Win was ‘almost everything’ for L’Anse Creuse
L’Anse Creuse and Fraser are trying to find traction this football season, so perhaps it was fitting that the
MAC Blue rivals played a one-point game.
“We left a lot of points on the field,” Fraser coach Jon Skladanowski said after L’Anse Creuse took a 7-6 victory on Friday night. “Bottom line is we didn’t execute.”
The result left both teams at 2-2.
“We missed a lot of shots,” L’Anse Creuse coach Orande Roy said. “It was a really good game.”
The Lancers went ahead when quarterback Isaiah Stansbury passed 13 yards to junior Jaiveion Mason with 9:16 left in the third quarter and Dylan Lanthier added the PAT.
That play offset Sherard Beatty’s 56-yard interception return in the second quarter and helped the Lancers get a victory after consecutive losses.
“This game was almost everything for us,” Lanthier, a senior, said. “We lost our last two by terrible errors.
“We finally, finally got stuff done. The boys really pulled together at the end.”
Both teams know they’ll be in the playoffs after theMichiganHigh School Athletic Association made it a stipulation that everyone qualifies during this coronavirusdelayed season.
So there’s no sense of urgency to win a certain number of games.
But both teams have had recent moments that they’d like to build on.
L’Anse Creuse was one of the surprise teams inMacomb County last year when it went 6-3, finished in a three-way tie for the Blue championship and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1994.
“It was more a confidence thing,” Roy said when asked the significance of defeating Fraser after the back-to-back losses.
“The ending tonight showed something about them and their fortitude.”
Fraser was 2-1 after three games, an uptick for a team that went 1-8 in 2019 and 2018.
“We’re not the same old team,” Skladanowski said.
Two years ago, players who are now seniors were pressed into playing on the Rambler varsity.
“We didn’t have numbers,” Skladanowski said.
A similar situation existed for players who were sophomores in 2019.
“We’ve taken our lumps the last couple of years,” Skladanowski said.
But the spirit inside the Fraser camp has changed, the coach added.
“We’ve got the talent to win, now we’ve got to learn how to win,” Skladanowski said.
Port Huron is 4- 0 in the Blue with one division game to play.
Fraser plays host to Port Huron Northern and L’Anse Creuse plays host to Lake Shore this weekend.
The Ramblers and Lancers will be in the same district in the state Division 2 tournament that begins Oct. 30.
They’ll join an eightteam field that includes De La Salle Collegiate, Lake Shore, Lakeview, Port Huron, Port Huron Northern and Roseville.
Pairings are to be announced.
NOTES: Eastpointe is 4- 0 and alone atop the MACGoldDivision. If the Shamrocks defeat Cousino this week, theywould be outright league champions for the first time since winning the MAC Blue in 1999. Eastpointe finished in a three-way tie for the Gold title last year. … Clintondale plays at Fitzgerald and Center Line plays at South Lake on Thursday, according to those teams’ schedule pages on the MHSAA website. It’s the final MAC Silver game of the year for the Dragons and Spartans and the finalMAC Bronze game for the Panthers and Cavaliers. … Parkway Christian plays at Cardinal Mooney on Saturday, according to MHSAA.com. … Warren-Mott is 3-0 in the MAC White. The Marauders won those games by three, three and two points. They play host to Anchor Bay on Friday with the division championship at stake. … There are multiple championship scenarios in the MAC Red Division. Trileader Dakota (3-1) can win a share if the Cougars defeat Romeo (1-3) this week. Grosse Pointe South is at Stevenson in a match-up of 3-1 teams. This is Grosse Pointe South’s first year in the Red.