Week 4 Tribune Sports Blog Contest Games

Here are the games for Week 4 of the Tribune Sports Blog Football Contest.
Winners from Weeks 2 and 3 and overall stuff is coming...

THE GAMES...
2 pointers
Bad Axe at BCAS
Mayville at Ubly
Massachusetts at Michigan
North Huron at Deckerville
Sandusky at Memphis

5 pointers
Vassar at Reese
Kingston at Au Gres
Owen-Gage at A-Fairgrove
CPS at Eastern Washtenaw
CMU at EMU
Northern Michigan at Northwood
Lake Erie at Saginaw Valley State
USC at Minnesota
Boise State at Wyoming
Iowa at Arizona

10 pointers
Notre Dame at Michigan State
Harbor Beach at Brown City
Cass City at USA
Marlette at EPBP
Eagles at Lions

Tie breaker – Marlette at EPBP, total points...
Good Luck1

USA uses 4th quarter flurry to clip Lakers

Here is the game story and some photos from the USA vs. Lakers game from Friday night...
You can click on the photos and they will expand!

PIGEON — Jason Beagle and his Unionville-Sebewaing Area Patriots take pride in their conditioning.

It showed here Friday night in their Greater Thumb West showdown with Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port.

Instead of floundering in the fourth quarter, the 14-player Patriots flourished, scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the final 7:41 en route to a surprising 21-6 victory over the Lakers.

“The way we run these guys, they should never be tired,” said Beagle. “Most of the kids do not come off the field. They play 48 minutes. You want to talk about kids in game shape? We’re in game shape, no doubt.”

Nobody was in better game shape than USA senior Tim Canfield. The Patriots’ co-captain rushed for 112 yards and one score, and added a 60-yard punt return for another touchdown. Tyler Dick chipped in an insurance touchdown late for the Patriots, who have now won two straight GTW games after a season-opening loss.

Meanwhile, the stunned Lakers have dropped two in a row after opening the season with a promising road win at Carrollton. The Lakers have scored just once in eight quarters since Week 1.

“Their speed got to us,” said EPBP coach George Gardy. “ I thought we played pretty well  for three quarters and then they came out and played well in the fourth quarter. That was the difference. 

“We just did not do enough offensively. We have to get better.”

The Lakers’ lone score came midway through the second quarter on a 59-yard strike from Brody Lawrence to Tim Warack.

Walter VanHouten led the Lakers with 85 yards on 14 carries.

Other than that, the Lakers were stymied, turning the ball over four times and hurt by untimely penalties which stalled potential scoring drives.

“Lakers are big, they’re bruisers,” Beagle said. “We told them that we just had to hang around. We had to let our conditioning pay off. Our conditioning doesn’t do anything in the first quarter. 

“The defensive line did a good enough job of getting some penetration and throwing off their timing. We limited their big plays. And Mike Bednarski, who got hurt early in Week 1 against Ubly, came back and stepped in and played a great game.”

Neither team mustered much offense in the opening half. EPBP finally got on the board at the 6:49 mark of the second quarter when Lawrence lobbed the ball up for Warack, who made a nice juggling catch and raced the rest of the way into the end zone. 

The Patriots came back and threatened to punch it in late, but were thwarted as the half ended. Despite that, Beagle was optimistic about the second half.

“At 6-0 in the first half against that team, to us, that’s a victory,” he said. “We knew we could come back.”

Things didn’t turn around for USA until midway through the final quarter. EPBP had the ball at its own 35 with a fourth down and less than a yard to go. Instead of gambling and going for it, Gardy played the percentages and punted to Canfield, who made a few moves to the outside and strolled 60 yards for the game-tying TD.

“Last week against All Saints, he had a kick return which changed the momentum of the game,” Beagle said. “And tonight, that punt return did the same thing.”

Indeed.

After an interception by USA’s Dan Rieck — his first of three fourth-quarter picks — Canfield capitalized when he rambled 65 yards for the go-ahead TD. He also added the 2-pointer, making it 14-6 with 5:02 to play.

After another interception by Rieck gave the ball to USA at the Laker 30 with 3:25 left, Dick scooted in from 10 yards for the game’s final score.

USA hosts undefeated Cass City next week in another important GTW battle. 

Beagle will continue to stress conditioning as the season goes on.

“We told them, ‘You’re not going to like this, but this is going to look like track practice, but we have to get you in shape,’” he said. “They haven’t complained. They’re like, ‘OK, let’s go run.’”

The Lakers host Marlette next week in a GTC crossover contest.

“We have to work on some things,” Gardy said. “Hopefully, we can have a good week of practice and get back on track.”

EPBP’s Tim Warack goes high in the air to snare a TD pass against USA’s Dan Rieck. 

A slew of EPBP tacklers bring down USA’s Tim Canfield, including Cody Cucinello (59), Nate Krohn (84), John Eile (40) and Jim Kosinski (61). 

