Advertisement

Jake Emmendorfer's Hornets led 45-0 by halftime and played the entire second half under the running clock mercy rule. "This was a good team effort by our guys tonight," praised Emmendorfer after the game. "We told our kids that this was like a play-off game for us and they came out really hitting and with play-off intensity." It didn't take long for New Lothrop to assert its authority as the Hornets scored on the second play from scrimmage, less than 30 seconds into the game. Tom Wenzlick bulled in from two yards out, just one play after Ryan Praski scampered 77 yards on the opening snap of the game. Praski booted the PAT to make it 7-0. Kraig Vincke recovered a fumble on the ensuing kick-off to help the Hornets set up shop at the Genesee 26-yard line. Praski later scored on a two-yard run and NL was off to a 13-0 lead with 9:51 still unplayed in the opening quarter.

"The fumble recovery that led to our second touchdown was quite a dagger in the heart for them," commented Coach Emmendorfer. "Once we got it rolling, we were tough to stop." The Hornets continued to roll over the Wolves in the opening stanza as Praski broke off a 24-yard jaunt to pay dirt on the next NL possession and the Hornets were suddenly ahead, 19-0. The two-point conversion failed. Four minutes later, Praski hooked up with Kyle Trent on a nine-yard scoring strike to expand the lead to 25-0. The two-point conversion again failed, but the Hornets still had enough time to score again before the end of the quarter, this time on a 31-yard bolt by Wenzlick. With a 32-0 lead, the Hornets added two more TDs in the second quarter, the first coming on a one-yard run by Trent and the second on a Praski-to-Jeremy Emmendorfer pass that covered six yards, making the score 45-0 at intermission. Keith Perizzolo scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, under the running clock, to give his team a 59-0 lead. Perrizolo's scores came from two yards and 26 yards out. Emmendorfer picked off a Genesee pass in the final quarter and ran it in from 31 yards away to complete the scoring for the Hornets before Genesee finally scored late in the game to avoid a shut-out. New Lothrop amassed 478 yards of total offense while holding Genesee to just 111 yards. The tenacious Hornet defense also forced the Wolves into six turnovers. Ethan Bishop and Kraig Vincke recovered fumbles while Jason Henige, Trent, Emmendorfer and Trevor Vincke all had interceptions for New Lothrop. Perizzolo and Kyle Moore each had six tackles while Wenzlick and Marc Confer recorded five stops apiece. Praski had a field day for New Lothrop, running for 148 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries in addition to throwing for another 117 yards and two touchdowns on 8-of-12 passing accuracy. Perizzolo covered 103 yards on the ground and scored a pair of TDs on 10 carries while Wenzlick toted the ball 10 times for 87 yards and two scores. Trent hauled in three passes for 51 yards and a score, Emmendorfer caught four aerials for 31 yards and a TD, and Moore grabbed a pair of passes, good for 31 yards. "I thought we had a good defensive scheme tonight, bringing six guys at the quarterback and we were really hitting, too," assessed Coach Emmendorfer. The win evens New Lothrop's overall record to 3-3 and improves the Hornets to 3-1 in the GAC-Blue heading into this Friday's homecoming game against league rival Byron.

Ram gridders run roughshod over LakeVille, 54-6

OTISVILLE Montrose's varsity football team used a four-touchdown outburst in the second quarter against host LakeVille en route to a convincing 54-6 rout of the host Falcons last Friday. The scoring barrage gave Dennis Reinhart's crew a 41-0 lead at intermission and put the game under the running clock mercy rule for the entire second half. "It's always good to get the win and it was nice to be able to get all of our guys into the game and give them a chance to shine," said Reinhart after the contest. The Rams began to shine early, and often, as they wasted little time jumping out to the lead. James Person put Montrose on the board just 87 seconds into the game when he broke free on a 60-yard scoring run. The missed PAT left the Rams ahead, 6-0. Just three minutes later, Persons again found the end zone, this time from just a yard out, and Zach Van Cleve booted the extra point to give Montrose a 13-0 advantage.

