Saturday Sideline Report October 15, 2022

Napoleon High School football player Bart Laretz had another great night for the Pirates with 187 rushing yards. 

Napoleon Finishes the Cascades Conference Season Undefeated

By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports

(October 15, 2022 8:08 AM) A year ago the Napoleon High School varsity football team was on the outside looking in when it came to the Michigan High School Athletic Association playoffs. 

Despite finishing the season with a 6-3 record, the Pirates missed the MHSAA playoffs.

They did something about it this year by going undefeated in Cascades Conference following a 36-18 win over Addison on the road Friday.

The Pirates are now 8-0 while Addison falls to 4-4 overall. It is the Pirates’ first undefeated season in the conference since 2002. 

Napoleon will play in the Big Eight/Cascades Conference Crossover Championship next Friday at 1 p.m. against Union City. 

The Pirates scored the last three touchdowns in the game to pull away from the Panthers.

Addison scored first on a 35-yard touchdown run by Spencer Brown. Napoleon took a 7-6 lead on a 1-yard run by quarterback Grant Bradley. 

Keelan Mullin gave the Panthers a lead on a 5-yard run to begin the second quarter. 

Mason Roth helped Napoleon regain the lead with a 49-yard touchdown run for a 14-12 lead.

Brown scored again for Addison giving the Panthers an 18-14 lead.

But it would be all Napoleon after that.

Bradley scored on a pair of touchdown runs and Bart Laretz added another for Napoleon.

Laretz finished with 187 rushing yards and Bradley made the most of his running opportunities – three runs for three touchdowns and 11 yards. 

Kayden Fowler led Napoleon with eight tackles. 

Brown finished with 145 rushing yards and two scores for Addison. 

Addison will face an undisclosed opponent from the Big Eight Conference next Friday. 

Michigan Center 48, East Jackson 32: Austin Tingley and Landon Roberts hooked up for four touchdowns for the Trojans. Tingley finished with 277 passing yards and Roberts caught 14 passes for 206 yards and four scores for EJHS (2-6). Michigan Center improves to 3-5 with the victory. Both schools will face undisclosed opponents from the Big Eight Conference next Friday. 

Lumen Christi 42, Pennfield 7: The Titans have now won five consecutive games following a road win at Pennfield. Derrick Walker had a healthy 25-yards-per-carry average on five carries for 125 yards and two touchdowns for Lumen Christi (5-3). Joe Lathers was 4-for-4 passing for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Gabe King caught a 24-yard touchdown pass and Conor Smith was on the receiving end of 54-yard scores for Lumen Christi. Pennfield is now 0-8 on the season following the loss. Harper Creek will travel to Lumen Christi next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff. 

Hastings 33, Northwest 0: The Saxons won at least a share of the Interstate-8 Conference with a road win at Northwest. The Mounties are now 4-4 on the season and will travel to Marshall next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff. 

Grass Lake 35, Manchester 19: Grass Lake High School won the battle for second place in the Cascades Conference over Manchester. Grass Lake and Manchester are now 5-3 on the season, but the Warriors finish 4-2 in the conference. Both schools will face undisclosed opponents from the Big Eight Conference next Friday. 

Ida 48, Columbia Central 22: The Golden Eagles showed some spark on offense, but gave up too many points on defense in the home loss. Columbia Central is now 1-7 on the season and will travel to Blissfield on Friday at 7 p.m. to close out the season. 

Clinton 31, Hillsdale 7: The Hornets fell to 3-5 on the season with a loss to Clinton in Lenawee County Athletic Association play. Stephen Petersen scored on an 11-yard run for Hillsdale. Petersen finished with 59 yards rushing for Hillsdale. Clinton improves to 8-0 with the victory setting up a showdown in the LCAA with a game at Hudson next Friday. Hillsdale will travel to Onsted for a 7 p.m. kickoff next Friday. 

NorthPointe Christian 50, Concord 6: NorthPointe Christian won the conference showdown at home over Concord. Collin Thompson scored the only touchdown and finished the night with 69 rushing yards. Gavin Riske threw for nearly 100 yards on 12-for-18 passing for the Yellow Jackets. NorthPointe is now 8-0 on the season while Concord is 4-4. Concord will travel to Athens next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Homer 33, Reading 30: The Trojans won an exciting Big Eight Conference game at Reading improving to 6-2 on the season. Homer will face a yet-to-be-determined opponent from the Cascades Conference next Friday for the Big Eight/Cascades Conference crossover game. 

Mason 35, Jackson 6: Gibson Drummond scored the lone touchdown for Jackson. Mason improves to 8-0 on the season while Jackson is 4-4. Haslett will travel to Jackson next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Union City 48, Springport 6: The Spartans scored in the fourth quarter of the Big Eight Conference game. Springport is now 0-8 on the season. Union City will face Napoleon in the Big Eight/Cascades Conference Crossover Championship game next Saturday at 1 p.m. Springport will face a yet-to-be-determined opponent from the Cascades Conference next Friday in the Big Eight/Cascades crossover game. 

Western 16, Marshall 0: Western High School scored 16 points in the first half at home on Friday. Caden Oliver caught a 34-yard touchdown pass just before halftime for the Panthers. Both teams were 4-3 heading into the Interstate-8 Conference game, hoping to get a leg up on a playoff spot with a win. Western will travel to Coldwater for a 7 p.m. kickoff next Friday. 

Stockbridge 33, St. Charles 0: Zach Fletcher returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown and caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from Drew Robinson in the Stockbridge win. Robinson finished with two rushing touchdowns and Gary Killinger ran for 75 yards and one score for Stockbridge (5-3). Stockbridge will travel to Dansville next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff. 

Jonesville 48, Hanover-Horton 15: Jonesville evened its overall record to 4-4 with the victory while Hanover-Horton is 2-6. Jonesville jumped out to a 40-0 halftime lead and Hanover-Horton scored twice in the final half. Troy Densmore scored on a 13-yard touchdown run and Blaise Uphaus caught a 27-yard touchdown pass for Hanover-Horton. Both teams will face yet-to-be-determined opponents next Friday in the Big Eight/Cascades Conference crossover games. 

Leslie 22, Eaton Rapids 13: The Blackhawks improved to 2-6 with the road win. Evan Dexter scored on a 2-yard touchdown run for Leslie and Max Fourman connected on a 27-yard field goal in the first half. Jayden Colby completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Kaimon in the third quarter for Leslie. Fourman kicked another field goal and the Blackhawks secured the win on a safety by Matthew Dexter early in the fourth quarter. Colby finished with 189 passing yards and Kaimon caught four of those passes for 102 yards. Hunter Coltrain led the defense for Leslie with four tackles and an interception. Fowler will travel to Leslie on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.