Late FG lifts Dakota over rival Chippewa Valley
High School football made its return on Friday night, and Dakota and Chippewa Valley reminded all of us how much it was missed.
Dakota’s Kollin Kralapp booted a 39-yard field goal with 1:01 to play in the fourth quarter, putting the visiting Cougars in front 23-20. From there, Dakota’s De’Javion Stepney intercepted a pass on the game’s final play, returning it 60 yards for a touchdown, securing a 29-20 seasonopening MAC Red Division win over the Big Reds.
“It’s a huge win and I am so happy for our kids,” Dakota coach Greg Baur said. “It’s been six months of not knowing what’s going on and it was great to play our rival, who played their tails off. I thought we played well but we made a lot of mistakes on third down. Bad mistakes. We’ll get better.”
Baur said he had no doubt that Kralapp would come through with the game on the line.
“I think we have one of the best kickers around and I have a lot of confidence in him,” Baur said. “I trust that kid with anything and he will make every field goal attempt that we give him. He’s one of the best kickers in the area.”
Chippewa Valley coach Scott Merchant said his young team got off to a rocky start, but showed great character and grit as the game wore on.
“The first quarter was very ugly, but it’s to be expected with so lit
football under our belt,” Merchant said. “I couldn’t be more proud of my team. To have four starters go down in the game and we had guys playing who have never played in a high school game. We went toeto-toe with Dakota and did a good job.”
Dakota jumped out to a 13-0 lead, scoring on a
1-yard run in the first quarter and 2-yard burst by Caiden Sloan early in the second quarter.
Chippewa Valley answered with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Schuster to Maddox Altamirano, and a 1-yard scoring run by Zion Mitchell, gaining a 14-13 lead at halftime.
The Cougars regained a 20-14 lead on a 1-yard scoring run by Sloan in the third quarter, before the Big Reds answered with
a 64-yard TD strike from Jack Donovan to Altamirano. The PAT failed and the game was tied 20-20 with 2:17 left in the third quarter.
“When we didn’t get penalties or turnovers, we did some nice things on offense,” Merchant said. “We had some things that set us back. But we’ll get better at those things.”
Dakota was led by Sloan with 100 yards on 24 carries, while Stepney added 82 yards on nine rushes.
Baur also praised the effort from his offensive line.
“We have two special running backs, but I think we have a really good offensive line,” Baur said. “There are three juniors up there who I think are going to be special players and two seniors that are very good.”
Chippewa Valley was led by Schuster, who completed 5-of-14 passes for 77 yards.
The win improved Dakota’s record to 1-0 overall, while Chippewa Valley fell to 0-1. Both coaches agreed
that starting the season off with the rivalry game was special.
“To me it’s the best rivalry in the state of Michigan,” Baur said. “Chippewa and Dakota is all you have to say, and everyone knows what that means.”
Merchant added, “Every game is a battle between us, whether you’re the favorite or underdog. It’s amazing to have two caliber football teams like we have in the same school district. It’s impressive.”