High School Football Notes: QBs, runners put on a show
BEST OF WEEK 8
RUSHING YARDS
Brandon Thompson, Summerfield 385
Omari Carter, Carlson 301
Jack Mills, Airport 163
Ronny Johnson, Milan 158
Hunter DeBarr, Whiteford 156
PASSING YARDS
Graham Junge, Flat Rock 307
Cooper Nye, Airport 293
Gavin Moczdlowsky, Huron 229
Vaughn Brown, Mason 172
Ryan Sieler, Monroe 171
RECEIVING YARDS
Brandon Scheffler, Carlson 134
Jack Mills, Airport 130
Micah Smith, Huron 124
Braiden Whitaker, Dundee 115
Aaron Salazar, Flat Rock 114
How is this for a quarterback sequence?
On two consecutive plays for New Boston Huron’s offense Friday night, Gavin Moczydlowsky completed passes of 77 and 66 yards – both for touchdowns.
First, he lofted a long ball that tight end Rory Callahan wrestled away from a Flat Rock defensive back and raced for a score, then found Micah Smith down the sideline for a TD.
In between, Flat Rock’s Graham Junge had back-to-back passes of 32 and 38 yards to Corey Lannon, with the second reaching the end zone.
The two QBs combined to go 4-for-4 for 213 yards and three touchdowns in a span of 1 minute and 46 seconds at the end of the first half.
Things calmed down after the intermission as both teams tried to slow things down with more running plays.
“That was the plan,” Huron coach Tom Hoover said. “That was their plan, too. We needed to hold the ball.”
The sophomore Junge not only might already be the best quarterback in school history but is one of the best students of the game coach Buck Reaume has ever seen.
It was more than just talent that allowed Junge to complete 26-of-35 passes for 307 yards and 3 TDs and break the school record for single season passing touchdowns against Huron Friday night.
He is dedicated to scouting the opposition.
“He’s always texting me on Saturday or Sunday saying, ‘Here’s what I like (against the next opponent),’” Reaume said. “He puts the time into it. He watches a lot of film.”
And Junge knows how to spread the ball and the praise around. He completed passes to six different receivers Friday.
“I’ve got the best receivers in the league,” he said.
And he ended the interview by saying, “If you write anything I said, write that I couldn’t do it without my line.”
* * *
No one could stop Brandon Thompson Friday night, not even his coach.
The Summerfield senior broke his own school record by running for 385 yards and 6 touchdowns on 22 carries in a 38-6 victory over Pioneer North Central of Ohio.
A couple of the touchdowns came after the Bulldogs had the win safely in hand and Summerfield coach Alex Lipka was just trying to run out the clock.
“I’ve learned when you have a roster the size we do not to get too greedy,” Lipka said. “It can come back to bite you. Once we got up 26-6, we went as vanilla as you can get. Our line was just driving them.”
And Thompson was running past them.
“He was just running free,” Lipka said. “I always say that you can’t tell a kid to stop doing something right.”
Not that Lipka didn't have some reservations.
Thompson went off script to score his second touchdown of the night on a 50-yard run.
"It was a sweep to the left, but he cut it all the way back across the field for a touchdown," Lipka said. "I actually said out loud that we needed to tell him to stop dancing because I thought the play was gonna be dead. He proved me wrong."
Most of the Thompson's long runs were gained thanks to his blockers. Right tackle Josh Whaley, right guard Mason Hall, center Connor Whitt, and fullback Dakota Kohn all shined on Senior Night for the Bulldogs.
"When we had some big hitting plays, that (right) side had a huge push," Lipka said. "They were pushing guys 2-3 yards off the line of scrimmage."
Thompson set the school record with 325 yards in last year’s regular-season finale. He now has two of the 17 rushing games in Monroe County Region history with 300-plus yards.
Ron Spears of Milan is the only other player to appear on the list twice.
Omari Carter of Gibraltar Carlson also joined that exclusive club Friday, running for 301 in a 30-14 win over White Lake Lakeland.
Carter was well off of his school’s record. Chad Schoen ran for a Region-record 416 yards on 21 attempts on Oct. 22, 2004 against Taylor Kennedy. Thompson's 385 yards ranks second.
* * *
It all comes down to this for Gibraltar Carlson.
The Marauders host Woodhaven in Friday's regular-season finale with at least a share of the Downriver League championship guaranteed for the winner.
Carlson, Woodhaven, and Trenton are all tied at 6-1 atop the league standings. Trenton hosts Wyandotte Roosevelt Friday and can also guarantee itself a share of the title with a win.
A Carlson win and a Trenton loss would give the Marauders the outright league title. Carlson shared the championship last year with Woodhaven and Allen Park.
