Early lead erased in loss to St. Ignace

Too many turnovers and too much of Saint runners Jeremy McGinnis on the outside, and John Ross Closs on the inside was the formula for a Huron loss to the St. Ignace Saints (4-0) last week. In the third of three consecutive home games for the Hurons, undefeated St. Ignace took advantage of seven Huron turnovers in a 42-14 win.

?We knew that St. Ignace was explosive,? said Huron coach Bob Brietzke, who has had his share of shootouts with the Saints over the years. The average margin of victory between the two teams in Brietzke?s 22-year had been 25.5 coming into the contest. The Hurons looked to be in control early as they ran up a 14-0 lead on two Tim Cercone to Cody Wenzel TD pass plays on the Hurons? first two possessions of the game. The first came on a Saint turnover, one of three on the game. Senior outside linebacker Kyle Greene fell on a fumble at the Saint 32, then caught a Cercone pass at the Saint 16 on the next play. A fourth-and-one Cercone keeper kept the drive alive, setting up the scoring play.

Wenzel, lining up on the left side, faked a corner route, and then cut up the middle, snaring a Cercone pass at the goal line and falling in for the first score. The PAT failed but the Hurons led 6-0 in the early going.

FOLLOWING A Saint punt, the Hurons used eight plays to reach the end zone for the second time in as many possessions. Senior running back Dustin Streich picked up 13 yards on one carry and a pass to Judd Vekaryasz moved the chains again for the Hurons to set up the score. Cercone again hit Wenzel in stride, who then shook a Saint defensive back before scampering into the end zone. Wenzel and Cercone hooked up on the PAT and RC led 14-0 with 2:58 left in the first quarter.

?For us to hold them scoreless in the entire first quarter was great,? Brietzke said. ?In the second quarter, and thereafter, the Saints showed their true ability at moving the football and scoring.? St. Ignace responded by scoring the next 42 points to send the Hurons to 2-2. With the score 14-6, McGinnis broke an 88-yard run and Closs added the PAT two-pointer to tie the score with 8:36 left in the half.

BUT THE Hurons answered the bell with a drive of their own. Unfortunately, the drive stalled after a Cercone-to-Greene pass fell incomplete. With 3:25 left on the clock, the Saints mounted a 16-play drive, which ended when Closs carried in from the three with 19 seconds left in the half. The Saints led 20-16 at halftime. Again up to answer the bell, Cercone and Wenzel connected on what looked to be a 60-yard TD strike down the left sideline. But a holding call brought the ball back and turned the tide of momentum to the Saints. Of Rogers City?s four third-quarter possessions, three of them ended in an interception and one a punt. St. Ignace led 28-14 heading into the game?s final 12 minutes.

THINGS DIDN?T get better for the Hurons in the fourth quarter. Although they moved the ball well — on the first drive they made it to the Saint six yard-line — turnovers ended each Huron drive. ?Again, I say turnovers are a huge determiner in the outcome of a football game. We lost two fumbles and six interceptions to the Saints. The Hurons probably should have scored three more TDs, without the turnovers. But we still would have come up short on the scoreboard,? Brietzke said. Streich had a big day with 13 tackles and two assists while Vekaryasz and Randy Brege added 11 tackles each.

Next up for the Hurons is 3-1 Benzie Central in Benzonia. The three-hour bus ride, after three home games, could be a factor. Benzie lost to powerful and undefeated Traverse City St. Francis, while defeating three teams with a combined 2-10 record. As for his plan for Benz

ie, Brietzke will rely on the football basics. ?We need to avoid turnovers, score points, and try to shut their offense down,? he said.

The game will be broadcast on WVXA with Karl Grambau handling the play-by-play. Game time in Benzonia is 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Statistics: total offense: RC 130 rushing, 200 passing. St. Ignace 469 rushing, 59 passing.

Individual: passing: Cercone 17-of-37, 200 yards, 2 TD, 6 INT.

Receiving: Greene 8/102/0; Wenzel 5/64/2; Vekaryasz 3/22/0; Centala 1 (-3)/0.

Rushing: Fairbanks 5/38/0; Centala 10/22/0; Streich 7/30/0; Schuiteman 5/16/0; Vekaryasz 2/12/0; Kelley 1/10/0.

Defensive leaders: Streich 13 tackles, 2 assists; Vekaryasz 11 tackles, 2 assists; Brege 11 tackles, 1 assist; Greene, 3 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery; Cercone 6 tackles, 1 interception.