High school football rewind: Fennville topped by No. 1 NorthPointe Christian
COMSTOCK PARK - Facing the No. 1 8-man team in the state, and without its top quarterback, the road looked tough for the Fennville football team.
It started rough as a fumble lead to a quick touchdown and NorthPointe Christian rolled to a 58-16 win over Fennville on Friday.
The Blackhawks missed starting quarterback Ben Peterson on both sides of the ball. He has been week-to-week with a leg and shoulder injury and has been one of the team's leading tacklers on defense.
"That changed the dynamic for sure," Fennville coach Richard Roth said. "We have seven seniors on our team and a lot no one but Ben has played football for four years, so we have a lot of guys still learning. The game plan is still there, but it is not as understood because we are learning and growing."
Offensively, the Blackhawks couldn't find their rhythm and defensively, they couldn't stop the NorthPointe ground game.
Fennville kicked an onside kick, which was successful, to start the game, but fumbled on the first play and NorthPointe recovered.
One play later, NorthPointe Christian was in the end zone for a quick 6-0 lead.
After a Fennville punt, the Mustangs were in the end zone two plays later once again for a 12-0 lead.
Dede Person scored three more times in the first half and NorthPointe led 51-0.
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Fennville got on the board in the second half with a 3-yard pass from Max Machado to Makai Weimer. Machado ran in the conversion and it was 51-8 with 2:50 to go in the third.
Aidan Single scored on a 73-yard TD reception late in the fourth quarter to give the Blackhawks a little momentum going into next week.
"Our coaches are doing a phenomenal job preparing the guys, and the game plan was there. It was just a missed thing here and there," Roth said. "Playing the No. 1 team in the state, we were in the red zone four times without touchdowns because a couple mistakes here or there. We could have gone from a 58-16 game to 58-30 and are starting to take steps as a program."
Machado was 13-for-27 passing for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Swingle had five catches for 146 yards and a touchdown.
Galesburg-Augusta 54, Saugatuck 0
The Trailblazers dropped to 2-5 on the season.
"A tough loss at home. It's an opportunity for growth. We're a young team that needs to continue learn through adversity. The future will be bright," Saugatuck coach Bill Dunn said.
Mona Shores 42, Zeeland East 7
The Chix lost the OK Green game and dropped to 1-6 on the season.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: High school football rewind: Fennville topped by No. 1 NorthPointe Christian
