GTW
USA 58, Bad Axe 6
BCAS 37, EPBP 20
Reese 20, Cass City 12
GTE
Ubly 38, Harbor Beach 6
Brown City 48, Mayville 0
Sandusky 28, Marlette 13
NCTL
North Huron 28, Peck 6
NON-LEAGUE
Vassar 56, Memphis 12
Deckerville 52, Saginaw Buena Vista 32
Arenac Eastern 28, Kingston 16
8-MAN
CPS 55, A-Fairgrove 28
Owen-Gage 30, Jackson da Vinci 28
Ubly knocks off Harbor Beach, 38-6
HARBOR BEACH — Ubly coach Bill Sweeney subscribes to the theory that the best defense is a good offense.
The Bearcats proved that on Friday night for their Greater Thumb East showdown with Harbor Beach in a dominating 38-6 victory.
Ubly set the tone in the first quarter, electing to take the ball into the driving west wind that was gusting nearly 50 mph at times. The offense was as relentless as the wind, taking over eight minutes off the clock.
Bret Cleary’s 1-yard dive capped off a 17-play, 80-yard drive. Tyler Peruski, who got the bulk of the carries on the drive, punched in the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0 with 3:39 remaining.
“When you’re running T football, and you’re trying to control things, if they don’t have the football, they can’t win,” said Ubly coach Bill Sweeney.
“I know people think it’s bland, but if they’re not on offense, they can’t win.”
Sweeney has been involved in games with high winds before, and he was prepared for this one.
“We got the ball in the first half, and we just wanted to plug along,” he said.
“I’ve coached in four games where the wind was this much of a factor. It’s so important to just hold on to the ball and not try to do too much.”
Added Harbor Beach coach Troy Schelke: “Ubly managed the wind a lot better than we did.”
Harbor Beach couldn’t get anything going on its first drive. The Pirates attempted to convert a fourth down at midfield, but failed.
Ubly responded with another impressive drive. This time, it was 10-plays, 52-yards, finished off by a Peruski 14-yard scamper.
The Bearcats also converted a pair of fourth downs during the drive.
Schelke thought his players were still reeling from Ubly’s first possession.
“When a team controls the ball like that, it’s a tough deal,” he said. “I thought that first series we competed. But once we got behind, we got a little down.
“We have to learn not to do that. One drive shouldn’t be the end of the game. Our young guys and our seniors have to learn to keep playing the game even under very tough circumstances.”
Added Sweeney: “We preach four or five yards and a cloud of dust, and we have to react to what they’re doing defensively.
“It’s pretty demoralizing is what it becomes.”
Ubly finished the half with touchdown runs from Bryan Nash (20 yards) and Peruski (28 yards) to take a 30-0 lead.
The first-half numbers were staggering. The Bearcats ran 34 plays compared to just 11 for the Pirates, who failed to get a first down.
“They ran 11 plays in the first half, it doesn’t get much better than that,” Sweeney said. “I thought it was a superb team effort against a quality opponent.”
Harbor Beach finally showed some spark to begin the second half as it came through with a 10-play, 60-yard drive, finished off by a Derek Pfaff 4-yard run.
“We’re trying to learn how to play Harbor Beach football, which is running the ball,” Schelke said. “It’s too bad we couldn’t get that going until it was too late.”
The Bearcats answered right back as Austin Drake called his own number from two yards out. He connected with Jason Kaufman on the 2-pointer.
After some early season struggles with inconsistency, including turnovers and penalties, Ubly is beginning to look like the team Sweeney thought it could be.
“We’re so young, and it just took us a while to get our feet wet,” he said.
“I’m very pleased with how they’re coming along, but it’s a week-to-week thing. As much as we get confident with how well we’re doing, we just have to stay grounded.
“The kids have to realize we’re not the teams of the past — we’re this year’s team.”
Ubly clinched a share of the GTE title with the win. A victory next week at home against Bad Axe will send the Bearcats to the playoffs for a 10th straight season.
“It’s weird to be in the fifth week and talking league title already,” Sweeney said. “Without that extra team in the league, it kind of changes the whole complexion.
“It’s a good feeling. Hopefully, we take care of business, get into the playoffs, and get some home field games if we can get them.”
Harbor Beach will hit the road again for the fifth time in six weeks as it travels to play Marlette.
