Hurons look for two in a row at Pinconning
A key defensive play propelled the Hurons to a 30-22 win over the Rudyard Bulldogs last week. Now sights are set on the Pinconning Spartans and another long road trip. The Spartans are in the playoff hunt at 4-2 following a 49-0 stomping of Oscoda (1-5). Pinconning had a three-game winning streak stopped at the hands of undefeated Tawas (6-0) in a 30-24 loss in week five. Their other loss came in the season opener to Essexville-Garber (2-4) at 21-14. The Spartans defeated Harrison (1-5) 40-0, Bay City John Glenn (4-2) 40-0, and Ogemaw Heights (2-4) 14-8. Looking ahead to October 17, the Hurons have a shot at sharing the Straits Area Conference title, if they get by host Newberry (5-1), a 26-15 upset winner over St. Ignace last week.
LAST WEEK AT GILPIN Field, the defensive play of the game came on a PAT attempt after Rudyard answered a Huron TD late in the third quarter with a score of their own. With the score 24-16, Rudyard marched 67 yards in 12 plays, converting on three fourth down attempts. The first fourth down conversion came at their own 35, with a pass out of a punt formation for 15 yards. The second came on a Huron pass interference call giving the Bulldogs a first down at the Huron 24. Then, facing fourth-and-one, Rudyard quarterback Trent Salo faked a handoff up the middle, bounced outside and cruised the final 15 yards for a score.
At 24-22 and with a chance to tie the score with the two-point PAT, Huron linebackers Judd Vekaryasz and Scott Heinzel stopped Salo at the goal line. A late Huron TD provided the final margin of victory. ?We know that to play good defense everyone needs to carry out his assignment,? said Huron coach Bob Brietzke. ?When this happens, our defense is decent. When it doesn?t happen, our defense is mediocre. (Defensive) Coach (Mike) Kosiara?s halftime adjustments limited Rudyard to 87 yards rushing in the second half.?
RUDYARD SCORED first in the game, using just under four minutes to cover 68 yards. The Hurons got their scoring going by marching 62 yards in 13 plays, scoring on a Tim Cercone to Kyle Greene pass from the 14 yard-line on a fourth and 11 play. Cercone hit Cody Wenzel on a slant for the two-pointer and the teams were tied at 8-8 at the four-minute mark. Rogers City took a 16-8 lead after forcing a Rudyard three-and-out. Wenzel returned a punt 22 yards to the Rudyard 28 yard-line, giving the Hurons great field position. Cercone and Greene connected on a 15-yard pass before freshman Tyler Schuiteman went over right tackle for a 13-yard touchdown run. Cercone passed to Greene for the two-point conversion and a 16-8 Huron lead with 1:27 left in the first quarter.
RUDYARD MADE good on two more fourth down plays on its next drive. Using mostly a straight ahead running game, Tom McKee took a handoff from Salo and streaked 15 yards for the TD. McKee ran in the conversion and the score was 16-16 at halftime. Rogers City regained the lead at the end of a 64-yard drive near the end of the third quarter. The Hurons picked up a first down when a Rudyard defender interfered with Wenzel on a pass over the middle. After a run up the middle for two yards by sophomore tailback Dylan Centala, senior back Justin Kelley took an inside handoff and gained 12 yards around the right side. Another defensive penalty put the ball at the Rudyard 18. Vekaryasz picked up five yards, and then Centala ran it to the four. A Huron holding penalty moved the ball back to the 14 yard-line. After one pass fell incomplete, Cercone avoided a heavy rush to find Wenzel in the left corner of the end zone for a TD. Kelley twisted his way through the middle for the two-point run and the Hurons led 24-16 with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
THEN CAME THE Rudyard drive and failed PAT. The ensuing Huron drive ended with an interception at the Rudyard four. Then the Huron defense went to work. McKee gained six yards on first down then two on second. A third down play lost a yard and again Rudyard decided to go for it on fourth and four with 3:35 left and the ball at the Huron 11. This time a pass fell short and the Hurons took over on downs. The choice to go for it on fourth down didn?t surprise Brietzke. ?Rudyard had gone for it so many times already, and they needed to score points or go home having lost the game,? he said. Stopping the running game at that point proved to be the game-winner. ?Coach Kosiara made adjustments with how our outside linebackers, Kyle Greene and Scott Heinzel, were playing the outside Veer, the play that gave us trouble the entire game. The adjustments paid div
ON THE FIRST play of the drive, Dustin Streich took a handoff and ran left for the 11-yard TD run. The PAT failed and the Hurons led 30-22 with 3:03 left. The TD was great, but plenty of time showed on the clock. ?We noticed that Rudyard was blitzing their linebackers up the middle. So, we ran a sweep and Dustin Streich scored an insurance TD which enabled us to relax just a little,? Brietzke said. Friday?s game will be broadcast on WVXA 96.7 FM with Karl Grambau doing the play-by-play. The broadcast is available on the Internet at WVXA.com
Statistics: Passing: Cercone 8-of-18, 60 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT. Receiving: Greene 5/43/1; Wenzel 2/17/1; Vekaryasz 1/0/0. Rushing: Vekaryasz 7/64/0; Streich 6/43/1; Centala 9/36/0; Schuiteman 4/23/1; Kelley 3/18/0; Fairbanks 1/2/0; Cercone 1/-7/0. Defensive leaders: Heinzel 11 tackles, 2 assists; Streich 8 tackles, 6 assists; Cercone, fumble recovery.