WHITE PIGEON — It’s been 39 years since White Pigeon last won a league title, winning the St. Joe Valley Conference back in 1984.
The wait for an outright conference title ended Friday, as the Chiefs shellacked visiting Cassopolis at home, 62-0, winning the Southwest 10.
The Chiefs’ defense was suffocating on the day, holding Cassopolis to a whopping -34 yards of total offense, compared to 428 yards for White Pigeon, all of it coming on the ground.
Caleb Lane led the Chiefs with seven carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor Stewart had eight carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns. John Bontrager and Hunter Pant each had 60 yards and a touchdown, Bontrager accomplishing that on seven carries and Pant on just one. Drew Kobryn had two carries for 33 yards and a touchdown, and James Chaney had four carries for 24 yards and a score.
Defensively, Bontrager and Seth Miller led the team with 3.5 tackles each. Lane had 2.5 tackles. Brody Block and Jordan Pisco each had interceptions as well.
With the win, White Pigeon goes to 7-0 on the season.
Centreville blasts Comstock 56-0
CENTREVILLE — The Centreville Bulldogs scored early and often Friday evening, as they convincingly defeated the Comstock Mustangs, 56-0.
Taking the opening kickoff to near midfield, Centreville ate up big chunks of yardage on the ground behind nice runs by Kam Wells and Xander Frederick. Frederick crossed the goal line from 10-yards out, and then made good on the two-point conversion, to give the Bulldogs the early 8-0 advantage.
Comstock took possession after the ensuing kickoff, but failed to get a first down, punting the ball back to Centreville. Keeping the ball on the ground, the Bulldogs drove right down the field and scored again, this time on a 12-yard run by Carter Cartier. Fredrick made good on the points after, and at the 5:19 mark of the opening quarter, Centreville had moved ahead, 16-0.
Comstock again could not generate a first down and had to punt. Taking over on offense, a long pass completion to the Mustang 11 put the Bulldogs in good position to add to their score, and they did just that. Frederick put the ball into the endzone from 6-yards out, and scored the points after, upping the score to 24-0. The Bulldog’s defense was stopping everything Comstock attempted, and at the 4:54 mark of the second quarter, Kam Wells crossed the goal line once again for six points. The 2-point conversion was successful, which moved Centreville into a commanding 32-0 halftime lead.
The second half saw the Mustangs take to the air to try to generate some offense, but the Bulldog’s Bo Riley quickly proved that Centreville’s defense was up to the task. He picked off a Comstock pass and returned it the other way for a touchdown. Cartier took in the 2-point try, and bumped the score to 40-0, Bulldogs. Centreville scored another third-quarter touchdown, this time coming on a 4-yard run by DeAndre Stout. The third quarter would end with Centreville leading, 48-0. The final period had the Bulldogs with the only score, as Noah Brooks took it in from 35-yards out. Hunter Monson made good on the points-after try, giving Centreville the 56-0 win.
The Bulldog’s rushing attack was evenly spread out, as Kaeden Wells totaled 62 yards, Kam Wells had 59 yards rushing with a touchdown, Cartier recorded 59 yards running the ball with one touchdown and a 2-point conversion, Frederick logged 36 yards rushing, two touchdowns and 4 points after conversions. Brooks gained 42 yards on his touchdown run, Stout chipped in with 19 yards on the ground with a score, and caught a pass, good for 15 yards. Rounding out the offense was Cohen Longacre, who grabbed a pass for 36 yards.
Defensively, the Bulldogs came up big, holding Comstock to negative 12 yards of total offense. Centreville was led by Cartier with five tackles, Owen Taylor and Stout had 4 tackles each, and Riley had the interception return for a touchdown. “To hold a team to negative yards is almost unheard of these days,” Bulldogs coach Jerry Schultz said. “I did have to get on the kids a little bit at halftime, because I felt that they were starting to show a lack of energy and enthusiasm, but we got that fixed.” Schultz went on to say “Kam and Kaeden Wells really gave us everything they had out there. Kam had injured his ankle the game before, but he’s back at 100 percent, and it showed. Kaeden continues to run hard, and with both of them clicking, it frees up Frederick and Cartier to contribute a lot to our offense.”
Schultz also added “It was good that we had the opportunity to get a lot of our freshmen and JV players into the game. We’ve got a lot of athletes on this team, and that game experience for them is very important.”
With the win, Centreville improved its record to 4-3. The Bulldogs hit the road to Muskegon Friday, to face off against Muskegon Catholic Central. The Crusaders sport an identical 4-3 record.
Sturgis drops third straight
VICKSBURG — The Sturgis Trojans headed north to Vicksburg Friday evening, looking to snap their two-game losing streak. The Bulldogs did not cooperate however, handing the Trojans their third straight loss, 38-21.
Alexander VanSweden opened the scoring for Vicksburg, taking the ball to the endzone from 10 yards out, and with the extra point, the Bulldogs held a 7-0 lead. The rest of the first quarter saw no scoring from either team, but the Trojans got on the board in the second period, as Dalton Tisdel scored from 33-yards out. With Gavyn Moore adding the extra point boot, Sturgis had evened the score at 7-7. VanSweden scored his second rushing touchdown of the contest to close out the first half, and the point after kick was good, moving Vicksburg to a 14-7 advantage.