The Pirates are hoping to get three more wins over their final four games to make the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
“We have to learn as much as we can from this game and get ready for Marlette,” Schelke said. “We still have a solid team. We just have to play more consistently all the way around.
“We at least have a chance this year. Our young guys have to learn how to win at the varsity level, and our veteran guys have to gain a little more confidence.
“We still have to work a little to get past those mental blocks.”
ROUNDUP
North Huron 28, Peck 6
KINDE — North Huron snapped its three-game losing streak in a big way here Friday night against Peck.
The Warriors racked up 353 yards of offense, led by the offensive line of Eric LesPerance, Tony Murawski, Matt Finan, Mike Cregeur and Evan Dhyse.
Forrest Maxwell gained 131 yards on 18 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. Mike Schramski added a score on the ground, as well.
Erik Dhyse tossed for 137 yards and a touchdown while Kevin Rice caught five balls for 86 yards and had a score.
Tyler Preston was a perfect 4-of-4 on PATs.
Schramski had 14 tackles (six solo) to lead the North Huron defense. Rice and Erik Dhyse each added 12 tackles. Zach Ahearn and Tom Fischer each had eight stops while Cregeur had seven tackles.
BCAS 37, EPBP 20
PIGEON — Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port led 14-0 after one quarter against Bay City All Saints, but the Cougars took the lead at halftime and went on to beat the Lakers.
BCAS quarterback Drew Janer rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on a halfback gadget play when he hauled in an 18-yard TD reception.
For the Lakers, Tim Warack scored on runs of 10 and 13 yards while Evan Gascho added a 27-yard TD.
Overall, Warack had 50 yards on 10 carries for the Lakers while Walter VanHouten added 42 yards and John Eile 29 yards.
The Lakers had 176 yards on the ground and 30 yards passing. BCAS had 276 yards rushing and 108 yards passing.
The Lakers saw their 14-0 lead turn into a 22-14 deficit at the half. BCAS led 28-20 heading into the final quarter.
Reese 20, Cass City 12
REESE — Two fourth-quarter touchdowns sparked Reese over Cass City. The game was tied at 6 entering the final quarter before the Rockets got a 49-yard TD run from Spencer Buchinger and a 36-yard score from Kyle Yaklin.
The Red Hawks scored on an 8-yard dive from Alex Varney with 3:48 to play, but never got the chance to try to tie it again.
Varney led Cass City with 89 yards on 23 carries. Austin Osentoski added 19 carries for 87 yards, including a 13-yard scoring run.
Buchinger had 101 yards and two TDs for the Rockets.
Overall, Reese had 315 yards while Cass City had 249 yards.
Defensively, Brandon Stine had eight tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a sack for the Red Hawks. Varney added seven stops while Josh Jensen and Mitch O’Dell had six tackles each.
Owen-Gage 30, Jackson da Vinci Institute 28
OWENDALE — On Homecoming, Owendale-Gagetown senior Clyde Rhodes scored with less than one minute to play to lift the Bulldogs to the win.
Jackson da Vinci scored with less than two minutes to play to take a 28-24 lead.
But a long kick return and a pair of penalties gave the Bulldogs the ball deep in Jackson da Vinci territory late. A few plays later, Rhodes cashed in for the game-winning score.
Jordan Kain rushed for 165 yards and one TD for the Bulldogs while Hunter Champagne added 152 yards and another score.
Rhodes added two catches for 55 yards and one other score. He also had 14 tackles on defense and an interception. Mike Harp chipped in nine tackles and another interception.
USA 58, Bad Axe 6
BAD AXE — Chris Harper scored three touchdowns, helping Unionville-Sebewaing Area pound Bad Axe and spoil Homecoming.
USA led 20-0 after one quarter and 44-0 at the half.
Harper scored on runs of 2, 3 and 17 yards for the Patriots. Tim Canfield added a 3-yard run and an 80-yard punt return.
Tyler Dick, Joe Sigmund and Dan Rieck also scored for the Patriots.
Bad Axe’s lone score came in the third quarter on a 30-yard pass from Austin Harris to Derek Susalla.
Dick rushed for 93 yards for USA.
Dakota Gangler had 13 tackles, including a pair of sacks.
Brown City 48, Mayville 0
BROWN CITY — Nathan Primeau rushed for 199 yards and two touchdowns in leading Brown City over Mayville.
