Charlevoix handles Tawas to earn fourth straight shutout victory
CHARLEVOIX — Regardless of who it comes against, a shutout on the football field is an impressive accomplishment.
There’s a whole lot of factors that go into it, from the offense taking care of the ball backed up, to special teams and field positon, to obviously the defense.
The best team to ask about the art of the shutout at the moment is of course the Charlevoix football team.
Riding a three-week streak of shutouts heading into Friday night’s matchup with Tawas, the Rayders added to it with a fourth consecutive shutout victory in 45-0 fashion at Kipke Field in Charlevoix.
While it was another shutout on the scoreboard, the night came with an odd flow, with special teams gaining chunk yards and scores for the Rayders and the offense never quite in rhythm, despite the score.
“I thought the kids played hard, thought the defense played well throughout the entire game,” Charlevoix coach Don Jess said. “Offensively, really it was hard for them to get momentum because of the special teams play with Patrick (Sterrett). We were either scoring or playing with a short field, so it took them a while to get going.”
“I was just really proud of the way the kids played tonight and happy to get the win.”
The win moved Charlevoix to 5-0 on the season and 3-0 within the Leaders Division of the Northern Michigan Football League. For Tawas, the loss came as a 20th straight, with their last win coming back in 2019.
Charlevoix got rolling again behind Patrick Sterrett once again on the night, with touchdown runs of 12 and 37 yards early, making it a 16-0 game after a pair of two-point conversions.
Sterrett then found the endzone on a 50-yard punt return score, making it 24-0 at the half.
In the second half, it was Sterrett again getting the scoring going, returning a punt 71 yards for a touchdown, making it 31-0. It came a drive after Sterrett returned the opening kickoff over 60 yards.
“He’s a phenomenal player and the secret is out on that,” said Jess. “He continues to come to practice and work hard every day and if he’s not in on offense, he’s in on scout D. He’s in there, he’s not taking plays off. Or he’s running scout offense plays against our defense.”
Scoring was later capped for the Rayders on a two-yard run by Henry Herzog late in the third, then quarterback Brady Jess and wideout Owen Waha connected from 12 yards out in the fourth to give the game its final score.
For a third straight week, it came as at least a four-touchdown game for Sterrett, as he finished with four carries for 74 yards and two scores, then added over 150 yards and two scores in the return game.
Landon Swanson had seven carries for 49 yards and Waha had two catches for 18 yards and the score.
Defensively, Swanson finished with 16 tackles, Henry Herzog made seven stops, Jack Herzog had six, Max Dixon added an interception and Brayden Greensky had a sack.
The win for the Rayders now sets up an undefeated showdown between a 5-0 Boyne City squad next week, a game that’s always circled within each program.
“It feels good from a standpoint that our kids have put themselves in this positon to go over to Boyne as an undefeated team,” said Jess. “It’s just a testament of the hard work they’ve been putting in and the hard work they put in in the offseason. It’ll be an exciting game.”
Boyne City will head in rested after having Friday’s game forfeited by Kalkaska and while it’s not quite settled just yet, the game is likely to determine the Leaders Division title.
“We’ve got plenty of film on them and I’m sure they’ve got plenty of film on us,” said Jess, not worried about the forfeit in Boyne’s last scheduled game. “I’m sure most of Charlevoix county will be there. What a great opportunity for our program.”
Kickoff between the two is set for 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 30 at Earl Brotherston Field in Boyne City.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Charlevoix handles Tawas to earn fourth straight shutout victory