USA quarterback Chris Harper rolls out and looks down field.

Jay Richmond hauls down Chris Harper.

EPBP's Walter VanHouten battles with USA's Dan Rieck

Walter VanHouten is brought down by USA's Alex Khoury.

Week 3 – Friday Night Fun

A good Friday night to all,
Post all your scores and highlights on this thread.
Bogan is at USA at Lakers
Adams is at Marlette at Ubly.
If we have time tonight, we will post photos.
If not, they will be up later this weekend.
Good luck to all.

Here are the current standings and all of Friday's area scores...

GREATER THUMB WEST

Team W L W L PF PA

USA 2 0 2 1 48 56

Vassar 2 0 2 1 85 34

Cass City 1 0 3 0 102 27

Reese 1 0 3 0 118 20

BCAS 0 2 1 2 68   91

EPBP 0 2 1 2 22 41

Bad Axe 0 2 0 3 06 163

GREATER THUMB EAST

Team W L W L PF PA

Ubly 2 0 3 0 101 36

Marlette 1 1 1 2 50 82

Sandusky 1 1 1 2 104 92

H. Beach 0 0 2 1 81 55

Brown City 0 0 2 1 109 40

Mayville 0 2 0 3 38 145

NORTH CENTRAL THUMB

Team W L W L PF PA

Deckerville 2 0 3 0 140 13

Kingston 1 1 2 1 99 90

North Huron 0 0 1 2 69 122

Memphis 0 1 1 2 63 98

Peck 0 1 0 3 18 120

8-MAN

Team W L W L PF PA

CPS 1 0 3 0 158 48

A-Fairgrove 1 0 1 2 46 74

Owen-Gage 0 0 1 1 64 70

THURSDAY’S RESULT

8-MAN

CPS 41, Flint MSD 6

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

GTW

Cass City 61, Bad Axe 0

Vassar 52, BCAS 14

USA 21, EPBP 6

GTE

Ubly 33, Marlette 8

Sandusky 55, Mayville 18

NCTL

Deckerville 38, Peck 6

Kingston 49, Memphis 21

NON-LEAGUE

Reese 41, Harbor Beach 0

Brown City 54, North Huron 21

8-MAN

A-Fairgrove 30, E. Washtenaw 8

SATURDAY’S GAME

8-MAN

Wyoming Tri-Unity at Owen-Gage, 1 p.m.

NEXT FRIDAY’S GAMES

GTW

Bad Axe at BCAS

Cass City at USA

Vassar at Reese

GTE

Harbor Beach at Brown City

Mayville at Ubly

NCTL

North Huron at Deckerville

NON-LEAGUE

Marlette at EPBP

Sandusky at Memphis

Kingston at Au Gres

8-MAN

Owen-Gage at A-Fairgrove

CPS at E. Washtenaw

Bearcats eager for home opener

UBLY — With his Ubly squad trailing 21-0 after one quarter last week against Sandusky, Bill Sweeney glanced at the scoreboard, gathered his team and gave it one simple message.

“I told the kids, ‘We have to play our type of football’ — and I really like how the kids responded,” said Sweeney, whose Bearcats turned that first-quarter deficit into a hard-fought 30-28 victory over the Redskins in the Greater Thumb East opener for both teams.

“It’s been a long, long time since we’ve been down 21-0,” Sweeney added. “You don’t very often come back from (a deficit) like that.

“The big thing was we had plenty of time. We had three quarters to get back into the game.”

It took just one quarter for the Bearcats to steal back the momentum. They led 22-21 at the half, and then had to hang on in the final moments.

“We made some mistakes,” Sweeney said. “We turned it over, we had penalties... Sandusky threw the ball well and they gave us fits. I told them, ‘Look what can happen when things don’t go your way.’ But I think we learned something from that. We’re growing up as a team.”

The victory extended Ubly’s regular season winning streak to 25 games, dating back to Week 4 of the 2007 season. This week, Ubly looks to push the streak to 26 games when it hosts Marlette on Friday night in another important GTE showdown.

“It’s kind of like back to reality,” said Sweeney, who’s had to replace eight starters on both offense and defense from last season’s team which advanced all the way to the Division 7 state semifinals. “I have been telling them that they are the 2010 Bearcats. Don’t let anybody else tell you differently. Set your own standard. 

“It’s been frustrating at times, but it can be rewarding, too.”

Ubly’s offensive recipe continues to be a potent ground attack. Last week, the Bearcats rushed for 340 yards, led by Bret Cleary’s 177 yards on 23 carries. Tyler Peruski added 90 yards while Bryan Nash chipped in 60 yards.

Defensively, the Bearcats gave up 183 yards through the air last week against the Redskins and quarterback Justin Mills, who completed 11-of-21 passes. Ubly’s defense has yielded more than 28 points just once during their impressive winning streak. 

Sweeney knows his team will be challenged by the Raiders, who have not beaten the Bearcats since a 35-7 decision in 2005.

