Prep Roundup: Traverse City West picks up first win of season; East Jordan, Manistee football moves to 3-0; TC Central, St. Francis lose second straight

Sep. 8—BAY CITY — The first win of the season is always a great feeling, and first-year Traverse City West head coach James Wagner couldn't be happier with the team.

The Titans (1-2) escaped another last-minute thriller with a Drew Esper interception with under 30 seconds remaining to seal the 8-7 win over Bay City Western on Friday.

"There have been a lot of good things happening over the past couple weeks, and we knew that we were capable of winning," Wagner said. "We are going to continue to learn and grow, and that's what this sport is all about. That's who this team is, they are competitors."

Esper also blocked a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter to keep the Titans ahead. Wagner had a lot of positives to say about the win, but he spoke glowingly about Esper's defensive performance.

Quarterback Isaac Kelsey exited the game in the first quarter with an injury, but Owen Hendrix kept the Titans afloat.

"(Owen) learned and grew a lot throughout the game," Wagner said.

Titans running back Adeyo Ilemobade scored the Titans' only touchdown. Hendrix picked up the two-point conversion.

"Adeyo is a great young man and an outstanding competitor that deserves every yard he gets," Wagner said. "He's that guy we count on and rely on."

Both offenses had chances to take the lead in the second half but had touchdowns called back.

TC West looks build on its momentum Friday at Grand Blanc, who beat the Titans 48-0 last season.

"We are going up against a tough opponent next week and we need to clean up a lot of the mistakes that we had tonight in order to put ourselves in the position to be in the game and win," Wagner said.

FOOTBALL

Davison 49

TC Central 7

Traverse City Central: Brayden McCoon 1/1 passing, 63 yards, TD; Drew Zrimec 5/12 passing, 32 yards; Jackson Dobreff 63 receiving yards, TD, 3 tackles.

UP NEXT: The Trojans (1-2) host Mount Pleasant on Friday.

Ogemaw Heights 56

TC St. Francis 17

UP NEXT: The Glads (1-2, 0-1 NM Legends) host Grayling on Friday.

Charlevoix 26

Boyne City 13

Charlevoix: Brady Jess 5/13 passing, 130 yards, TD, 11 rushes, 30 yards, TD; Owen Waha 4 receptions, 117 yards, TD.

UP NEXT: The Ramblers (2-0, 1-0 NM Leaders) host Kingsley on Friday. The Rayders host East Jordan on Friday.

Kingsley 50

Cheboygan 7

Kingsley: Eli Graves 2 TDs; Skylar Workman TD; Mac Goethals TD; Bode Bielas TD, 4 tackles, 1 assist; Caden Gardener TD; David Whims TD; Joe Pearson 7 tackles; Max Goethals 2 tackles, 4 assists.

UP NEXT: The Stags (2-1, 1-0 NM Legacy) travel to Boyne City on Friday.

East Jordan 43

Kalkaska 12

East Jordan: Korbyn Russell 12/15 passing, 140 yards, 2 TDs, rushing TD; Braylon Grybauskas 5 rushes, 83 yards, TD, 5 catches, 40 yards; Logan Shooks 10 carries, 76 yards, TD, 2 catches, 20 yards, TD; Ryder Malpass 2 catches, 39 yards, TD; Angel Delgado 6 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery; Sam Wilson 7 tackles, 2 TFL.

UP NEXT: The Red Devils (3-0) travel to Charlevoix on Friday. The Blazers (1-2) host Glen Lake on Friday.

Grayling 35

Elk Rapids 14

Grayling: Ethan Kucharek 13/24 passing, 124 yards, TD, 30 receiving yards, TD; Jake Huspen 27 carries, 208 yards, 2 TDs, 6 tackles, 3 assists; Corbin Allen TD, 4 tackles, INT; Fletcher Quinlan TD; Trevor Cvitokovich 4 tackles.

UP NEXT: The Vikings (2-1, 0-1 NM Legends) travel to Thirlby Field on Friday to face Traverse City St. Francis. The Elks (0-3, 0-2 NM Leaders) travel to Oscoda on Friday.

Oscoda 36

Mancelona 6

Mancelona: Ryan Naumcheff 6/13 passing, 84 yards, TD, 90 rushing yards; Elijah Westcott 44-yard TD; Chris Wambaugh 3 tackles; Aiden Dixon 3 tackles.

UP NEXT: The Ironmen (1-2, 0-1 Northern Michigan) host Harbor Springs on Friday.

