16 seniors help lead Reading football to 2022 district final appearance
Adversity builds champions. For the Reading Ranger football program, the small-town hopefuls built their 2018-2019 state title run with teams tested and challenged each step of the way. That tradition has carried on with the program since that run, and head coach Rick Bailey and the Ranger varsity football team have faced their fair share of challenges and adversity as a program in the past couple of seasons.
The Rangers have faced a stronger Big 8 conference that included the rise of the Jonesville Comets and Union City Chargers, as well as the continued success of the Homer Trojans. In addition to their regular season opponents, the Rangers have faced a slew of strong playoff contenders in their postseason appearances. In 2020, the Rangers lost a district championship to eventual title winner Centreville. In 2021, the Rangers met the Hudson Tigers in round one, and Reading would lose to yet another eventual state champion.
16 seniors returned to the team this offseason, led by Colton Bassage, Joey Campbell and Maverick Messenger. The team was commended by their coaches for the extra work the seniors had put into the offseason to try and get back to their championship status. The group had already been honored for their efforts in 2021, including All-Region and All-State athletes across the defense including Joey Campbell and Jacob Hamilton. The core group would lead the Rangers to a 7-2 regular season record, including double-digit wins over playoff contenders Manchester, Grass Lake and White Pigeon.
The Rangers fell short of their conference championship goals this season after losing to Union City and Homer (by less than a score in each contest). Despite the two losses, the Rangers emerged from the regular season as a gritty and scrappy team that looked to be the team to beat in their district bracket. The Rangers earned a number one seed in their district playoff bracket, which gave them home-field advantage for the opening rounds of the playoffs. The Rangers took care of business in the semifinals, beating Decatur 33-7. The Rangers welcomed the White Pigeon Chiefs for a rematch of their 33-14 opening season victory.
The Rangers met a renewed, and hungry, White Pigeon team that had just bested their rivals in Centreville in the first round of the playoffs. Going into the district championship, the Chiefs had to achieve two things in order to beat the Rangers. Number one, they needed to control the clock with their running game. Number two, they would need to make one or two big passing plays to open up the offense. White Pigeon was able to do both of those things in the district title game to get a 34-20 victory over the Rangers.
White Pigeon did everything right in the first half of the game, leading 26-8 thanks to a last-minute touchdown pass from Chief's athlete Chris Jackson to end the first half. White Pigeon chewed nearly 10 minutes of game clock to start the second half, and they would capitalize with a two-yard touchdown from quarterback Josh Davidson.
Despite the deficit, the Rangers had fight left in them. Junior All-Region athlete Tayshawn Bester broke away for a 66-yard touchdown that put the Rangers back in the game down 14-34 with one minute left in the third quarter. Reading senior quarterback Colton Bassage found senior Landen Clabaugh in the open field for a 55-yard touchdown pass to start the fourth quarter. Things were looking promising for the Rangers after a fumble from White Pigeon on the ensuing drive. However, Bassage was forced into two fourth-down conversion attempts on the drive. Bassage found teammate Maverick Messenger to keep their hopes alive on the first attempt. However, Bassage had nowhere to go with the ball on the second attempt, giving White Pigeon the ball again with time running out.
The strong T-Offense, which struggled in their first outing against the Rangers, was able to continue gaining crucial yards on third and fourth down conversions to eat away at the clock. White Pigeon sealed their victory, a 34-20 title win on the Rangers' home turf. White Pigeon moves on to play D8 top-ranked Ottawa Lake Whiteford for a regional title. The Rangers dropped to 8-3 on the season, but the Rangers earned their sixth playoff appearance in a row.
The yardage totals for both teams with close, with the Rangers earning 358 offensive yards and the Chiefs earning 366. The decisive stat that gives insight into the chiefs' winning formula as of late is their 53 rushing attempts for 344 yards. White Pigeon's offensive line has found a consistency that wasn't there at the beginning of the season, a key that could make them dangerous when they face off against one of the best teams remaining in the Division 8 title race.
For the Rangers, Tayshawn Bester led the team with 80 rushing yards on six carries. Bassage had 11 completions for 155 yards and a touchdown. Landen Clabaugh had the 55-yard touchdown reception. Jacob Hamilton hauled in three passes for 42 yards. Bester caught four passes for 31 yards. Defensively, Joey Campbell led the team again with 13 tackles. Jacob Hamilton had 10 tackles.
Head coach Rick Bailey credited White Pigeon for turning things around in the middle of their season and becoming a stronger, physical football team. Bailey believes that led to them executing their game plan well, but coach Bailey saw a determined Ranger team, led by their seniors, who put together a fight in the second half of the game.
"When you run into a team with that style, and you don't match up physically, it's going to be a long night," said coach Bailey. "You can't simulate what they do in practice because you can't run their offense at the same speed. It took us longer to adjust in the game. Give credit to them. They are a physical bunch and got after it. We were determined (after the second half) that if this is the last half of football, it's going to be our kind of half."
The talented senior class from the 2022 Ranger football team includes Hunter Dewey, Addison Mosley, Landen Clabaugh, Colton Bassage, Jacob Hamilton, Maverick Messenger, Luke Potter, Lukas Selph, Joey Campbell, Owen Wortz, Caleb Willougby, Sheldon Stewart, Zac Affholter, Colin Askew, Landon Nichols, and Colton Wiler.
Many of these seniors have been a part of the Ranger family for more than a decade, with brothers and other family members passing the torch to them, and some of this year's senior class members reflected on that legacy and their time as a Ranger this fall.
"You couldn't have a better group of players out here with you. We've grinded and grinded and we just didn't get the result we wanted to. If you got another game with this team, it would have been a different outcome. We played our hearts out. There's nothing you can say about that. These are the best coaches you could have. They made us a family and we had to come together to make it this far. This town and community came together for Ranger football. It's Ranger football and it will always be Ranger football." – Landen Clabaugh
"Our motivation and drive was really outstanding this year. We were really motivated to try and go get a state title, and I loved playing Ranger football with this team. I wish my fellow seniors the best of luck with whatever they go on to do. I want to thank all the coaches for helping me get better over the years. Ranger football has pride, and we are built like a family and that lasts through the years." – Joey Campbell
"I got to play four years under my grandpa and four years under my dad (Brad) and I got to play one year with my brothers (Ben and Nick). It was the best thing I've ever done. I just didn't want it to end. The past two years we have lost to the state champions. We've just put in so much work. After we lost to Hudson last year, we took a week off and got right back in the weight room. From then, it's been nonstop work to get back here. I can't thank these coaches enough. They've made me a better player, a better person, a better son and a better future husband/father. Football is short, no matter if I play at the next level or if this is it. Those other things are more important, and these coaches taught us to be good men and I can't thank them enough. The underclassmen need to get their friends in the weight room and get friends to play. We need people that want it. You don't have to be a special athlete; you just need to want it and that'll make you better than half the kids that play high school football." – Zac Affholter
Coach Bailey credited his entire senior group for their efforts in the offseason to give the program 100-percent commitment. Bailey hopes that will be a driving force for the underclassmen this offseason as the program looks to ahead to a changing landscape in the Big 8 conference.
"Give credit to our young men; this has been a great bunch to be around. We took a long huddle at the end of the game and let them know that they've done a great job of being leaders. They've been a part of the program since the 2019 season. We are not the biggest, but they lifted like crazy and threw the ball all summer long and built themselves into great players. We are going to miss them and appreciate everything they've done for our program."
Final season stats for the Rangers will be included in our season stats recap and Dream Team articles at the conclusion of the MHSAA playoffs.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Reading football ends season at district finals with 8-3 reocrd
