Rudyard here for homecoming game

It is one of those seasons where games don?t get any easier with the next opponent. After a 33-14 loss to 4-1 Benzie Central last week, the Hurons face a pack of mad Bulldogs this Friday who may be much better than their record shows. The homecoming matchup with Rudyard, a deceiving 1-4, poses a new set of problems for the Hurons. The Bulldogs narrowly lost to undefeated St. Ignace 7-6 last week. At 2-3, Rogers City is the first team they will face which has a sub-.500 record.

?Although Rudyard has only won one game all season, they have an extremely tough defense,? said Huron coach Bob Brietzke. ?We need to work at solving this tough defense and score enough points to win our homecoming game.? Rudyard lost 13-12 to Benzie Central in week three and lost 28-12 to Newberry (4-1). The Bulldogs opened the season with a 44-0 loss to Kingsley, which the Hurons will host October 24, and a 20-6 win over Indian River Inland Lakes (3-2).

LAST WEEK, a 175-mile bus trip to Benzonia ended in disappointment as Benzie Central rang up 412 rushing yards in a straight-ahead style to defeat the Hurons. ?Long bus rides always tend to make a team less sharp and ready to play. That is one advantage to playing at home. Having said that, if we have played Benzie at Gilpin Field, I still feel we would have had problems stopping their high-powered running game,? Brietzke said. ?Their offensive line was big and talented and it controlled the line of scrimmage which was the difference in the game.?

Benzie?s defense got the first score, running back a Huron fumble 45 yards for a touchdown at the 10:40 mark of the first quarter. Later in the first quarter a 34-yard TD run, and the PAT, made it 14-0. Tim Cercone and Kyle Greene hooked up on an 88-yard pass play and Cercone passed to Cody Wenzel for the two-pointer to pull the score to 14-8. But the Huskies struck quickly, scoring on a 47-yard run through the middle to make the score 21-8 at halftime. The straight-ahead play would torment the Hurons all night long. ?The Huskies ran the fullback trap as well as any team we?ve ever faced in my 22 years of coaching. No matter what adjustments we made to stop the trap Benzie always seemed to have an answer,? Brietzke said. Brietzke and defensive coach Mike Kosiara made the radical move of having the defenders stand up, rather than attack from a four-point stance. ?This seemed to slow Benzie down, but too little, too late,? Brietzke said.

BENZIE SCORED two more times in the third quarter to make the score 33-8 before the Hurons added a late score in the fourth quarter. Senior QB Cercone plunged in from the one to make th

e final score 33-14. There were a few bright spots in the game, according to the head coach. ?Our passing game has been consistently effective in all five games we?ve played this year,? he said. ?Dylan Centala had a good game on offense, averaging seven yards a carry.? Injury-wise, James Bruning and Trent Holmes may miss Friday?s game with knee and shoulder injuries. Running back and linebacker Judd Vekaryasz is expected to play, after sustaining an injury last week. Friday?s game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Gilpin Field. The game will be broadcast on WVXA, 96.7-FM with Karl Grambau handling the play-by-play action.

Statistics: Total offense, RC 98 yards rushing, 228 yards passing. BC 412 yards rushing, 35 yards passing. Individual: Passing: Cercone 12-of-24, 228 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT. Receiving: Greene 5/169/1; Wenzel 4/41/0; Streich 1/17/0; Centala 1/1/0. Rushing: Centala 11/76/0; Fairbanks 3/12/0; Kelley 3/11/0; Schuiteman 3/11/0; Streich 2/5/0; Vekaryasz 1/-1/0. Defensive leaders: Greene 11 tackles, 1 assist, 1 fumble recovery; Streich 8 tackles, 5 assists; R. Brege 7 tackles, 6 assists. Gorlewski, fumble recovery.