Constantine plows past Parchment 44-0 at Kalamazoo College

From the opening kickoff, everyone in attendance at Angell Field knew it could be a long day for Parchment.

The Panthers were taking on Constantine at Kalamazoo College’s home field. Parchment opened the game with the kickoff and Dom Jacobs rumbled 98 yards back to the house to give Constantine an immediate lead. It set the tone for the contest, which was won by the Falcons 44-0.

“We’re in a good spot, but we also know that we have go get better,” Constantine coach Shawn Griffith said following the win. “We we did get a chance to play a lot of kids today. We always like to do that when we get the chance.”

Nothing went well for Parchment in the game. Following the opening kickoff return for a touchdown, the Panthers gave the ball right back to the Falcons.

The end result on that drive was a 38-yard touchdown run from Bennett VandenBerg, who bounced off would-be tacklers like a bowling ball knocking down pins. Following the successful extra point, the Falcons led 14-0.

Constantine would have one of those quarters that will be talked about for some time. With just 3:56 remaining in the stanza, Cohen McGee sacked Parchment QB Aason Jasiak in the end zone for a safety. The Panthers were backed up to their own goal line following the kickoff after VandenBerg’s TD run. The ball bounced inside the 5-yard-line and spun there, refusing to go into the end zone. The Panthers picked it up, but were swarmed by the Falcon kickoff team.

Just a couple of plays later, Constantine led 16-0. It got worse.

On the next play, which was a free kick from Parchment, Jacobs rumbled his was 80 yards this time for a touchdown. Brayden Clark barrelled into the end zone for the conversion attempt, making it 24-0 in the blink of an eye.

It still got worse.

“Special teams were great for us today. Both in kick return and kickoffs, I thought we did a solid job with those,” Griffith said. “To be honest in both games, including the JV we did a good job. That’s credit to coach (Mike) Tulley and the rest of the guys that help with specials.”

Just a handful of plays later, after Parchment got the football back for a fresh possession, Jasiak was intercepted by Lukas Hagenbuch, who beat everybody back to the pylon and cross the goal line on a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown.

The score sat at 30-0, which is where it came to an end after a quarter of play.

Clark would score both times for the Falcons in the second quarter. The first was a 79-yard run that saw him break through the line of scrimmage like he was shot out of a cannon. Nobody was catching him as he led chasing Parchment player to the end zone. A Carter McGee extra point gave the Falcons a 37-0 edge.

Constantine’s large lead came by a variety of ways. So much so, they didn’t really run a complete offense as they are accustomed to. The big, explosive plays kept Constantine’s official snaps down.

Griffith said they still would like to continue working on the offensive line up front.

“I wasn’t real happy with some of our front blocking,” he said. “But we didn’t run a whole lot of plays early on tonight. We will continue to get better.”

Clark’s second score in the second quarter was on a 16-yard pass from Dean Topolski. The Falcons marched the football down the field with fewer than three minutes remaining until halftime and found the end zone just before halftime.

Carter McGee’s extra point made it 44-0.

The running clock was implemented in the second half. There were no points scored.

Parchment ran 55 offensive snaps compared to just 36 for the Falcons. Still, Constantine held a 269-195 edge in total yardage. The Falcons piled up 234 on the ground in the game.

Tunrovers bit both teams. Parchment committed four, Constantine fumbled twice.

Topolski completed both of his passes for 35 yards. Clark led the rushing attack with 95 on the ground, VandenBerg had 49 and Isaac Moore added 32. Hagenbuch rushed for 23, Jacobs had 14 yards and Topolski added nine.

Defensively, VandenBerg had four tackles, Moore and Trevor Black each had three. Caleb Bontrager, Topolski and Hagenbuch each recorded an interception.

Constantine will take on Hudson, the defending state champions in Division 8, next week.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Constantine plows past Parchment 44-0 at Kalamazoo College