JTV Sports Weekend Wrap Up September 1, 2024

Week One of High School Football Offers Few Surprises

By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports

(September 1, 2024 9:00 AM ET) Week one in the high school football season offered few upsets, but an array of new stars.

Here are the capsules from games held Thursday and Friday involving local teams.

Lumen Christi 49, Michigan Center 21: Michigan Center hung tough with the defending state champions but the Titans took over in the second half. Lumen Christi led 28-21 and scored the final three touchdowns in the game to pull out the victory at home Thursday. Kadale Williams ran for 156 yards and three touchdowns for the Titans. Timmy Crowley also scored twice on runs and threw for 113 yards and one touchdown to Kash Kalahar. Josh DuMont also scored for the Titans and finished with 60 rushing yards. Sean Walicki and Isaac Rehberg each finished with seven tackles and Jack Fitzpatrick intercepted a pass for LCCHS. Michigan Center was led by Braylen Brown with 88 rushing yards and one touchdown. Hayden Hinkle was 11-for-19 passing for 135 yards with touchdown passes to Bodee Adkins and Brennan Forward. Lumen Christi travels to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Cardinals host Hanover-Horton Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Onsted 35, Napoleon 20: The Pirates turned the football over four times and that spelled doom on the road Thursday. The good news is the Pirates rushed for 320 yards in the contest as nine different ball carriers carried the pigskin. Bryce Bailey carried for 79 yards on 17 carries, Jayden Servis scored one touchdown, and a 2-point conversion for Napoleon, and Marcello Flores added a pair of touchdowns for Napoleon. Defensively, Ashton Warner finished with nine tackles, a sack, and one fumble recovery for Napoleon (0-1). The Pirates return home Friday facing Jonesville in a Cascades Conference matchup beginning at 7 p.m.

Manchester 24, Marlette 8: Manchester High School starts the season 1-0 under new coach Josh Lindeman at home. Lindeman faces his former team Addison with a home contest Friday beginning at 7 p.m.

Madison 17, Columbia Central 13: Madison High School scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter to pull ahead. Conor Rentfrow finished with 77 rushing yards and 70 passing yards for the Golden Eagles. Nic Richardson caught 50 yards worth of passes for CCHS. Shane Taylor was key for the defense for CCHs with seven tackles, including one for a loss, and a forced fumble. Richardson made five tackles and caused another fumble, and Bauston Pilaczynski added six tackles for Columbia Central (0-1). The Golden Eagles travel to Grass Lake next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Sand Creek 50, Vandercook Lake 0: Vandercook Lake lost in its first 11-man varsity football contest since 2019. Justin Barnes led Vandercook Lake defensively with double digit tackles. Leland Barton and Chris Jiminez led the Jayhawks on offense. “The positive that came out of this game is we never gave up and fought hard,” Coach Dan Midena said. 

Tecumseh 47, Northwest 7: The Mounties lost in a non-conference battle on the road Thursday. Gabe Christner threw for 150 yard and one touchdown to Kaden Little. Nathan Latoszewski run for 55 yards on 11 carries for Northwest. Northwest travels to Madison High School on Friday for a 7 p.m.

Addison 20, Clintondale 12: Byron Creek of Addison High School set himself up as the new star running back for the Panthers. He ran the football 23 times for 218 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Mike Trumble carried 13 times for 32 yards for Addison. Josh Ray threw the ball five times for 57 yards in the win for the Panthers. Defensively Heith Burton finished with seven tackles and one sack, Ray recorded six tackles and an interception, and Gunnar Demeuse recorded seven tackles in the win for Addison (1-0). The Panthers travel to Manchester next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff against their former coach.

Springport 28, Dansville 13: A pick-six proved to be a game changer for the Spartans in the non-conference win. Stone Overweg intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown in the third quarter giving Springport a huge momentum swing. Mayson Burgett was 11-for-23 passing for Springport in the new offensive scheme by first-year Coach Ben Pack. Quinnton Burgett was the star receiver with six reception for 131 yards and two touchdowns for Springport. “For the first game of the season – and the first under a new system – our players played very consistent,” Pack said. “The few errors we had are fixable and were the result of understanding the plays (being read) through the progression.” Springport hosts Maple Valley Friday in the Big Eight Conference opener for the Spartans beginning at 7 p.m.

