ACC QB matchup tops light schedule
Blood, Sweat and Tears.
The old rock group? Nope. A descriptive phrase brought on by the rugged summer workouts devised by Warren WoodsTower head football coach Al Gulick and his staff? Quite possibly.
“We conditioned them hard during the summer,” said Gulick. “One day we had something we called the Magic Mile. It was really hot that day. Basically, the kids had to run a quarter mile, then run the bleachers, do plyos (plyometrics), plate work and things like that.
“It was called the Magic Mile because everyone had to run four quarter-mile laps and go through the stations four times. After each lap, they had to do the stations. All the coaches agreed that if the kids came back the next day after that workout, we had them hooked,” recalled Gulick, chuckling.
The kids came back. They kept coming back. That kind of intense conditioning helped lead to a 4816 victory over Cousino in the season-opener Friday night. It was a MAC Division game.
“We did not think we played very well in the first half tonight,” said Gulick. “We played a lot better in the second half.
“We talked about it at halftime. Defensively, we had to tackle better. Cousino has a couple of big running backs who run hard. We weren’t wrapping up. Offensively,
we were not blocking well, especially on pass blocking,” continued the WWT coach.
“We have some pretty high expectations for this group of kids. That is why we were so disappointed at halftime. We think we are pretty talented. The kids work hard in practice and the way they worked in the summer, this might be the best-conditioned team I have ever had,” said Gulick.
That rugged conditioning really paid off in the third and fourth quarters, when the Titans began to dominate play.
Among the team leaders against Cousino were senior wide receiver/cornerback Mickus Simmons; Xzazion Allen, a junior safety; and junior running back Omari Embree.
Against Cousino, Simmons made seven catches in the first half alone. He also had returned a kick for a touchdown and had an interception. His kick return came after Cousino had taken a 3-0 lead.
Allen picked off a couple of Cousino passes. He is also the Titans’ punter and he kicks extra points. Embree had a touchdown run and catch.
“This is a tight group of kids,” said Gulick. “We have great senior leadership. They like hanging out with one another. One of the reasons I think they kept coming back for workouts during the summer is they wanted to get out of the house and be with their teammates.”
Those teammates took care of one another Friday night, especially late in the game.
“We were still flying around in the fourth quarter,” said their coach. “We certainly did not get gassed.”
The WWT Titans fill up the tank and travel to Eastpointe for another MAC Gold contest next week.
MAC WHITE DIVISION
A three-yard touchdown run with less than a minute to play gave the Marauders this division win.
Mott trailed 11-0 at halftime.
Scoring touchdowns for Lakeview were Alex Sorgeloos on a 36-yard run and Tristan Witt, who went in from nine yards out.
MAC SILVER DIVISION
CLINTONDALE 22, MADISON 6
It’s time for a rewrite of the American History books at Clintondale High School.
The Dragons overcame six turnovers to beat Madison for the first time in the school’s history. Clintondale did force four fumbles, one of which was returned for a 5-yard TD by Antonio Johnson, and recorded a safety.
Kareem Harmon (two tackles, sack), Phillip Brown, Carell JimenezChapman and Jason McKnight each had fumble recoveries, while Markail Owens-Lacey recorded a safety. Aaron Patterson led the team with four tackles.
On offense, Dacaria Jenkins (11 carries, 50 yards rushing) opened the scoring on a 7-yard run and Owens-Lacey (14 carries, 30 yards and 24 yards receiving) ran in a 2-point conversion.
Malik Selma also hauled in an 18-yard TD from TeChaun Thedford (9 carries, 38 yards and 5 of 12 passing for 42 yards).
Madison’s score was a 17-yard pass from Dylan Brown to DJ Ray.
BWAC
ARMADA 24, RICHMOND 23
Eric Rogers kicked a 25yard field goal with five seconds left to lift Armada in the first game played on Richmond’s new turf field. Kyle Coenen ran for all three Armada touchdowns.
Senior linebacker Shane Vandebossche opened the scoring with a fumble recovery in the end zone and later added an interception.
Mason Smith led the offensive
effort with 76 rushing yards and two touchdowns for the Raiders. Emilio Lord tacked on 57 yards and a rushing touchdown, while quarterback Noah Houvener also had a rushing touchdown.
The Raiders racked up 211 rushing yards in the victory. Landon Kruse and Nolan Panduren each had two tackles for loss.
