Oilers win season opener against BCW
It was a “coming out party,” of sorts, for Mt. Pleasant High senior Caden Schlicht Friday night at Community Memorial Stadium.
The 5-10, 165-pounder got the 2020 football season off to a racing start for the Oilers in spearheading the home team to a 23-6 Saginaw Valley League win over Bay City Western.
Midway through the first period Schlicht jumped in front of a Warrior pass and returned it 10 yards for a Mt. Pleasant touchdown.
And, then just 70 seconds later, he scampered around left end on a wide receiver sweep to score from 28 yards out for a quick 13-0 Mt. Pleasant lead.
“I couldn’t be happier for Caden,” said Oiler head coach Jason Mcintyre. “He’s been a role player in the past but spent a lot of time in the weight room and got a little bigger, and he came up big for us tonight.”
The two touchdowns were Schlicht’s first two on varsity ... and he wasn’t touched on either play.
“It was great to get the win but I never would have dreamed it would happen like this,” Schlicht said. “The interception came on eye transition when the quarterback cocks his arm you look for the receiver. I did and there was the ball.”
Normally, the home crowd would have erupted on his two scoring plays but with the smaller crowd due to COVID-19 restrictions, it was much quieter.
“I just ran to my teammates and celebrated with them,” Schlicht explained.
Other than the beautiful TD run by Schlicht that completely fooled the Warriors, the Mount Pleasant offense was a little off.
“I don’t think either team played well on offense, and our defense did a great job of getting us the ball early,” Mcintyre said. “For a first game and the mistakes we made, I’m definitely happy with the win.
“I’m just thankful that our seniors got a chance to get on the field because we weren’t too sure if that would happen. You
definitely noticed how quiet it was, and how much we missed the student section and the band.”
The crowd was limited to two fans per participant including the players and cheerleaders.
The Oiler players wore face shields on their helmets.
“It wasn’t too bad until it started getting colder and they fogged up a bit,” Schlicht said.
A combination of three turnovers in Western’s first three possessions and Schlicht’s heroics led to the 13-0 lead after one period. Junior Kory Davis also had an interception for the Oilers and senior Brody Leonard
recovered a fumble.
Mt. Pleasant picked up three more points in the second period on a 23-yard field goal by senior Andrew Funnell for a 16-0 lead at the break.
After a scoreless third period, the Oilers added a little insurance in the fourth on a 6-yard run by junior Da-vee Abinojar.
The Warriors scored on a freak play with 1:05 remaining. QB Jack Fryzel completed a pass to R.J. Horning who then fumbled the ball into the end zone where Zander Gall recovered for a TD.
Mt. Pleasant held a 300243 edge in total offense, 226 coming on the ground behind the one-two punch of senior Mark Goenner (82 yards on 18 carries) and Abinojar (72 in 15).
“We probably should
have opened things up and passed the ball more,” Mcintyre said. “I liked what I saw of the passing game.”
Junior quarterback Ryan Mcintyre, son of the coach, completed 8-of-11 passes for 74 yards. The Oilers only tried two passes in the second half, connecting on both for 18 yards.
The Warriors gained just 27 yards on the ground but picked up 216 yards through the air.
Next up for Mt. Pleasant is a game at Bay City Central this coming Friday as the Oilers’ trip through the Saginaw Valley League continues.
All teams qualify for the playoffs this season following a six-game regular season.
Should Mount Pleasant reach the state title game, it will be in December.