VICKSBURG — Three Rivers’ football team dropped its record to a paltry 0-5 with a road loss Friday against Vicksburg, 45-12.
Vicksburg outgained the Wildcats in all facets of the game, with 314 yards of total offense (150 rushing, 164 passing) to just 185 for Three Rivers (62 rushing, 123 passing).
Luis Warmack started at quarterback for the Wildcats, going 10-of-15 passing for 126 yards, with two total touchdowns, one through the air for 80 yards to LaMonta Stone, and one rushing touchdown. Stone had three catches for 87 yards total and the one touchdown.
Defensively, Drew McClain had five tackles for the Wildcats to lead the way.
Vicksburg led the game 31-6 at the half, and 45-6 after the third quarter.
Three Rivers plays next on homecoming Friday, Sept. 29 against Plainwell.
Constantine gets big homecoming win
CONSTANTINE — Constantine made the most of its homecoming matchup with Watervliet, shutting out the Panthers 35-0.
The Falcons led 21-0 at the half and 35-0 after the third quarter.
Isaac Moore got the party started for Constantine in the first quarter with a two-yard touchdown run, with Rushawn James punching in the two-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead, the only score of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Bennett VandenBerg scored his two touchdowns of the day on runs of five and 15 yards to put the Falcons up 21-0 at the half.
Moore would get his second touchdown of the day on a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to begin the second half, putting the Falcons up 28-0. James ran in a three-yard touchdown to end the scoring in the third quarter.
VandenBerg was the game’s leading rusher, going for 93 yards on 14 carries and two TDs. Brendan Presswood had 12 carries for 89 yards and James had 14 carries for 87 yards and a TD. Defensively, Canon Manley, Caleb Bontrager and Brandon Long had four tackles each to lead the team.
With the win, Constantine improves its record to 4-1 and is ranked 7th in Division 6 by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association.
Mendon puts up Dolphins-like score on Burr Oak
MENDON — The Mendon Hornets piled up 44 first quarter points enroute to a convincing 80-18 win over the Burr Oak Bobcats.
“Burr Oak played hard from start to finish, and I’ve got to give that team a lot of credit for never giving up,” said Mendon head coach Bobby Kretchman.
Quarterback Jack McCaw opened the scoring for the Hornets, running the ball in from eight yards out, and followed that up with an 18-yard touchdown run with 9:26 left, staking Mendon to an early 14-0 lead. The Bobcats would get on the board next, as Ethan Boyles connected with Garrett Johnson on a 59-yard scoring strike. JT Lux scored the next Hornets touchdown from 2-yards out, and 20-seconds later, the Bobcats hit again on another long Boyles to Johnson pass, good for 68 yards and a touchdown.
From that point on, it was the Jack McCaw show, He had an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, tossed a 33-yard touchdown to Lux, and had three rushing touchdowns covering 15, 27, and 10 yards, respectively. Owen Gorham also added a 10-yard TD run in the first quarter. Burr Oak scored its final touchdown on another long strike, this time from Boyles to Austin Cole, covering 33 yards. Lux and Dylan Cupp accounted for the final two Mendon touchdowns in the third quarter, with Lux scoring on a 48-yard run, and Cupp taking it in from 26 yards out. In the final quarter, neither team could muster any points.
The Hornets amassed 564 yards of total offense, putting up 367 rushing yards, while gaining 197 yards through the air. McCaw led all rushers with 138 yards, followed by Gorham with 89, Cupp with 68, and Lux with 59. Kretchman also praised the standout defensive play of Nic Stiver and Gorham. The Bobcats gained a respectable total of 310 yards, with Boyles passing for 243 yards and three touchdowns. The Bobcats also gained 67 yards on the ground. “All in all, we played really well,” Kretchman said. “Our offensive line hit its blocks, and we made some adjustments as the game progressed. We also played a nice, clean game, only turning the ball over one time.”
Vince Royer, head coach for the Bobcats, said that “When there are only a few of us, it takes everyone. Our freshmen are being pushed hard into becoming varsity players, and if you want to be good, you’ve got to play against the best.” He also added that “The expectation is for our team to play up, and to play hard. To get better as a team, this is what you must do.”
With the win, Mendon remains undefeated at 5-0, while the Bobcats drop to 0-5.
Colon gets convincing home win over Litchfield
COLON — The Colon Magi burned up the scoreboard Saturday afternoon in a rout over visiting Litchfield, 91-36.
Colon took a commanding 44-16 lead in the first quarter, and never looked back. The Terriers did give their fans a bit of excitement in the opening quarter, as Miguel Pedroza scored on two long kickoff returns, covering 94 and 74 yards respectively.
“We were kind of shocked with the final outcome,” Colon coach Kevin Bennett stated. “We scouted them [Litchfield] on film, and saw that they had a lot of big linemen up front, so we just rolled the dice putting pressure on their quarterback and using man coverage in the defensive backfield, and it worked.”
The Magi continued the scoring parade to open the second quarter, as Kaleb Thaxton put the ball into the endzone on a 6-yard run, and quarterback Maverick Downs followed that up less than a minute later, crossing the goal line on a 9-yard run. Later in the second stanza, Kyle Muntain grabbed a pass from Downs, good for a 46-yard TD. Following the point after, the scoreboard read 66-22, in favor of the hometown Magi. Colon closed out the second quarter scoring on a 10-yard touchdown run from Carter Hetman. Wilhelm Alexander knocked through the point after.
Downs closed out the third quarter scoring with a 48-yard TD run, and the lead stood at 79-36 heading into the final frame. Freshman Carter Persons also got into the act, as he scored two fourth quarter touchdowns on runs of nine and 18-yards.
The Magi held a decisive advantage in total yards, 625-168. Downs finished with an impressive 352 yards rushing and 94 yards passing, accounting for 446 total yards. He scored six rushing touchdowns, and he also completed a pass for a score. “Maverick loves the read offense, so he can take off running with ball, or set up for the pass. He just makes good reads.” Thaxton rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns, while Persons scored twice and gained 31 yards on the ground. Muntain had two receptions for 86 yards, and Blake Vandersrtaaten had a catch good for eight yards.
“Kyle, Kaleb, Carter {Hetman} and Persons all had some nice touches, too. They showed some good, hard running,” Bennett said. In all, Colon racked up 531 of total offense.
Defensively, Downs had five tackles, one interception, and recovered a Litchfield fumble. Thaxton recorded four tackles, while Owen Wilson, Johnny Greenwald, Kayden LaClair and Ayden Delp had two stops each. Muntain added a fumble recovery and an interception, and also had two tackles.
With the win, Colon improves to 3-2, and will hit the road to Bellevue for a Friday night matchup with the 3-2 Broncos. Game time is 7 p.m.
Sturgis blown out by Niles
STURGIS — Sturgis’ football team was defeated Friday by Wolverine Conference power Niles, 61-21.
Tanner Patrick led the way for Sturgis with 13 pass completions for 237 yards and three touchdowns. Rasean O’Tey had five catches for 131 yards, while Dalton Tisdel had one catch for 38 yards and Brock Fergison had two catches for 19 yards.
Fergison and Gibson Cary led the way on defense with seven tackles each. Sturgis’ record now stands at 2-3.