Grass Lake 32, Homer 14: Brayden Lape threw for one touchdown and ran for another in a home win against Homer. Lape scored on an 80-yard jaunt for the Warriors. Junior Luke Guthrie was the rushing star with 134 yards on just 11 carries. Bryant Cook caught three passes for 30 yards and Carmyne Beltran caught a 15-yard touchdown pass. Grass Lake finished with more than 350 yards on offense. Dawson Diuble finished with six tackles and Cook added five stops for Grass Lake (1-0). The Warriors host Columbia Central next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff while Homer travels to Leslie in Cascades Conference crossover action.

Jonesville 22, Hillsdale 21: John Milks was the hero for Jonesville in the rivalry win over Hillsdale. He ran for 97 yards on 19 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. Jonesville retains the traveling trophy for the rivalry game for the first time since 2021. Carson Playford carried the football 12 times for 66 yards and Jayden Doque ran for 66 yards. Skyler Cooper and Zander Goodwin each caught touchdown passes for Jonesville. Playford led the defensive effort for Jonesville with nine tackles and Goodwin and Playford recorded interceptions. Evan Towne threw for 158 yards for Hillsdale in the contest with Dominick Coke catching three passes for all 158 yards and two touchdowns. Jonesville travels to Napoleon while Hillsdale travels to Leslie for 7 p.m. starts next Friday.

Western 36, Dearborn Divine Child 14: Brody Videto threw for one touchdown, ran for another, and caught a touchdown pass in the win. Reed Myers threw for 128 yards including five passes to Maverick Hammond for 126 yards. Hammond also had a trifecta of sorts with two receiving touchdowns and a pick six for another score. “The defense was suffocating all night,” Coach Nick Rulewicz said. Western gets on the bus for a trip to Traverse City Central – a regular in the playoffs – next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Leslie 41, Stockbridge 7: Tanner Craft becomes the Joe Namath of high school football predictions when he said Leslie was going to “smoke Stockbridge in week one.” Namath made the bold prediction that New York would beat the heavily favored Baltimore Colts before Super Bowl 3. Joel Cranmore threw for 276 passing yards for two touchdowns and another running the football for Leslie. Jayden Colby finished with 96 yards receiving and 68 yards rushing with one touchdown and Jacob Phillips caught two touchdowns for 118 receiving yards for the Blackhawks. Defensively, Parker Franklin had five tackles and one sack, Craft recorded two sacks, and Xavier Christman finished with eight tackles for Leslie. Zac Rogozinski finished with 113 yards passing and one touchdown for Stockbridge. Brock Rochow caught six passes for 86 yards and an interception on defense for the Panthers. Leslie will host Homer and Stockbridge travels to Union City for 7 p.m. kickoffs next Friday.

Lutheran Westland 35, East Jackson 28: Amaree Padgett ran for two touchdowns and K.J. Oliver joined the two-touchdown club with a receiving score and a pick-six for East Jackson. Padgett threw for 251 yards in the contest on 17-of-32 passing. Oliver caught five of those passes for 108 yards. Lutheran Westland scored in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory. East Jackson hosts Vandercook Lake next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Concord 64, Litchfield 20: Gavin Riske threw for nearly 300 yards and six touchdown passes and Alex Smith finished with 154 receiving yards and three touchdowns for Concord High School. Jordan Medellin caught six passes, for 116, and three touchdowns. Also scoring touchdowns for the Yellowjackets were Trenton Frazer with two and Landen Lynn with one. Frazer also recorded eight tackles and recovered a pair of fumbles. Mason Davis also finished with seven tackles and a fumble recovery for Concord. The Yellowjackets travel to Athens to renew an old Big Eight Conference rivalry – this time in 8-man football – Friday at 7 p.m.

Friday Games

Jackson 32, Monroe 27: Cyron Stamper scored four touchdowns and the Jackson defense came up big when it mattered for a road win at Monroe. Blair Pippen scored the other touchdown for the Vikings. Monroe had the ball with less than one minute remaining in the game. A big hit by Kenyon Dunklin of Jackson jarred to ball loose from the Monroe quarterback and Shea Haehnle recovered the fumble to secure the win.  Jackson hosts Lansing Waverly next Friday with live coverage beginning at 6:45pm on JTV.  See JTV.TV for David Rice’s story on the contest.

