High School Football Notes: The stories behind the final scores
Dundee called some timely timeouts Friday night.
The Vikings used two of their three timeouts in the second half to set up crucial plays.
The first came before a two-point conversion following a touchdown with 1:30 left in the game.
“I told the guys they had earned the right to go out and win the game,” said Dundee coach Steve Ayre, whose team trailed Hillsdale 14-13 at the time. “We lined up in our ground-and-pound formation.
“Trey Parker was the lead blocker and he pancaked like four people. Ryan Zanger just kept grinding his legs.”
The conversion on a quarterback keeper by Zanger gave the Vikings a 15-14 lead, but the game was far from over.
Hillsdale moved smartly down the field and had a chance to win with a field goal on the final play of the game.
As the Hornets lined up for the attempt, Ayre paused the game again.
“We took a timeout and went through our block responsibility,” the coach said.
Ayre drew up the perfect scheme.
Senior Braiden Whitaker burst through the line and swatted aside the attempt to preserve a win in the first homecoming game on Dundee’s new John D. Craig Field.
“If Braiden didn’t block it, Cooper Buhl would have,” Ayre said.
Buhl already had one blocked kick in the game, foiling a Hillsdale attempt at a PAT.
“We noticed on film that they hadn’t kicked a lot this year,” Ayre said. “We identified a spot we wanted to attack.”
Whitaker, who also is a basketball star for Dundee, is one of the Monroe County Region’s top athletes.
The rangy receiver attracted extra attention from the Hillsdale defense Friday. He was limited to one reception for 12 yards, but found other ways to contribute.
“He’s tall and fast, all of that helps,” Ayre said when talking about the blocked field goal. “When you have a weapon like Braiden, it allows you to do some things.”
Ayre said that Hillsdale’s obsession with stopping Whitaker helped Jackson Martin to get open for the game-winning touchdown pass from Zanger.
“They really accounted for Braiden,” the coach said. “He was looking at two dudes the whole game.”
Memories of Servey
Watching Matthew Foor carry the ball brought back memories for Airport football coach Jim Duffy.
The size and running ability of Foor reminded Duffy of his playing days on Jefferson’s Marc Cisco Alumni Field.
“I told them it was like when I had to tackle Adam Servey,” Duffy said, referring to the late Jefferson All-Stater.
Servey was The Monroe Evening News Offensive Player of the Year in 2000 when he ran for 1,908 yards and scored 31 touchdowns.
Servey, who scored 51 career touchdowns, collided many times with Duffy, who was a standout linebacker for Airport.
Foor, who usually concentrates on playing defensive end and blocking on offense, will never get the number of carries that Servey did, but created plenty of headaches for Jefferson’s defense.
“He’s a good player and a big load to tackle,” Jefferson coach Rob Beaudrie said.
Whiteford clinches a share
Whiteford, which played its final regular-season game at home Friday, already has clinched at least a share of the Tri-County Conference title.
The Bobcats face 6-1 Union City, the winners of the Big 8 Conference, on Friday night.
"I told the kids that this is the type of game that, if we win, gets us another chance to play at home come playoff time," Bobcat coach Todd Thieken said. "It's a big game for us and a big game for them."
After Friday’s win over Reading, the Bobcats are No. 2 in playoff points in Division 8 with 41.018. Hudson is No. 1 in the division with 41.143. Beating 6-1, Division 7 Union City would give the Bobcats' home-field playoff chances a boost.
Mason spreads out attack
Cole Kreger (133), Toby Frazier (104), and Login Goodin (104) all topped 100 yards rushing in Friday’s win over Quincy.
That was a reflection of the Eagles' desire to spread the ball around.
“We have a lot of talent,” Mason coach Steve Bowers said. “Sometimes it can be tough to figure out how to dish the ball out. We had six different guys score, four or five guys catch a pass and five or six carry the ball.
“It was probably our best job of the season spreading the ball around.”
The win was special for Bowers.
“Quincy is where I went to high school and played football,” he said.
Ram impresses college scouts
Adam Szalay was Flat Rock’s leading receiver Friday night during the Rams 27-18 loss to St. Mary Catholic Central, catching six passes for 63 yards and grabbing his first touchdown since Week 1 against Dundee. He scored two touchdowns on passes of 8 and 7 yards from quarterback Graham Junge.
