Rudyard and RC to tangle Friday in search of first wins
Still in search of their first win of the season, the football Hurons host the winless Rudyard Bulldogs Friday at 7 p.m. Rudyard and Rogers City have one common foe this season in Pellston. Rogers City gave Pellston a battle before losing 7-6 while the Bulldogs lost to Pellston 31-8 the next week.
Last week Rudyard suffered a 51-0 loss to Johannesburg-Lewiston (4-2) in its most lopsided loss of the season.
Rogers City suffered a 33-0 loss in Hillman in a game of injuries. The status of two big linemen is not certain as the team heads into final practice this week. Junior center and linebacker Andrew Selke suffered a knee injury in warm-ups and offensive tackle and linebacker Caleb Pommerenke suffered an upper body injury late in the contest. Pommerenke’s injury came on a Huron punt with 2:10 left in the game. An ambulance took him away for treatment.
Several other Hurons were shaken up during the game but are expected to suit up for Friday’s contest.
In the Hillman game, the Hurons threatened, but didn’t push the ball over the goal line. After a 17-play opening drive ate up nearly seven minutes on the game clock they scored on a 11-yard pass and added the two-point conversion to go up 8-0 with 5:18 left in the first quarter.
A fumble by Huron quarterback Chris Lopez on third down of the first Huron possession set up the next Tiger score. Taking over on their own 46, the Tigers used eight plays to score. They connected on a fourth-and-goal 5-yard pass play to go up 14-0 with 11:55 left in the quarter.
The Tigers picked off a Quintin Kelly pass at the 50 to set up their next touchdown. This came on a 7-yard pass with 7:45 left in the half making the score 21-0.
Two plays later, a fumble recovery on a sack of Lopez gave the ball to the Tigers at the Huron 7. Three plays later the Tigers scored to make it 27-0 with 5:56 left in the half.
Rogers City managed to pick up a first down on its next drive as Kelly connected with Jacob Malocha for a 24-yard gainer. But two sacks set up third and 38 and an eventual punt.
Starting at the Huron 46, the Tigers needed four plays to score, converting on a 19-yard pass play to run the score to 33-0.
The Hurons’ second drive of the first half ended in disappointment. Evan Lamb broke a 27-yard run and then a 42-yard pass from Kelly to Lopez had the Hurons knocking on the door at the Tiger 6. But an interception and long return ended the threat.
Early in the fourth quarter, the
With time winding down, the Hurons again threatened after a Lopez to Cole Henry pass which covered 39 yards. But time expired on this drive inside the Tiger 25.
“We didn’t play well. They are no ifs ands or buts about it. We weren’t that much out. We just didn’t play well. Anything that could go wrong went wrong today. We are not making any excuses. We are going to continue to try to go forward. We have got to turn the corner,” said coach Tim Nagy after the game.
“The kids need to learn how to win.”
Friday’s game will be broadcast on 99.9 FM with Karl Grambau, Karl Momrik and Andy Grambau calling the action.