8-Player Roundup: Waldron, Pittsford earn week eight victories; C-F's playoff hopes alive
HILLSDALE COUNTY — Only two teams walked away with victories in week eight 8-player football action. Pittsford put themselves back on track with a major conference win. Waldron earned their second win of the season. Litchfield’s playoff hopes have potentially come to an end. Camden-Frontier remains in the hunt despite losing to Colon.
Pittsford 56 – North Adams-Jerome 20
Pittsford score 42 points in the first half to bounce back from their heartbreaking senior night loss to Climax-Scotts in week seven to defeat North Adams-Jerome 56-20. Their win puts head coach Mike Burger and the Wildcats at 4-4 overall in their first eight-player football season.
The Wildcats had 365 total yards of offense. The Rams had 260 total yards. The Wildcats earned 315 yards on the ground. The Rams turned the ball over four times, which set up the Wildcats with favorable field position. Despite their dominating victory, the Wildcats only had the ball for 12 minutes of the game, compared to the 32 minutes for the Rams.
Anthony Governo had his best game of the season with six rushing attempts for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Governo also led the defense with 10 tackles. Quarterback Gavyn Carden had only four passing attempts, but Carden ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Bryce Williams had two carries for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Short yardage specialist Lane Lewis had six carries for 17 yards and three touchdowns. Lewis also had a 29-yard reception. Gage Gore had a 21-yard reception.
Defensively, Lane Lewis had four tackles. Jacob Drawe had five tackles. Noah Pann had an interception.
For North Adams-Jerome, head coach Dave Price and the Rams dropped to 1-7 on the season. The Rams have struggled to find their footing on both sides of the ball. The one constant this year – running back Casey Loper – had 1,023 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns this season heading into the Pittsford matchup. The Ram senior broke the school rushing record – previously set at 1, 065 yards. Loper had two big plays for touchdowns, including a 90 yard run. Loper had 135 rushing yards in the contest, and he now has 1,158 and 20 touchdowns on the season. Kaleb Hale had 103 rushing yards in his best game of the season.
Jace Brink led the Rams defensive effort with eight tackles and a sack. Vincent Ginolfi had seven tackles. Connor McKay had two sacks. John Smith had a fumble recovery. Will Thielen had 37 yards passing and three tackles.
With the loss, North Adams-Jerome faces a playoff contending Camden-Frontier team to end the season. The game will be played at North Adams-Jerome, and it should be another quality day for the Rams’ rushing attack.
Pittsford looks to win a favorable matchup with the 2-6 Waldron Spartans in week nine. The Wildcats will be on the road, and they will be looking to do whatever they can to build their case to be in the playoffs. Right now, the Wildcats sit just outside the playoff field, three back from 16th overall. A big win next week could push them into playoff contention, but the Wildcats will likely need help in order to get there.
Battle Creek St. Phillip 60 – Litchfield 25
The Litchfield Terriers and head coach Michael Langhann have broken records and set new standards for a program looking to get back to winning football since the end of the 2011 season; back when Langhann was a player for Litchfield.
The team has done that, breaking the school record for most points in a regular season and earning a winning record. However, the Terriers’ playoff hopes took a major blow in week eight with their loss to the Battle Creek St. Phillip Tigers.
The Terriers dropped to 28th overall in the official playoff points standings in 8-player Division 1. Their 5-2 record and strength of schedule is not strong enough to keep them near the top of the playoff bubble. Their disappointing loss to the Tigers was not void of highlights.
Tyler Bills had 19 completions for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Logan Buehrle had 20 rushing yards. Bills also ran for 19 yards. Miguel Pedroza had 40 yards and a touchdown.
Pedroza led the Terriers in receiving with 146 yards and two touchdowns on 13 catches. Buehrle had two catches for 43 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Hunter Snyder led the team with 12.5 tackles. Andrew Erhardt had 10.5 tackles. Junior Alvarez had 10 tackles. Pedroza had 8.5 tackles. Buehrle had eight tackles. Bills had eight tackles. Brandon Campbell had six tackles. Ricky McCafferty had 5.5 tackles. Robbie Bradstreet had five tackles. Jerome had 2.5 tackles. Alexis Sanchez kicked a successful P.A.T.
“Our boys never gave up,” said coach Langhann. “We came out flat to start the game, but we never felt like we were out of it.”
The relatively young Terrier squad still has room to grow and more record-breaking opportunities in week nine. They will paly a rematch with Burr Oak on Oct. 21 at home. The Terriers beat the Bobcats 36-14 back on Sept. 1.
Waldron 50 – Burr Oak 12
The Spartans torched the Bobcats with a 31-6 halftime lead to help win their second game of the season. Head coach Anthony Roney and the Spartans started scoring off with a Cam Kurtz 34 yard blocked punt return for a touchdown.
Jacobi Gonzalez had a 67 yard touchdown run to help extend the lead. Quarterback Seth Williams punched it in on a keep from three yards out. Kayden Depew had a sack to earn a safety. Logan Spence punched it in before the half on a 12-yard run.
Jacobi Gonzalez scored the lone touchdown of the third quarter on a six yard run. Alec Shamplo had a four yard touchdown run. Frank Duelo scored on a three yard run.
Gonzalez had 137 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Duelo had 89 rushing yards and kicked two extra points. Depew had 42 rushing yards. Seth Williams completed four passes for 63 yards. Gonzalez had three receptions for 51 yards. Shamplo had 12 receiving yards on one catch.
Defensively, Gonzalez had 10 tackles. Shamplo had 10 tackles and one fumble recovery. C. Williams had 10 tackles. Depew had seven tackles and the safety sack. Spence had a blocked punt and five tackles. Cam Kurtz had four tackles and the blocked punt for a touchdown.
The team had 420 rushing yards. Coach Roney said the team was happy to get the win and have contributions from the entire roster. Waldron looks to upset Pittsford’s playoff hopes with a home game against the Wildcats to end the season.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: 8-Player Football: Waldron, Pittsford earn week eight victories