That type of production has the junior drawing interest from college football programs.
Szalay was invited to visit Taylor University in Indiana on Saturday night. The visit included meeting with the coaching staff and standing on the sideline during the team’s pregame routine.
“It was a cool experience for sure and it showed me what I need to work on if I want to play at the next level,” Szalay said.
The invite was initiated after the collegiate coaching staff viewed the game film of his performance against Airport last month. During Flat Rock’s 33-21 victory, he was the Rams' leading receiver with seven catches for 130 yards.
Flat Rock coach Buck Reaume isn’t surprised that Szalay already is impressing college coaches.
“His pass-catching ability is incredible, especially on 50-50 balls,” Reaume said. “When the ball is in the air, he seems to be able to get separation from the defender by using his body and jumping ability.”
Despite the excitement of looking ahead to the next level, Szalay is focused on the Rams' next opponent following the setback last week.
“We will learn from this loss. We’ll regroup and start game planning for (New Boston) Huron come Monday,” he said.
Tough start for Summerfield
Summerfield already had a tough task Friday in taking on 5-1 Union City.
Then the Bulldogs put themselves in a bigger hole by fumbling the ball on their own 5-yard line early in the game. Union City’s Hunter Gilles pounced on the loose ball and walked into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game.
“They were a very good football team,” Summerfield coach Dylan Szegedi said. “They only have one loss to Saugatuck, who I believe is undefeated and ranked in the state.”
On top of everything, a spate of injuries left the Bulldogs shorthanded.
“We couldn’t run the ball,” Szegedi said. “We couldn’t get any movement. We’re very banged up as well. That didn’t help. If we were all healthy, I don’t think we would have won, but we would have had a better chance.”
Summerfield makes a long trip to Quincy this week before hosting undefeated Whiteford in the final game of the regular season.
“We just have to focus on doing our best to get better,” said Szegedi, whose team stands at 4-3 after opening the season with four straight wins.
Carlson quarterback grows up
Gibraltar Carlson quarterback Joe Krolak was outstanding in the first half of Friday’s 31-8 win over Woodhaven.
He scored on runs of 11 and 6 yards and threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Landon Vida.
“We had really good quarterback play,” Carlson coach Jason Gendron said. “From Game 1 until now, Joe has really progressed nicely for us as a junior. … It was nice to see Joe shine in a big game.”
The engine that drives the Marauders remains sophomore running back Izaiah Wright. He gained 260 yards on 29 carries, giving him 1,079 yards for the season.
He passed Flat Rock’s Brian Booms (958) to take the Monroe County Region lead.
Airport gives Jefferson hope
Airport, which is tied for first place in the Huron League with Riverview, rolled over Jefferson 50-14 on Friday night.
But seeing how good the Jets are now should give Jefferson fans hope.
Airport went 4-4 in 2020 when its current seniors were freshmen. That year, Duffy called four ninth graders to the varsity and let them learn the varsity game.
Jefferson’s 27-player roster this year includes nine freshmen and 10 sophomores.
“I’ve been through this before,” Jefferson coach Rob Beaudrie said. “It’s rebuilding. It starts all the way in the lower-class group. This group of freshmen have to stick together.”
The Bears got a first-hand look at the benefits of sticking together by watching Airport.
“Airport has paid the dues over the years,” Beaudrie said. “It’s a credit to Jim.”
BEST OF WEEK 7
RUSHING YARDS
Izaiah Wright, Carlson 260
Wyatt Dirkmaat, Ida 236
Cole Kreger, Mason 133
Malachi Pribyl, Jefferson 123
Trey Parker, Dundee 118
PASSING YARDS
Vaughn Brown, Mason 213
Cooper Nye, Airport 174
Graham Junge, Flat Rock 125
Micah Smith, Huron 101
Owen Snyder, Ida 76
RECEIVING YARDS
Colin Nowak, Airport 149
Toby Frazier, Mason 105
Korbin Herrera, Mason 85
Ryan Anderson, Huron 71
Adam Szalay, Flat Rock 63
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Looking behind the final scores at Week 7 Region football games