"It's what football is all about," Carlson coach Jason Gendron said. "You have two crosstown rivals going at it for a league championship. It's what we've worked for all offseason, all year long to earn the right to compete for a title."
Gendron said the team has a few things to clean up before the game. Turnovers and penalties hurt the Marauders Friday despite the team winning 30-14 over White Lake Lakeland.
"We were bending, not breaking at time," he said. "We had some real drive killers, but we found a way even with some adversity to get a quality win."
Friday's game also was Military and First Responders Appreciation Night at Carlson.
Carlson named Adam Ruffner as the team's honorary captain. Ruffner is a 1998 Carlson graduate who graduated with a degree in criminal justice from Saginaw Valley State before going on to a local law enforcement career, including 11 years on the downriver SWAT team. He's now a sergeant in the detective bureau for the Woodhaven PD and was named Officer of the Year in 2019.
He was inducted in the Carlson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.
* * *
St. Mary Catholic Central was excited to see its passing game do some damage in Friday’s 28-0 win over Jefferson.
Falcon quarterback Carson Kinsey completed 3-of-5 passes for 99 yards and a 23-yard touchdown to Mason Ivey. Patrick Lipford caught a 61-yard pass.
“We almost broke 100 through the air,” SMCC coach Adam Kipf said.
Ivey is a former offensive lineman who was shifted to tight end. Kinsey is a former tight end who moved under center when starter Michael Laboe broke his throwing hand during a pre-season scrimmage.
“Carson had a great game,” Kipf said. “He has really been improving from Week 1 to now.”
* * *
Bedford is just waiting for the playoffs now.
The Mules were looking forward to finishing the regular season at home Friday, but it won’t happen.
“Detroit Western called us last week and said they were forfeiting the game,” Bedford coach John Phillips said. “We looked around a little bit, but at this late date we couldn’t find a Division 1 team to play.”
So the Mules will just accept the forfeit and finish the regular season with a 7-2 record.
“The shame of it is that it was supposed to be our Senior Night,” Phillips said. “We are working with the football parents and trying to put together something really nice for the community and our seniors. We’re going to have a big tailgate and a cornhole tournament.”
And Bedford should get to play on the home field in the opening round of the state playoffs.
“I am 90-percent sure we will get a home game,” Phillips said.
* * *
Dundee coach Steve Ayre might be in the best position of anyone to predict next week’s titanic battle for the Lenawee County Athletic Association championship between undefeated Clinton and Hudson.
Dundee lost to Clinton 34-7 on Sept. 30 and fell 46-17 to Hudson Friday night − the only losses this season for the Vikings.
“I don’t know,” Ayre said. “That will be a tough game for both of them. They are two really good teams in their division and could go a long way in the state.”
Dundee (6-2) will close the regular season at Ida.
“It’s always fun to close out against your rival,” Ayre said.
* * *
Jake Iott and Hunter DeBarr have teamed up to be quite a pair of running backs for Whiteford.
Through eight games, the duo have nearly identical stats, except in one category.
Iott has rushed 92 times for 750 yards, which is 8.2 yards per carry. DeBarr has rushed 90 times for 738 yards, which is 8.2 yards per carry.
The one difference is Iott has 15 touchdowns and a school-record 21 two-point conversions. He broke Logan Murphy's single season school record of 20 two-point conversions with three Friday.
DeBarr has eight touchdowns on the season.
* * *
Erie Mason won the coin toss Friday before kickoff against Whiteford and didn't hesitate what they wanted to do.
"We want the ball," Eagle quarterback Vaughn Brown said during the coin toss.
The Eagles took the opening possession and scored the game's first touchdown.
Mason coach Steve Bowers said the strategy is to go down and score early to set the tone during the game.
"We want to put up a number, then force a three-and-out," he said. "We did half of that (Friday). We want the ball first. We want to give our offense a chance to get out there and get going."
* * *
The Tri-County Conference season came to a close Friday.
All five league teams play non-conference games in Week 9. There is some question whether or not TCC football will still exist in its current form next year. With Madison leaving and Britton Deerfield and Morenci already playing 8-man football, that would leave just Whiteford, Erie Mason, Sand Creek and Summerfield in the league.
"I don't know if crowning a champion for playing just three games is something that makes a lot of sense, but we don't know right now," Whiteford coach Todd Thieken said. "If this was the last TCC football championship, we are happy to have won it. That was one of our goals - to win the TCC. It's important to us."
Whiteford has won six league titles in 50 years of the league − 1994, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, and now 2022. The Bobcats have won 12 straight conference games.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: High School Football Notes: QBs, runners put on a show
