Sports

GRIDIRON ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:41:42 GMT

GRIDIRON ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
(for week of Aug. 22-28)

John Boss, Charlevoix

The Rayders' Boss Man, junior speedster John Boss, slashed and dashed to 91 yards rushing on 20 carries against St. Ignace and scored the Rayders' lone touchdown.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
(for week of Aug. 22-28)

Erica Westbrook, Boyne Falls

The Loggers' tenacious harrier finished near the top in the rugged 17-team Ryan Shay Memorial meet held in Central Lake on Saturday. Erica, a state qualifier last year, finished fourth among the ladies with an excellent early-season time of 13:03.6.

Ryan Shay Memorial Cross Country Invitational Results

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:38:02 GMT

Cross Country
Ryan Shay Memorial Cross Country Invitational Results
Area runners battle the heat
By Chris Fiel

CENTRAL LAKE – For many teams, this was the first meet of the season, and it was a hot one! With temperatures in the mid to high eighties, three area schools competed at the Ryan Shay Memorial Cross Country Invitational on August 28.
On the girl’s side of things, Boyne Falls finished fourth as a team with 124 points, while Ellsworth finished seventh (186 points) and East Jordan right behind them (198).
Individual medal winners were: Erica Westbrook (Boyne Falls) fourth overall in a time of 13:03, and teammate Kaylee Wilson finished 11th in 13:41. Other top finishers in the two-mile race were; Tanner McCune (East Jordan) 14:59, followed by Ellsworth’s Lindsey Fisher (15:05), Kathryn Miller (BF) in 15:07, Ellsworth’s Taryn Rozema (15:39), and teammate Dana Newman close behind in 15:41.

Other area runners were; Emily Matelski, Ali Bearss, and Andrea Reynolds of Boyne Falls, East Jordan was represented by: Holley Carson, Brady Brennan, Tess McNitt, and Elissa Weernstra. Ellsworth runners were; Hayley Drenth, Sarah Kearney, and Emily Veenstra. Ellsworth was also represented in the JV race by Larisssa Fisher, Norma Oviedo and Chelsea Randall.
For the area boy’s teams East Jordan finished sixth overall with 148 points, and Boyne Falls had 215 points for a ninth place finish.
East Jordan's Luke Hawley (11:21) and Josh Wojan(11:23) placed seventh and eighth, respectively to medal along with Ellsworth’s Jake Seaney who finished 20th in a time of 11:55.
Top area finishers included Travis Lange of Boyne Falls (12:48), Tyler Nachazel of East Jordan (12:52), Boyne Falls Steven Hart (13:01), Rob Nemecek (EJ) in 13:07, followed closely by Brendan Matelski of Boyne Falls in 13:10.
Other area runners were; Kory Skop, Max Reed, Will Miller, and Crosby Boettger of Boyne Falls, East Jordan was also represented by Tyler Galmore, and Ellsworth runners included; Chance Randall, and Jake Collins.

Young Rayders rush to victory

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:36:43 GMT

JV Football
Young Rayders rush to victory
By Chris Fiel
Charlevoix JV 30 St. Ignace JV 6
ST IGNACE – It didn’t take long for the Rayder JV team to show that they were ready, as Charlie Hamilton returned the opening kickoff 85-yards. The ground attack saw Charlevoix rack up a team total of 322, led by Hamilton’s 136 yards on 12 carries with a TD. Shane Sutherland chipped in with 14 carries for 51 yards and had a 2 point conversion. Tanner Catt was 5 of 10 passing with a TD and a 2 point conversion, he also ran for a 1 yard TD. Tommy Zipp was the leading receiver with five receptions for 59 yards, a TD and a 2 point conversion.
The defense was led by an aggressive Andrew Robarge with 13 tackles and Greyson Segele chipped in with 12. Coach Doug Waha credited the entire defense with playing an outstanding game. They recovered three fumbles in the game one each by Luke Klinger, Brad Rizzo and Logan Eckhardt. The lone St. Ignace score came on a fumbled pass attempt that was recovered in the end zone.

Red Devils fall in opener

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:35:15 GMT

Glen Lake 39, East Jordan 0

Red Devils fall in opener

High-powered Glen Lake exhibits powerful ground game

By Chris Fiel

EAST JORDAN — The Lakers of Maple City Glen Lake made sure the return of East Jordan coach Alan Peterson didn’t get off to a fast start. Glen Lake, which has a solid program year in and year out, scored three times before the half, including on an Elliott Clark 55-yard punt return, to go up 19-0.
The Lakers finished the game with 280 yards on the ground including five touchdowns, in the season opener for both schools.
Despite the loss, the Red Devils battled hard from start to finish and showed a lot of promise at times.
East Jordan’s offense was led by speedburner Jacob Baier, who carried the ball three times for 31-yards.
The Red Devil defensive charge was paced by nose guard Matt Warrington, who penetrated like a knife through butter to record 11 tackles. Linebacker Joltin’ John Richards made nine tackles.
On Thursday, Sept. 2, East Jordan traveled north of the bridge to take on St. Ignace (1-0). The Saints were coming off a low-scoring victory over Charlevoix. The St. Ignace game was played after this issue went to press. A report of the game will appear in the Sept. 9 issue.