The third quarter saw the Bulldog’s William Hull add to the lead, as he made good on a 29-yard field goal, giving the home team the difference at 17-7. The next possession for Vicksburg also resulted in a score, as VanSweden recorded his third rushing touchdown of the game, this time from 18-yards out. The extra point kick was successful, upping the lead to 24-7, in favor of the Bulldogs.
The Trojans opened the final quarter cutting into the Vicksburg lead, as Tanner Patrick and Rasean O’Tey hooked up on a 9-yard passing TD. With Moore’s extra point kick, the deficit was sliced to 10 points, 24-14. The Bulldogs advanced their lead to 31-14 when Zachary Kline raced in from 20 yards out, and struck again, with Michael Johnson taking it to the endzone on a 19-yard touchdown run. That pushed the score to 38-14, Vicksburg. The Trojans ended the scoring for the evening when Kaicee Kyle ran it in from two yards out. Moore again hit the point after boot, resulting in the final score of 38-21.
VanSweden had a big night running the ball, as he totaled 145 yards on the ground. Kline contributed 72 yards rushing, and quarterback Hunter Bell connected on 5-of-11 passes, good for 43 yards. For Sturgis, Tisdel had a nice total of 158 yards rushing, while Kyle ran the ball for 30 yards. Patrick recorded 116 yards through the air, hitting on 7 of 16 attempts. Callahan Lamb grabbed three passes, good for 54 yards, O’Tey had three receptions for 36 yards, and Kaiden Waldron totaled 56 yards on two catches. Dawson Miller had nine tackles to lead the Sturgis defense, Lamb added six stops, and Matthew Wickey and Gibson Cary each had five tackles.
The loss drops the Trojans record to an overall mark of 2-5. Next up for Sturgis is a road game against the 1-6 Three Rivers Wildcats on Friday, Oct. 13. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Colon routs Athens
COLON — The Colon Magi completely dominated the Athens Indians Friday evening, by the score of 63-6, improving their record to 4-3.
“I thought this was probably our best game of the season defensively,” Colon coach Kevin Bennett said. “We made some adjustments after their first couple of series on offense, and from that point on, our defense just clicked. It was nice to get the win for our homecoming.”
Maverick Downs had another big game for Colon, rushing for 229 yards and five scores, while passing for 58 yards and one touchdown. The Magi defense also had an impressive effort, coming up with six Athens fumbles, and one interception by Carter Persons. Downs and Kaleb Thaxton recorded 11 tackles as well. “This was a much-needed win for us. We started to focus on the little things, and it worked out well.” Bennett also added that “We played really well considering the adverse weather conditions.”
The Magi will travel this week to play the 7-0 Climax Scotts Panthers, who knocked off the always tough Mendon Hornets last week, 58-28.
“This is a huge game for us this week,” Bennett said. “We’ve been really focused during our practices, and that should help come Friday night.”
Colon will complete its regular season schedule on the road against Bridgeman on Oct. 20.
Burr Oak drops to 1-6 with loss to St. Phil
BURR OAK — The Battle Creek St. Phillip Fighting Tigers paid a visit to Burr Oak Friday night to face off against the Bobcats, and the visitors returned home with a 50-22 victory. The loss drops Burr Oak to a 1-6 mark on the season.
Ethan Boyles scored three touchdowns, while Austin Cole and Garrett Johnson each had a 2-point conversion. Johnson also led the defense as the leading tackler.
“Physical demands will test a player’s resolve. Mindset must guide that resolve. The Bobcats are learning one of life’s important lessons, the art of composure,” Burr Oak coach Vince Royer said. He went on to say that “Anger and frustration are highly erosive, and all individuals must have awareness of why these occur. It’s too little, too late when you have to play catch up in the second half. Composure is everything.”
Burr Oak will host the 4-3 Bellevue Broncos on Friday, Oct 13th, with the kickoff slated for 7pm. It will also be Parent/Senior Night at Boyer Field. The Bobcats close out their season with a road game against Tekonsha on Friday, Oct. 20th.
Marcellus shuts out Calvin Christian
MARCELLUS — Marcellus easily dispatched visiting Calvin Christian Friday night, winning 56-0 over the Squires.
Dawsen Lehew led the Wildcats’ offense with six carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns. Cole Thornburgh had two carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns, while Parker Adams had a passing touchdown and rushing touchdown.
Defensively, Brock Buck had three sacks and Jackson Krzycki added an interception.
With the win, Marcellus improves to 6-1 on the season.
Three Rivers bested by Paw Paw on road
PAW PAW — Three Rivers’ football team was defeated Friday night, Oct. 6, on the road against Paw Paw, 47-14.
No stats for the game were reported prior to press time.
With the loss, Three Rivers moves to 1-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play. Paw Paw keeps their undefeated season going with the win, going to 7-0 and 5-0 in the Wolverine Conference.