Overall, the Green Devils rushed for 393 yards while holding Mayville to 93 total yards.
“We needed to get our confidence back this week with a win,” said Brown City coach Scott Banks. “Our defense was much improved this week against the pass. We knew Mayville liked to throw the ball and our pass defense the past few weeks has not been very strong. The kids work hard this past week at practice to improve and were much better.
“We need to continue to improve next week and get ready for Sandusky. It is their Homecoming and we know they will be fired up...”
Some photos from the Harbor Beach vs. Ubly game...
8-0 Ubly. Long drive to start opening quarter.
ReplyDelete8-0 after one quarter.
ReplyDeleteUbly scoring drive was 17 plays, 80 yards.
Ubly 16-0.
ReplyDeleteUbly 24, Harbor Beach 0
ReplyDelete30-0 Ubly at the half.
ReplyDeleteUSA 36, BA 0
ReplyDeleteReese 6, Cass City 0
38-6 Ubly late 3rd quarter
ReplyDeletei Guess we have to look at ubly as the real deal thought this was suppose to be a test for UBLY just another sweeny and becker team do the best they can but have fun while you do it GO CATS GO
ReplyDeleteUbly 38-6 Final
ReplyDeleteLooks like USA Reese could be a good game this year. That is when you look at the comparative scores against Cass City. Maybe USA will get the Sugar bowl trophy back?
ReplyDeleteI am going to say right now USA wins that game against Reese.
ReplyDeleteis Ubly the new #1 in the power poll this week?
ReplyDeleteNot for me. Reese beat Harbor Beach, 41-0, Ubly beat Harbor Beach 38-6. Close, but not enough for me to change my vote now.
ReplyDeletePaul P.
Let the play-off sweepstakes begin!
ReplyDeleteHas there ever been a more confusing hunt for football play-off berths than in the incredible race for honors in the Thumb this year?
Let’s eliminate the lost causes. Peck (0-4), Memphis (1-4) and Kingston (2-3) in the NCTL. Bad Axe (0-5) and disappointing Laker High (1-4) in the GTW and the never made the play-offs ever Mayville Wildcats (0-5) in the GTE.
The unbeaten dominators… Deckerville, Reese and Ubly will roll along and qualify next week with 6 wins. All will pick up easy wins vs. Memphis, Lakers and Bad Axe respectively.
That leaves nine teems still hoping to make it to the big show. Surprising USA is the only school with a 4-1 record. Vassar, BCAS, Cass City, Sandusky, Brown City and Harbor Beach are all 3-2. Meanwhile, Marlette and North Huron though 2-3 can still conceivably make it.
North Huron (2-3) takes their chances traveling Up North to Mio where they meet a school facing a similar situation. Winnable Week 7 and 8 games followed by a most likely loss in Week 9. Ubly for the Warriors and Suttons Bay (5-0) for Mio. Winner can still sneak in with a 5-4 record. Mio did so last year.
Marlette (2-3) must win out…5-4 won’t make it in Div 6 with a schedule made of mostly smaller schools. Raiders have enough talent to play with the Harbor Beach, Deckerville and Brown City. However, being what must easily be the most penalized team in the area, the Raiders will most likely only play spoiler for the opp.
Now here’s where it gets interesting.
BCAS (3-2) Cougars get a break…5-4 in Div 8 would probably get them in. Should handle Mayville, but need to win over at least one of these schools Reese (5-0), Cass City (3-2) or in season finale with MLS (3-2)
Brown City (3-2) must win this week vs. Sandusky as Ubly looms ahead in Week 7. They finish against Marlette and Memphis.
Sandusky (3-2) make or break trio of up coming tough games…BC, HB and USA. Finish with Bad Axe
Harbor Beach (3-2) like the Redskins, the schedule remains tough…Marlette, Sandusky and USA. Play Mayville in Week 8
Cass City (3-2) …uh another extremely tough road ahead. BCAS, Vassar, a breather(?) vs. Lakers and then Caro (3-2).
Vassar (3-2) yet another of the 3-2 "boat people". USA, Cass City, likely win Bad Axe and then a very tough Week 9 date with backdoor rival Frankenmuth (3-2)
USA (4-1) Pats have the toughest upcoming schedule of all. Vassar, Reese, Sandusky and Harbor Beach. USA could finish 0-4 ala Cass City in 2008 when they lost 4 straight after a 5-0 start.