Charlevoix drops opener to St. Ignace

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:32:22 GMT

Charlevoix drops opener to St. Ignace
Second half charge falls short
By Chris Fiel
St. Ignace 13, Charlevoix 6

CHARLEVOIX — The host Rayders fell short against the visiting Saints of St. Ignace in a non-conference battle at Kipke Field.
The first half saw the Saints jump out to a 13-0, but the Rayders had a scoring chance of their own, driving to the St. Ignace 2-yard line with less than 10 seconds to go in the first half, but failed to punch the ball in.
The second half saw Charlevoix put together an early drive highlighted by a 40-yard pass from quarterback Andrew Potter to a falling Dylan Putman. Two plays later John Boss crossed the goal line on a 5 yard-run to bring Charlevoix to within 13-6. The extra point was no good.
After trading possessions for most of the second half, the Rayders then drove the ball deep into St. Ignace territory, and reached the 2-yard line with less than two minutes to go in the contest, but were stopped short of the goal line on the Saints 1-yard line.
Rayder coach Don Jess had this to say about his team, "I thought our kids did a nice job of battling back after being down 13-0. It's tough to come a little short there at the end of the game, but we're a young team and we'll get better."
Charlevoix was led by the ground game of Boss as he amassed 91 yards on 20 carries, while Potter was 7 of 13 for 98 yards through the air.
The Rayder defense was led by senior linebacker Gunnar Zipp with 7 tackles.

Central Lake – Ellsworth Victorious over Johannesburg-Lewiston

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:23:21 GMT

Central Lake – Ellsworth Victorious over Johannesburg-Lewiston
Trojans overcome mistakes to secure win
By Chris Fiel
Central Lake 13, Johannesburg-Lewiston 6

JOHANNESBURG – First game jitters? Too hot? Whatever the reason, the Trojans had a difficult time offensively taking care of the ball, but with a stifling defense the Central Lake-Ellsworth Team overcame a seven turnover night to secure a come from behind victory.
That defense was responsible with holding the Joburg offensive attack to just 47 yards for the game (all on the ground), and an even bigger statistic; the Cardinals could not manage a single first down the entire second half.
After a first half that the Trojans would rather learn from and forget, one that saw them turn the ball over five times, and again at the beginning the second half.
The host Cardinals went up 6-0 with three minutes left in the first quarter, after a good drive that saw them take advantage of some Trojan mistakes.
“With the first half we had, the kids never quit, they didn’t give up on each other and kept fighting till the end and that was impressive,” said first year coach Rob Heeke. “Our defense played great, and while we made mistakes, it gives us an opportunity to learn from them.”
The Trojans scores both came on fourth down attempts. The first on an Ian Beal to Gus Merriweather on a nine-yard fade with 1:40 left in the third quarter. Mike King kicked the extra point to put Central Lake-Ellsworth up 7-6.
The fourth quarter saw the Trojans control the ball for nine of the twelve minutes, finally converting on a Beal to Zach Patton 18-yard pass with less than three minutes to go, the two-point conversion run attempt failed, putting Trojans up 13-6.
The Central lake-Ellsworth offense gained 210-yards total and was led by Mike King, who rushed for 88 yards on 25 carries, Tanner Davis pounded out 41-yards on the ground , and Ellsworth’s Robert Gruse had two carries for 9-yards. Ian Beal completed 3-of-7 passes for 51 yards and two touchdowns.
The hard charging defense was led by Mike King with 12 tackles, Luke Beal chipped in with eight, while Ellsworth’s Ben Veenstra had five. Merriweather and Ian Beal each recorded an interception as well.

Central Lake turned the ball over six times in the first half and on the first posession of the second half, but J-L could only manage one touchdown - a 10-yard run by Brian VanCoillie - off it.

Jon Peterson led the J-L rushing attack with 47 yards. Brett Kortman had a pair of interceptions to lead the defense, while VanCoillie and Blake Huff each had one. Justin Huff and Alex Payne had fumble recoveries.

Mike King led Central Lake with 90 rushing yards, while Tanner Davis had 41 yards on the ground. Beal was 3-of-7 passing for 51 yards.