“It was great to be back on the field tonight with all of the recent uncertainty,” said Almont coach James Leusby. “The kids were excited and played well at times tonight. It was a different atmosphere with a limited crowd but the support from our fans was still much appreciated. We’ll get back to work on Monday.”
NON LEAGUE
MICHIGAN COLLEGIATE 40, DETROIT LEADERSHIP 0
A Black eye. That’s what Detroit Leadership walked away with.
Michigan Collegiate’s Black brothers — junior quarterback Deion Black and senior wide receiver DeMarco Black — helped the Cougars put the hurt on their opponents in this non-league affair.
Michigan Collegiate concluded the game’s opening drive with a nine-yard rushing touchdown by Deion Black. Deion hooked up with his brother on a 11-yard scoring strike later in the half. A safety and a two-point conversion made it 16-0 at halftime. The conversion came on a pass from Deion Black to Tre Redding.
In the third quarter, Deion connected with DeMarco for a 64-yard touchdown. DeMarco also rushed for a score that measured 44 yards. Deion completed nine of 14 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns. DeMarco had two TD receptions and a rushing touchdown.
The defense was led by junior end Cameron Roetherford, senior tackle Omar Hanne and senior linebacker Zack Thompson.
Michigan Collegiate entertains Detroit Community Friday.
NCTL STARS DIVISION
DECKERVILLE 58, MERRITT ACADEMY 17
Merritt Academy’s Deshawn Terhune rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns (six and 15 yards). Ryan Morgan added 66 yards rushing and 60 yards receiving along with a twopoint conversion. Lillian Hayter connected on a 25 yard field goal for the Mustangs.
Merritt Academy travels to Morrice next week.
Volleyball
MAC GOLD DIVISION
LAKE SHORE 25-17-16-2515, ROSEVILLE 21-25-2520-10
A Cotton blend turned into a mighty comfortable win for the Shorians (1-1 MAC Gold.)
Setter Samaia Cotton finished the match with 16 assists. Registering nine kills each were Rachel Stepanenko and Sydney VanDerHaegan.
MAC WHITE DIVISION
FRASER 25-25-26-25, UTICA 19-16-28-14
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound of ...victory.
Fraser’s Maddie Grace had quite a night. She finished with 16 kills and five solo blocks. She also went 13-of-15 from the service line with 11 points and an ace.
Erica Gregory had 13 kills and 14 digs. She was good on 18 of her 19 serves with 11 points and an ace. Cassidy Victor tallied eight kills. Paige Slone chalked up 44 assists. She had 18 good serves for 18 points and two aces.
MAC RED DIVISION
EISENHOWER 25-25-25, L’ANSE CREUSE NORTH 18-13-10
The Crayola color of the night was Red.
Coach Caitlin LaPratt’s Eisenhower Eagles played their first MAC Red match and came up with a win.
Sydney Palazzolo had 16 kills, 18 digs, three aces and one block; Kira Buza tallied 11 kills, three aces, three digs and a block; Chloe Cole finished with nine kills and two digs; Maddy Mets had six kills and one block; Katie Smith wound up with five kills and three blocks; Angelena Tripi tallied 32 assists, 12 digs and a block while Abbey Biermann ended the night with 20 digs and three assists.
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
REGINA 25-25-25, BISHOP FOLEY 12-8-19
Maybe this match should have been sponsored by the MGM casino. Both Maggie Peitz and Bella Pine gathered five aces on the night. Peitz also had six kills, while Pine piled up eight digs.
Also for Regina: Heather Broski had five kills; Sam Klausing finished with five kills and two blocks; Cassidy Suzor had five kills and Reagan Stempin collected 18 assists.
Marshall law was declared at Lutheran North Friday.
Megan Marshall finished with five aces, four kills and a block for the Mustangs, (1-0, 2-0.) Kiley Comiskey had four kills and four solo blocks. Alex Valentini chipped in with five kills, while Leah Vermuelen had 11 consecutive service points. Madi Hampel finished with 10 assists.
The Mustangs travel to Waren Woods Tower for a quad on Monday.
Golf
MAC WHITE DIVISION
MARYSVILLE 195, LAKEVIEW 214
(At Marysville GC, par 36)
MARYSVILLE: Anna Tovarez 46, Jacque Tanner 49, Jordyn Roberge 49, Syrina Wisner 51.
LAKEVIEW: Layne Kilroy 44, Ashley Lutomski 49, Lily Waszak 57, Carly DenBaas 64.
(Marysville is 3-3; Lakeview is 2-4.)