Fowlerville appeared to have put away required extra time before the Gladiators could celebrate Matt Copeland’s first victory as head coach.
Running back Blake Juopperi, lined up at quarterback, scored on a 4-yard run to give Fowlerville the lead in the overtime Thursday night at Midland Bullock Creek. Brock Foster recovered a fumble on the Lancers’ possession, securing a 33-26 victory for Fowlerville.
The Gladiators led 26-10 with less than 10 minutes remaining before Bullock Creek scored two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions.
“When you give up 16 unanswered like that, teenage boys can go one way or the other,” Copeland said. “Our kids learned a lot from last week (a 40-0 loss to Corunna). In the coaching world, they say you make your most improvement between Week 1 and Week 2. We’re really excited about how we finished the game tonight.”
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Wyatt Soli threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Will Shrader to give Fowlerville a 10-7 lead in the third quarter. The Gladiators expanded on that lead with an interception return by Justice Wojcik, Anderson Berry’s second field goal and a touchdown run by Juopperi.
“It was a great bounce-back for us after kind of catching a whooping last week,” Copeland said. “Bullock Creek is a solid team, so it’s one of those classic high school games both teams really deserved to win. We just made one more play at the end.”
Canton 28, Howell 23
Canton beat Howell last season without attempting a pass, running 61 times for 316 yards and five touchdowns.
On Thursday, the new-look Canton offense shredded Howell’s defense through the air. Quarterback Devvin Calhoun threw four touchdown passes, including three in the second half to Caleb Williams.
Howell was leading 17-7 in the third quarter before Williams had three consecutive touchdown receptions to put Canton up 28-17 in the fourth. Williams had six catches for 146 yards and three touchdowns.
Junior running back Aiden Horvath had a breakout performance for Howell, running 27 times for 178 yards and two touchdowns on plays of 20 and 18 yards. He also had a fumble recovery and kicked a 29-yard field goal.
“He’s unbelievable,” Howell coach Brian Lewis said. “Toughness, competitor; he’s really good. He’s an all-league, all-county type of kid. He is playing both ways and carrying a load with guys down. He stepped up and had an unbelievable performance tonight.”
Freshman Palmer VanDeven stepped in at quarterback when sophomore Preston Barb was injured and had a 3-yard touchdown run for Howell (0-2).
“That’s a freshman who has risen up and grown,” Lewis said. “We’ve got a sophomore center, a sophomore quarterback and now a freshman quarterback. These guys are growing and young and competitors and hungry. That’s what’s exciting about them. What grit, what toughness to show at 14, 15 years old.”
Highlander senior cornerback Brandon Hamilton had his second interception of the season.
Brighton 41, Salem 0
Brighton running back Carter Gregg ran for two touchdowns and caught a pass for another, finishing with 66 yards on 11 carries.
Grant Hetherton threw two touchdown asses and had a 4-yard touchdown run. He was 10-for-18 for 132 yards and ran eight times for 69 yards.
Easton Hardesty had a 15-yard touchdown reception. Luke Whittaker capped the scoring in the third quarter by returning a fumble 42 yards for a touchdown.
Sebastian Boyea caught five passes for 71 yards. Eight Bulldogs caught passes. Reed Blake-Thomas had seven tackles, including two for losses, for the Bulldogs (1-1).
Corunna 38, Pinckney 0
Corunna outgained Pinckney on the ground, 233-8.
Nolan Carruthers had eight of Pinckney’s nine catches, gaining 64 yards. Henry Taube ran 11 times for 35 yards for the Pirates (0-2).
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Livingston County Week 2 football roundup: Fowlerville wins in OT
