Hurons passing, receving records fall in loss to Boyne City

Coach Bob Brietzke?s Hurons can?t dwell on the ?if onlys? as they head into Friday?s home game with Alcona. A break or two the Hurons? way might have made a difference in a 48-26 loss to Boyne City last week. If only they had one more timeout at the end of the first half, if only a referee would have made a pass interference call, if only a couple of key turnovers didn?t happen. If only.

But football coaches and players cannot afford to deal in ?what ifs? because there is another game the week. The 0-2 Alcona Tigers come to Gilpin Field Friday, looking to get into the win column. ?I felt our team played very hard against an excellent football team,? Brietzke said about the Boyne City game. ?Give Boyne City credit for shutting down the Hurons’ running game. Give the Hurons credit for a record-breaking performance in the passing game which made for a truly exciting and memorable football game.?

MEMORABLE INDEED, with seniors Tim Cercone and Kyle Greene burning the airwaves with Huron single-game records. Cercone completed 20 (tying Tyler Hilla?s mark set in 2001) of 47 passes (a new record) for 366 yards (another new record). Greene, who drew double-and triple-teaming all night long, caught 12 passes for 259 yards, a new Huron single game record. He snared two of Cercone?s three TD passes.

THAT WOULD not be enough to stop a 22-point Rambler rally in the fourth quarter, breaking a 26-26 tie. Trailing 20-6 after a Rambler TD with 11:08 left in the second quarter, the Hurons rallied to tie the score 26-26 at the end of the third quarter. Cercone teamed with Greene on a 23-yard scoring strike with 7:59 left in the second quarter. Greene caught the ball at the 11 yard-line and carried two defenders on his back the final 10 yards. Then with 4:58 left in the half, sophomore Cody Wenzel took a slant pass over the middle and raced 55 yards for the score. That made it 20-18 at the half.

THE HURONS would have another chance in the closing moments of the first half, but would fail to score as time expired. A Cercone-to-Greene pass from the 10 yard-line brought the ball to the one, but the Hurons, out of timeouts, couldn?t punch it in before the half ended. The half ended on an incomplete pass to Greene, who was tightly covered, maybe too tightly pulled down, by three defenders. No flag was thrown as the half ended. Boyne lost the ball on downs on its first possession, and then the Hurons fumbled, with Boyne recovering on the Huron 39. Three plays later, Boyne reached the end zone on a one-yard run by senior Nick Sulak.

Later in the quarter, freshman running back Tyler Schuiteman scored on a five-yard counter play and the score was tied at 26-26 with 26 seconds left in the third quarter.

THEN DISASTER STRUCK as Boyne scored the next 22 points. Taking advantage of an interception at the Huron 35, Boyne scored on the next play. Then on the ensuing kickoff, the Hurons fumbled, giving the ball to the Ramblers on the Huron 12. One play later, the Ramblers had scored again. In less than 30 seconds, the Ramblers had put up 15 points and sewed up the game. Brietzke agreed. ?Both the fourth quarter interception and the fumbled kickoff led to Boyne City TDs and the Ramblers? eventual victory,? he said. A 42-yard run with 4:44 left in the game would cap the Ramblers? scoring.

EXCITING? HEARTBREAKING? Yes and yes, but good for the team, Brietzke said.

?I am extremely pleased at how our team moves the football. We do need to achieve better consistency in our run offense,? he said. Sophomore tailback Dylan Centala led the team with 57 yards on 15 carries while Wenzel had 45 yards on e

The defense must find a way to shut down the run against Alcona, as Boyne gained 361 yards on the ground. The Boyne passing game netted only 62 yards. Game time for Friday?s home contest is 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WVXA, 96.7 FM with Karl Grambau handling the play-by-play.

STATISTICS: Total offense: RC 366 passing, 116 rushing. Boyne: 361 rushing, 62 passing. Passing: Cercone 20-of-47, 366 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT. Receiving: Greene 12/259/2; Streich 5/33/0; Wenzel 3/74/1.

Rushing: Centala15/57/0; Wenzel 8/45/0; Schuiteman 4/12/1; Kelley 4/12/0; Fairbanks 1/-5/0; Streich 3/-5/0.

Defense: Kelley, 13 tackles, 2 assists; Heinzel 9 tackles, 1 assist; R. Brege 8 tackles, 2 assists.