Pewamo-Westphalia football shuts out Bath in CMAC opener
BATH TWP. — The Pewamo-Westphalia football team kicked off CMAC play by picking up its first victory over the season.
The Pirates bounced back from a season-opening loss to North Muskegon with a 21-0 victory over Bath on Thursday.
The Pirates (1-1, 1-0 CMAC) led 8-0 after the first quarter and 15-0 at halftime before adding their final touchdown late in the third quarter. P-W coach Jeremy Miller was happy to board the bus home with a win, but said there is plenty his team can work on.
“First half, especially the first quarter, was really sloppy,” Miller said. “(Bath’s) a good football team. They play hard, they play tough and they tested our guys. We’re still learning to overcome adversity in games. We’ve got to clean stuff up. We had a lot of moving pieces tonight and it wasn’t always clicking.”
Bath coach Shane Lorenz also believes his team has some room for improvement — but was pleased with his team's effort.
“We played hard,” Lorenz said. “We’ve got to clean up a lot of things on the offensive line. But I’ve got to give credit to them, too, because we’ve got one returning starter from last year. To play a P-W team in a tight game, we did a really good job.”
P-W finds a spark on offense
Bath’s defense made it tough for P-W to have many big plays throughout Thursday’s contest. However, the Pirates went 60 yards in two plays in the second quarter to cushion their lead.
Leading 8-0 with 5:21 left before halftime, P-W started its drive on its own 40-yard line after its defense forced a Bath turnover on downs. Pirates senior quarterback Dylan May threw a screen pass to junior running back Brayton Thelen, who ran for a 43-yard gain.
On the next play, May found senior receiver Gabe Miller in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown pass. P-W built its lead to 15-0.
“We really needed something to happen,” Miller said of the drive.
Pirates defense pitches a shutout
The Bees’ offense pushed the ball down field several times with an offense led by a trio of senior playmakers: quarterback Brayden Bennett, running back Bradlee Uhlmann and tight end Max Parry. But the Pirates’ defense held strong — recovering a fumble and recording two interceptions to earn a shutout.
Bath (1-1, 0-1 CMAC) had a third-and-goal at the 10-yard line late in the second quarter before fumbling. Pirates senior defensive lineman Ethan McFarland made the recovery.
The Bees’ moved the ball to P-W's 24-yard line in the fourth quarter, before Pirates senior defensive back Drew Trierweiler recorded an interception. The ensuing P-W drive took more than six minutes off the clock to seal the win. P-W junior defensive back Isaac Thelen had an interception on the game’s final play.
“We hung in there with them and overall, I’m happy with what (the defense) did,” Miller said.
— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@sentinel-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.
This article originally appeared on Ionia Sentinel-Standard: Pewamo-Westphalia tops Bath in CMAC opener
