MIDLAND -- Chesaning head coach Jim Szappan knew his varsity gridders were entering the meat of their schedule with Swan Valley, Bullock Creek and Alma in three consecutive weeks. Friday night at Bullock Creek, the Indians felt more like they were in a meat grinder, losing to the host Lancers 39-24. The Lancers rushed for 413 yards in 53 attempts, and threw for another 98 on 5 of 6 passing, for a whopping 511 yards of total offense. "We could not stop their offense," Szappan admitted. "This was just a good old fashioned butt-whipping." The Indians opened and closed the scoring in the contest, but the Lancers put up a whole lot of points in between. Joe Bitterman took the opening kick-off for the Indians and returned it 72 yards to start a drive. He then capped that drive with a nine yard touchdown run at 11:39 of the first quarter. Bitterman connected with David Hawes on the conversion pass for the 8-0 lead. Then Bullock Creek took over. The Lancers scored at 5:45 of the first on a three yard run by quarterback Matt Peterson. The PAT was no good, allowing the Indians an 8-6 lead. At 1:11 of the first, Andy Copus scored for BC on a six yard scamper. Peterson's pass to Garret Yatch made it 14-8. In the second quarter, Peterson scored on a one yard run at the 7:17 mark. The conversion run failed, giving the Lancers a 20-8. Chesaning drove to the Bullock Creek goal line before a bad snap on fourth down gave the Lancers the ball on their own two yard line. The Lancers then marched 98 yards, scoring at 3:09 of the second on a three yard run by Copus. In the third quarter, at 8:00, Peterson connected with Yatch on a 13 yard TD strike. The PAT kick made it 33-8. The Indians clawed back, scoring at 1:04 on a one yard run by Bitterman. His pass to Sweeney on the conversion play made it 33-16. With five seconds left in the thrid, Kyle O'Boyle scored on a 61 yard run for Bullock Creek. The PAT was no good for the 39-16 lead. Bitterman added the final touchdown of the night at 5:19 of the fourth on a seven yard run. The Bitterman-to-Sweeney combo on the conversion made it 39-24. The Indians finished the night with 188 yards rushing and 60 yards on 7 of 17 passing for 248 yards of total offense. Bitterman picked up 171 of those rushing yards on 23 carries. Cal Bishop had three receptions for 45. The Indians also gave up two interceptions, however. "At times we moved the ball well, but then at other times, we didn't catch balls well," Szappan said. "We couldn't get any sustainment on offense." For the Tribe defense, Sweeney and Joe Bishop each recorded 15 tackles. Devin Witt was credited with 10 tackles. "This week we've got to focus on getting back on the winning track," Szappan said. "We have to keep in mind it is just one loss and the season is not over. We still have work to do" This Friday the Indians travel to Alma to take on the 5-0 Panthers. A win throws the league title back into at least a two-way tie. The Lancers and Ovid-Elsie are also sitting back with one league loss apiece. Game time is 7 p.m.
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