“Marlette has a lot of talent,” he said. “They have all kinds of talent and a ton of athletic ability. They have some big receivers and they have some really good speed. 

“This is going to be a tough game for us. We are going to have to dictate the tempo.”

Prior to Friday’s game, Ubly will host a football field dedication ceremony for the late Jerry Herp. Former players who played under the Hall of Fame coach are invited to join the group on the football field for the dedication ceremony. 

Commemorative Herp Field t-shirts will be available, as well. All proceeds from the sale of the shirts will help defray the cost of the granite marker that will be placed near the field. 

“The kids are excited to play,” Sweeney said. “But honestly, I really don’t know what to expect. Except for (a few guys) this is new for most of them, the first home game, the dedication... We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

THE STREAK LIVES ON...

Ubly has won 25 consecutive regular season games dating back to Week 4 of the 2007 season, a 39-12 loss to Harbor Beach on Sept. 14.

2007

1. EPBP 44-14

2. Br. City 47-0

3. Deck. 38-0

4. Sand. 41-6

5. B. Axe 50-8

2008

6. USA 46-12

7. Marlette 49-14

8. Mayville 47-0

9. H. Beach 42-6

10. Vassar 56-28

11. Br. City 48-8

12. Deck. 36-6

13. Sand. 39-6

14. B. Axe 53-14

2009

15. USA 38-12

16. Sand. 41-6

17. Marlette 50-12

18. Mayville 48-21

19. H. Beach 42-22

20. Vassar 40-14

21. Br. City 44-8

22. Deck. 56-36

23. B. Axe 51-12

2010

24. USA 38-0

25. Sand. 30-28

AVERAGE SCORE

Ubly: 1,114 (44.5) 

Opponent: 293 (11.7)

TRIBUNE POWER POLL

The Week 2 Power Poll for the GTC and NCTL as voted on by the Tribune sports staff. The power poll runs each week during the season in the Huron Daily Tribune. 

1. Ubly

2. Reese

3. Deckerville

4. Cass City

5. Harbor Beach

6. Vassar

7. EPBP

8. Brown City

9. Sandusky

10. USA

11. North Huron

12. Marlette

13. BCAS

14. Memphis

15. Kingston

16. Mayville

17. Bad Axe

18. Peck

OTHER GAMES

TODAY’S GAME

8-MAN

CPS at Flint MSD

FRIDAY’S GAMES

GTW

Bad Axe at Cass City

Vassar at BCAS

USA at EPBP

GTE

Marlette at Ubly

Sandusky at Mayville

NCTL

Deckerville at Peck

Kingston at Memphis

NON-LEAGUE

Harbor Beach at Reese

North Huron at Brown City

8-MAN

E. Washtenaw at A-Fairgrove

SATURDAY’S GAME

8-MAN

Wyoming Tri-Unity at Owen-Gage

  

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This week's polls...

Here are the Tribune's polls for this week.

Top 10 football poll

1. Ubly 2-0 48

2. Reese 2-0 47

3. Deckerville 2-0 40

4. Cass City 2-0 34

5. Harbor Beach 2-0 31

6. Vassar 1-1 25

7. EPBP 1-1 19

8. Brown City 1-1 16

9. USA 1-1 10

10. BCAS 1-1 4 

Others — North Huron (1)

Top 10 volleyball poll

1. Cass City 48 1

2. Reese 47 2  

3. Bad Axe   39 3

4. Marlette 37 4  

5. Deckerville 30 5

6. EPBP 26 6

7. USA 22 7

8. Brown City 16 8

9. Ubly 10 9

10. Memphis 8 10 

Others: North Huron, Caseville

Super 7 soccer poll

1. H. Beach  6-0-1 35

2. Memphis 5-1-1 30

3. USA 3-2-0 24

4. Bad Axe 2-1-1 21

5. EPBP 3-1-1 16

6. Marlette 2-1-1 9

7. Sandusky 1-3-0 5

Others: Cass City (1)

Week 3 Tribune Sports Blog Football Contest

Here are the games for Week 3 of the Tribune Sports Blog Football Contest.
I might have some football tickets for this week's winner. I will know later this week.
If not, 20 bucks...
To the games.

2 pointers
Bad Axe at Cass City
Marlette at Ubly
Deckerville at Peck
Sandusky at Mayville
Kingston at Memphis
Michigan State at Florida Atlantic

3 pointers
Vassar at BCAS
North Huron at Brown City
E. Washtenaw at A-Fairgrove
Wyoming Tri-Unity at Owen-Gage
Eastern Michigan at Miami, Ohio

5 pointers
Harbor Beach at Reese
Florida State at Oklahoma
Penn State at Alabama
Cowboys at Redskins

10 pointers
USA at EPBP
Michigan at Notre Dame
Miami, Fla. at Ohio State
Nicholls State at Western Michigan
Lions at Bears

Tie breaker – USA at EPBP (total points)