Wow, I really thought that the Beach/Ubly game would be a little bit more competative than that!!! I agree with Paul P that you still have to keep Reese as your #1. However, I will say this-if Coach Sweeney hadn't put his reserves in at the end of the game I beleive Ubly would have scored again, making the final 46-6. Pretty comparable score to the Reese/Beach game. So if you want to use that as your measuring stick I'd have to say Reese and Ubly are pretty well even.
ReplyDeleteSome notes on other area teams and their playoff lives:
USA-I actually think USA will beat Sandusky and Harbor Beach to make the playoffs. This may actually be a bad thing for Ubly because it will put Ubly and USA in the same district and would probably mean Ubly will have to go North instead of South this year. Seems to me Ubly has been much more successful going south in the playoffs (avoiding TCSF).
Harbor Beach-playoffs could happen this year for the Pirates. With USA, Sandusky and Marlette (the latter 2 playing about Harbor Beach's level)still to come, Beach needs to win 2 out of 3. I think USA game will be a loss, but the other 2 could go either way. Maybe a rematch with Ubly in week 10?
Cass City-last week I would have said no way Cass City makes playoffs, but after Friday's game, they still have a chance. Hanging with a tough Reese team shows they have the talent and the heart to pull this thing off.
Deckerville-yes,I know they've pretty much punched their ticket to the 2nd season, but the question is, how many home games, if any, will they get. And how competative can they actually be? The NCTL lowered their competition,and playoff points, but their non league games should keep their skill level up there, at least for this year.
Ubly-They keep on winning, but this team certainly is not of the caliber of the previous 2 or 3 years. This team kinda reminds me of the 2006 team. Not much was expected of them but they made it all the way to the semi's. How far they go depends on what kind of breaks they get in their district and region. A rematch with Harbor Beach or USA could be in the works. A win against either of these teams again is not guaranteed. Also, without Vassar on the schedule (a Class B team), I don't see Ubly's playoff points being as high as in previous years, which means possibly having to go on the road if they make it past districts.
The big games yet to come: USA/Reese and Ubly/Deckerville. I see Reese beating USA, but the Ubly/Deckerville game is too close to call.
Quote falcon101 "their (Deckerville's) non league games should keep their skill level up there, at least for this year."
ReplyDeleteThe Eagles non league games will keep their skill level up there at least for 2011. With the revamped 18 team GTC, Deckerville will be playing Ubly and Reese in their crossovers. And, I'm sure, Bill and Nort will close the season by replacing Alcona with Sandusky. That is if the 'skins are "brave" enough!
CC, I'm sure that Deckerville would like that (having Sandusky) on the schedule, but don't be so sure on that.
ReplyDeleteA few GTE teams wanted nothing to do with Deckerville once they left for the NCTL and Sandusky was one of them.
I think a few "hard feelings" if you want to call it that, remain. Why didn't HB keep them on the schedule? Or Brown City? I don't think Ubly was to crazy to have them either but had to fill the void in their schedule somehow.
Perhaps things will soften with the new arrangement for next season.
There shouldn't be hard feelings as far as football goes. Deckerville football did not want to leave the GTCE I'm sure of that
ReplyDeleteno d-ville didnt want to leave the gtce but they couldnt find a way to get rid of ubly lol
ReplyDeleteand now that they are in the nctl they can be browns bullies again and run scores up and act like rules are for the other team not the mighty eagles
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I read a column in the trib. last year where Sweeney said they wanted to keep Deckerville on the schedule and would find a way to do that. The Deckerville/Ubly rivalry has been there for years and it would su** if they couldn't play each other every year. I think Deckerville hates Ubly as much as Ubly hates Deckerville. No love lost between these teams, that's what makes this game the best one on the schedule every year.
ReplyDeleteIf you honestly believe Bill Brown's focus is to come out and run the score up on NCTL teams then you've never sat down and talked football with this man. To be quite honest you sound like a bitter fan that maybe took a beating from Deckerville.
ReplyDeletePay no attention to the nay-sayers Deckerville Football is a tradition that nobodys OPINION is going change...so rag on us all you want..you can't change a thing!!
ReplyDelete30-0 Ubly at the half.
ReplyDelete