The 13-0 score stayed that way until the second quarter, when the Ram offense kicked into an even higher gear, scoring four times. Quarterback Joe Lamay scored from three yards away on the opening play of the second stanza and Van Cleve booted another extra point to expand the cushion to 20-0. Just eight seconds later, after a Falcon turnover, the Rams struck again on a Lamay-to-Jeremy Fondren touchdown pass. Cody Groulx ran in the two-point conversion and the Rams held a comfortable 28-0 lead with 11:48 still to be played in the second quarter. The Rams added a pair of scores later in the quarter, the first coming on a 32-yard pass from Lamay to Groulx and the second on an 18-yard Lamay to Ricky Genson aerial, giving Montrose a 41-0 lead at halftime. Under the running clock in the second half, Adam Campbell rushed for touchdowns of 10 and 32 yards to complete the scoring for the Rams. LakeVille scored its only touchdown at the seven minute mark of the final quarter. The stat sheet reflected Montrose's dominance in the contest, as the Rams amassed 503 total yards of offense to just 127 for the Falcons. Person accounted for 106 of the 344 rushing yards for Montrose, covering the distance in just five carries. Groulx also carried the ball just five times, racking up 75 yards on the ground. Jon Hall churned out 63 yards and Campbell chewed up 51 yards rushing. Fondren hauled in four passes, good for 46 yards. Defensively, the hard-hitting Rams forced three Falcon turnovers. Blake Hitchcock had an interception while Brandon Rose and Brian Molaski each recovered a fumble. Zach Kuzniar anchored the defense with seven tackles. Derek Elston had six stops and Mike Foster chipped in with five tackles. "We'll enjoy this while we can, but we'll have to get right back to work and get ready for a pretty good Durand team this Friday," concluded Reinhart. The Rams, who now stand at 3-1 in the GAC-Red and 5-1 overall, will entertain the Railroaders this Friday on Homecoming night.

Bulldogs lock up playoff spot with win

St. Charles runs rough-shod over Seminary, 37-7

SAGINAW -- Notch up another goal for the 2007 Bulldog gridders. With Friday night's 37-7 win over host Michigan Lutheran Seminary, the St. Charles squad earned its sixth win of the season, thereby gaining a spot in the post-season bracket. The Bulldogs used their ground attack to clip the Cardinals, racking up 337 yards rushing in 49 attempts without throwing a single pass. "The kids did a nice job tonight," praised St. Charles coach Bob Welzein. "We're in the playoffs, and that was one of our goals this season. Now we've got to keep it up." The Bulldogs opened the scoring at the 10 minute mark of the first quarter, on their first offensive play. Ryan Humpert broke free for a 65 yard touchdown scamper. The two-point attempt failed. At 11:21 of the second, Marshall Davenport notched the second TD on a four yard run, then ran in the conversion for a 14-0 lead. With 5:02 left in the half, Humpert got his second score of the night on a seven yard run. M. Davenport ran in the two-pointer. Then with 1:44 to go in the half, M. Davenport struck again, from nine yards out. Dugan Roosa scored the conversion for a 30-0 halftime lead. At 9:31 of the third quarter, Humpert notched his third touchdown of the night on a 24 yard run. Travis Crane kicked the PAT for a 37-0 lead. With 9:57 left in the game, the Cardinals got on the board against the Bulldog reserves. Joel Lindloff scored on a nine yard run. Mark Voss booted the PAT. Humpert finished up with a stellar night, picking up 175 yards in 16 carries with three touchdowns. M. Davenport went for 75 yards and two TDS in eight attempts. Meanwhile, the 'Dawg defense held the Cardinals to 154 yards rushing and 29 yards on 2 of 10 passing for 183 yards of total offense. Humpert led the defense with eight tackles. Spencer Davenport hauled down seven. Ryan Katch was credited with six tackles. Brad Saunders and M. Davenport each had five. Justin Hedrich and Andy Cradit each came up with a fumble recovery. This Friday, the Bulldogs will celebrate Homecoming with Valley Lutheran coming to town. The Chargers were 2-3 on the season going into last Friday's contest with Carrollton.

Panthers more than Tribe can handle

ALMA -- Chesaning's varsity gridders got off to a good start against the Tri-Valley Conference Central Division leader Alma Friday night, but came up short in a 21-16 loss. The Indians struck first, scoring a 7:09 of the second on an eight yard pass from Joe Bitterman to David Hawes. Bitterman kicked the PAT for the 7-0 lead. Then at 5:45 of the second, Bitterman connected with Justin Sweeney on a five yard TD strike. Bitterman again booted the extra point. The Panthers struck back, scoring on a three yard run at 1:09 of the second, cutting the lead to 14-7 at the half. At 10:42 of the third quarter, the Panthers broke loose for a 45 yard TD run, then followed it with a 12 yard TD run at 2:48 for the 21-14 lead. With 9:15 left to play, the Indians got a safety after holding Alma to a fourth-and-13. The Panther punter dropped the ball in the endzone, and knelt down to get it, giving up the safety. Bitterman finished the night with 44 yards rushing on 13 carries. He was also 10 of 18 throwing for 98 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Cal Bishop had three receptions for 33 yards, while Sweeney had three for 45 yards. On defense, Jesse Maldonado and Chad Reiber tallied nine tackles apiece. Michael Rowe and Chris Dewey each added eight tackles. Jaxon Wirgau scooped up a fumble recovery.