Houghton Lake 30

Manton 7

Manton: Leon Barber 94 rushing yards, TD; Conner Garno 5 tackles; Brenen Salani 5 tackles, 1 TFL; Andrew Phillip 5 tackles, 1 INT; Zander Johnigan 5 tackles.

UP NEXT: The Rangers (0-3) host Lake City on Friday.

Glen Lake 36

Harbor Springs 14

UP NEXT: The Lakers (2-1, 1-1 NM Legacy) travel to Kalkaska on Friday. The Rams (0-3, 0-2 NM Legacy) travel to Mancelona.

Cadillac 14

Sault Area 7

UP NEXT: The Vikings (2-1, 2-0 Big North) travel to Alpena on Friday.

Joburg 8

Tawas 7

UP NEXT: The Cardinals (2-1, 1-1 NML) travel to Frankfort on Friday.

Lake City 34

Pine River 8

UP NEXT: The Trojans (2-1, 1-1 Highland) travel to Manton on Friday.

Beal City 48

McBain 7

UP NEXT: The Ramblers (2-1, 2-1 Highland) travel to Roscommon on Friday.

Manistee 20

Muskegon Oakridge 15

UP NEXT: The Mariners (3-0, 1-0 West Michigan Lakes) travel to Muskegon Orchard View on Friday.

Petoskey 50

Escanaba 0

UP NEXT: The Northmen (2-1, 1-0 Big North) travel to Gaylord on Friday.

8-PLAYER FOOTBALL

Pellston 24

Bellaire 22

Bellaire: Drake Koepke 2 rushing TDs, passing TD, 10 tackles; Kaden Battershell TD; Ethan Lambert INT, 9 tackles; Tyler Shumaker INT; Dawson Derrer 10 tackles.

UP NEXT: The Eagles (1-2) travel to Gaylord St. Mary on Friday.

Brethren 50

Suttons Bay 12

Suttons Bay: Luke Bramer 45 rushing yards; Grayson Opie 4/20 passing, 87 yards, TD; Jackson Loucks TD.

UP NEXT: The Bobcats (2-1) host Mesick on Friday. The Norsemen (1-2) travel to Manistee Central Catholic on Sept 16.

Manistee CC 30

Baldwin 12

UP NEXT: The Sabers (2-1, 1-1 West Michigan D) host Suttons Bay on Sept 16.

Cedarville 44

Bear Lake 12

UP NEXT: The Lakers (0-3, 0-1 West Michigan D) host Onekama on Sept 16.

Inland Lakes 44

Central Lake 30

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs (3-0, 2-0 Ski Valley) travel to St Ignace on Friday. The Trojans (1-2, 0-2 Ski Valley) host Pellston on Sept 16.

Marion 62

Mesick 0

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs (1-2, 1-1 West Michigan D) travel to Brethren on Friday.

BOYS SOCCER

Buckley 6

TC Bulldogs 2

Buckley: Carter Williams 2 goals, 1 assist; Coy Breithaupt 1 goal; Noah Kelly 1 goal; Orren Renfor 1 goal; Lucas Bazotti 1 goal; Aaron Frasier 1 assist; Theron Mceachern 1 assist; Isaac Svec assist; Jud Rath 3 saves; Gavin Liebler 2 saves.

UP NEXT: The Bears (3-6, 0-1 Northwest) travel to Benzie Central on Monday.

Glen Lake 6

Elk Rapids JV 1

Glen Lake: Ollie O'Neal 3 goals; Sawyer Homa 2 goals; Jacob Switzer 1 goal, 1 assist; Ezra Belanger 3 assists; Anthony Forton 1 assist, 5 saves in net; Shane Olmsted 1 assist.

UP NEXT: The Lakers (2-4-1, 1-0 Northwest) travel to Kingsley on Monday.

Kingsley JV 1

Manistee 1

UP NEXT: The Mariners (5-0, 1-0-2 West Michigan) host Ludington on Wednesday.

BOYS TENNIS

TC Central wins Trojan Invite

TRAVERSE CITY — Traverse City Central boys tennis came away victorious in the Trojan Invitational on Friday by winning the tiebreaker over against Zeeland West and Glen Lake with Vickburg finishing fourth.

Alden King and Max Vetten came away as one-doubles champions. Asher Petersen and Finn Llore-Fisher were three-doubles champions. Oliver Schrock and Lander Coonrod were four-doubles champions.

TC Central had several players who finished runner-up, including Cody Wall at three-singles as well as Caden Kowal and Sam Galoci at two-doubles.