Hanover-Horton 54, Monroe-Jefferson 0: It is hard to believe the Comets threw the football only three times and still racked up 54 points on the road Friday. But a new star is on the horizon for the Comets. Freshman Austyn Hocter scored three touchdowns on only three carries and led Hanover-Horton with 81 rushing yards. Hocter scored on runs of 24, 33, and 24 yards for Hanover-Horton. Also scoring were Luke NaDell, Luke Soper, Jack Wooster, and Ledger Inman. Reed Matthews scored a lineman’s dream after he recovered a botched snap on a punt in the end zone for a touchdown. The Comets finished the night with 229 rushing yards. Defensively, HHHS held Jefferson to minus-50 yards rushing and 19 yards passing. The Comets travel to Michigan Center for a Cascades Conference crossover contest Friday at 7 p.m.

Performances of the Week

Western Football

Congratulations to Western High School for their new turf field. The Panthers held an unveiling ceremony Thursday before defeating Dearborn Divine Child. Alro Steel was one of the major contributors to the project along with several local businesses and private donations. “The concept of a turf field came about from the need for an improved playing surface for our athletes. Our stadium gets so much use and that is a good thing,” Western head football Coach Nick Rulewicz said. “A large portion of the money came from private donors … our community was very generous.”

Cyron Stamper

Cyron Stamper of Jackson High School just willed the Vikings to a win over Monroe Friday night. The senior scored four touchdowns leading Jackson to the 32-27 victory over Monroe. He suffered cramps several times during the game and eventually went out of the contest late in the third quarter in what looked to be heat exhaustion. Fellow senior Daniel Eubanks replaced Stamper and did an outstanding job as the next man up for Jackson.

College Athletics

Men’s Soccer

Great Lakes Christian College 2, Jackson College 0: The Jets fell in their home opener as GLCC scored one goal in each of the halves. JC goalie Antonio Rodriguez finished with 16 saves in net for the Jets.

Women’s Soccer

Spring Arbor 3, Indiana Tech 0: Spring Arbor University earned a home win Friday night. Kayla Baar, Regan Ramirez, and Shelby Marshall scored for SAU. Reagan Kohler earned the shutout in goal for Spring Arbor (1-1).

Volleyball

Jackson College 3, Loraine Community College 2: The Jets pulled out the match winning the last three sets. Allie Jarchow, Sam Wynn, and Gracen Hager all finished in double digits in kills for Jackson. Jaden Bates finished with 35 digs for Jackson College – playing in the Owens College Invitational Tournament.

Edison State 3, Jackson College 0: The Jets lost in the second round of the Owens Invitational. Sam Wynn finished with 10 kills and Alivia Smith added 20 assists for JC.

Spring Arbor 3, Lawrence Tech 1: Izzy Kirkendall finished with 15 kills and Kelsie Lilly and Kendall Bollenbacher each tallied 13 kills for SAU in the tournament at Siena Heights. Gabby Bryja and Camy Wedge combined for 44 assists in the win.

Aquinas 3, Spring Arbor 1: The Cougars won the first set but dropped the next three at Siena Heights. Izzy Kirkendall finished with 10 kills for SAU in the Friday night match.

McHenry County College 3, Jackson College 1: The Jets won game one 25-22 in the tournament at Owens College.

Spring Arbor 3, Calumet 0: The Cougars improved to 5-3 on the season with the victory at Siena Heights. Natasha Bickel finished with 10 kills and Camy Wedge tallied 15 assists for SAU.

Spring Arbor 3, Indiana Northwest 1: Kendall Bollenbacher tallied 14 kills and Gabby Bryja dished 21 assists for SAU. The Cougars won three of four games in the two-day tournament.

Cross Country

Jackson College at Skipper Showcase: Jackson College took five runners to the showcase at St. Clair Community College. In the men’s 5-mile race, Nathan Blondke finished 54th (31:37) and his brother Noah Blondke placed 59th (32:04). In the women’s 5K race, Jessica Furman finished 51st (25:30), Sheilyn Rayas was 76th (28:59), and Sara Hoop finished in 30:54.