Saugatuck football heads to playoffs despite late loss after 'Helluva year'
SAUGATUCK - The last two weeks of the season for the Saugatuck football team.
But the Trailblazers get to start fresh now, knowing the most difficult opponents came just before the playoffs, including a 41-21 loss to Schoolcraft on Friday on homecoming night.
Saugatuck finished the regular season 7-2 and coach Bill Dunn hopes his team can learn from these games because the Trailblazers will face teams like this in the playoffs.
"We had a better second half and won the second half. The kids regrouped. We are still 7-2 after being 2-6 last year. It has been a helluva year. We knew these last two weeks would be tough. I am so proud of the kids and what they brought," Dunn said.
Despite the struggles in the final two weeks, nothing should be taken away from the incredible turnaround the Trailblazers have had.
Just a season ago, the Saugatuck football team struggled to have enough players to field a team.
After a few injuries, the Trailblazers had to cancel the last couple of games of the season and missed the playoffs for just the second time in eight seasons.
The two wins was the team's lowest total in 20 years.
What the Trailblazers have done this year is nothing short of remarkable.
With many of the same players, the team is healthy and headed to the playoffs.
"It is the desire to get better and support your teammates and the work ethic of these kids," Dunn said. "The kids enjoy being together and that is the key to winning."
Here are the takeaways from Friday's game.
Offensive finally gets going
While the defense hasn't been quite as sharp in the final two games, the offense has struggled.
The Trailblazers were shut out in a loss to Lawton and in Friday's first half, The Trailblazers punted on their first two possessions, then threw an interception for a touchdown and missed a fourth-down chance.
That made six consecutive scoreless quarters.
That was immediately snapped in the third quarter when Cass Stanberry raced for a 73-yard touchdown two plays into the second half. Stanberry left the game late with a leg injury. His status is to be determined.
Matt Hartgerink scored on a quarterback keeper after a nice drive on Saugatuck's second possession of the third quarter. In the fourth, he threw a TD to Brad Moorer.
"We needed to execute better. I told the kids, win lose or draw, we had to get better in the second half," Dunn said. "We wanted to get better going into our second season, and we surely did."
Defense struggles against multi-facet offense
The Saugatuck defense has been spectacular this season, but struggled with the balanced attack of Schoolcraft.
Last year, in seven games, Saugatuck allowed 207 points.
This year, just 67 points in the first six games, a stunning turnaround, allowing more than 14 points in a game just once all season. However, the defense gave up its most points of the season in the final two games (56), albeit to the two toughest opponents on the schedule.
Saugatuck had an interception, but struggled against the run against Schoolcraft.
The Eagles marched down the field, taking 8 minutes on the opening drive, and scored on a play-action pass.
Still in the first half, Schoolcraft's Isaac Noora scored on runs of 40 and 3 yards after long drives. He scored again in the third quarter from 3 yards out then a 93-yard run in the fourth.
In between Noora's runs, quarterback Ryan Ling made some big pass plays to balance the attack.
"We have to do a better job of tackling and finishing," Dunn said.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Saugatuck football heads to playoffs despite late loss after 'Helluva year'