Ramblers battle hard in defeat

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:16:33 GMT

McBain 28, Boyne City 14

Ramblers battle hard in defeat

Big plays in first half give McBain edge

By Mike Dunn

BOYNE CITY – The Boyne City football team had the unfortunate task of facing one of the top teams in all of northern Michigan in the season opener Friday. McBain, a perennial week-one rival, came to town and used its superior size and depth to forge out a very physical and hard-fought 28-14 victory.
McBain took a 20-6 halftime lead after scoring on two long plays in the second quarter, a 63-yard run by Logan Nemeth and a 91-yard pass from quarterback Jared Larr to Cody King.
McBain made it 28-6 early in the fourth quarter after eating up more than nine minutes off the clock with an 18-play, 96-yard march capped by a short pass from Larr to Travis Riedel. McBain controlled play in the trenches on the long march, banging out four, five and six yards at a clip.
Boyne, to its credit, made McBain work for every yard and every first down. Then the host Ramblers battled back to make a game of it just when it looked like the competitive phase of the game might be over.
After McBain took its 28-6 lead, Boyne responded with a gritty scoring drive of its own. The Ramblers started in good field position after junior Chris Myers made a long return of the ensuring kickoff and a late hit penalty was added. That gave Boyne a first down at the McBain 40.
Eight plays later, senior fullback Brandon “Doomsday” Darrah powered his way through a gaping hole straight up the gut to reach the end zone on a 5-yard tally. It was Darrah’s second TD of the game. In the first half, he also scored on an 11-yard dive play.
The big play in the fourth-quarter scoring march came on fourth-and-14 from the 35-yard line when junior quarterback Jay Redman, who showed exceptoinal poise in the pocket for his first varsity start, calmly connected with senior speedster Kolbi Shumaker out of the backfield for a 25-yard gain.
That brought the ball to the 10. Darrah pouned to the 5 on first down and then took it home on second down. Redman ran in for two points to make the score 28-14.
The Boyne defense, which played hard and played well most of the night with the exception of two breakdowns that led to the two long scoring plays in the first half, stopped McBain from running out the clock and got the ball back one more time to try and forge a late comeback.
The host Ramblers moved from their own 41 to McBain’s 27 but could get no farther. Redman, who remained composed and got better as the game went along, was 4-for-4 passing on the drive for 28 yards. His final pass to wide receiver Dustin Field on fourth-and-nine came up just inches short of a first down.
In the end, it was a case of missed opportunities for Boyne City, as head coach Don Nohel pointed out in post-game comments. Twice, the Ramblers moved the ball inside McBain’s 5-yard line and could not produce any points. Once in the second quarter after Darrah made a long kickoff return to give Boyne good field position and once in the third quarter after senior James O’Brien, who made big plays on both sides of the ball all game long, recovered a fumbled punt deep in McBain territory.
“We had our chances but we didn’t capitalize,” said Nohel, who is always classy after a game no matter the outcome. “You aren’t going to beat a very good team like McBain if you get inside the 10-yard twice and don’t score.”
In the second quarter drive, Boyne faced a fourth-and-four from the 7-yard line and Redman rolled to his left. When he didn’t find an open receiver, he wisely tucked the ball and ran with it. He literally came up an inch short of getting the first down at the 3.
In the third quarter, Redman rolled to his left once again on fourth-and-goal from the 4 and was not able to connect with a receiver in the end zone.
Nohel was pleased with how Redman conducted himself on and off the field and the poise he showed.
“Jay did a very good job,” Nohel said. “McBain is a big, physical team and they have a very tough defense, so this was not an easy game to open with for a quarterback making his first varsity start. We weren’t able to run the ball as well as we wanted to and normally we can use the run to set up the pass. We had Jay throwing the ball tonight a lot more than we typically do. He handled himself well under pressure and appeared to get more comfortable as the game went on.”
Redman hit on 10 of 20 passes for 103 yards and had key completions on both scoring drives. Field pulled in five catches for 39 yards and Shumaker had two for 55 yards. The physically imposing McBain defense, especially the front eight, did not permit Boyne to control the ball with its running attack and that was one of the factors in the outcome. Darrah ended up as Boyne’s leading rusher with 40 yards on 10 tries.
Darrah led the way defensively with 11 tackles and tenacious defensive tackle Burt Gage had nine. Brian Wonski also had strong night from his defensive tackle post and linebackers Taylor Reinhardt, Jalen Adams and Chris Myers were continually around the opposing ball carrier.
O’Brien had an interception in addition to his fumble recovery and he also set up Boyne’s first touchdown of the game and season with his 38-yard punt return.
Boyne plays at Rogers City on Thursday, Sept. 2, in another non-league contest. Rogers City is coming off a 21-8 loss to Hillman.
“They’ve have a solid program there for a long time,” Nohel said. “We have to learn from this one and move on. One positive from tonight is that it shows us where we’re at and what we need to improve on. Now it’s up to us to respond.”