Hudson claims first football regional title since 2011

HUDSON – Rudy Ramos didn’t get much work in Friday night.

Every time Hudson scores a touchdown, Ramos takes the Hudson flag and runs up and down the sidelines. Ramos only got to do his run once Friday, but once was enough as the Tigers moved on to the Division 8 semifinals with an 8-0 win against White Pigeon.

Ramos got anxious as the Tigers moved into scoring position on a cold and sometimes wet Friday at Thompson Field.

“It’s cold,” he said. “They’ve got to score so I can move around a little bit.”

On cue, Tiger fullback Brendan Akers bulled into the end zone with 4:00 left in the third quarter to break the scoreless game. The Hudson defense made the lone touchdown stand, recording a shutout against White Pigeon.

“Defensively we played well,” said Hudson coach Dan Rogers said. “We tried to make them earn everything and drive the field.”

The 12-0 Tigers move on to next week’s Division 8 semifinal at a site to be determined. They will play the winner of Saturday’s Whiteford (10-1) vs. Clarkston Everest Collegiate (9-2) game.

White Pigeon brought a 10-1 record to Hudson and stood tall against the home team for much of the game, although it struggled to move the ball on offense. White Pigeon punted four times in the first half alone. It’s deepest drive into the Hudson side of the field was to the 46-yard line, but they couldn’t get any close.

“I don’t think either team punted very much during the year but today there was a bunch of punts,” Rogers said. “That’s playoff football.”

The last few minutes had some bizarre moments. After the Hudson defense forced a turnover, the Tigers drove to the White Pigeon six-yard line, but fumbled. Three plays later, the Tiger defense sacked the quarterback in the end zone for a safety and an 8-0 lead.

White Pigeon attempted an onside kick from its own 20-yard line and recovered it, giving them the ball back. On first down, it threw an interception.

Hudson couldn’t pick up a first down, turning the ball back overwith 1:13 remaining. Facing a first-and-10 from its own 45, White Pigeon fumbled the ball back to Hudson. This time it was Easton Strodtman who picked up the ball.

Hudson ran out the clock to preserve the win and shutout.

“We kept getting the ball back,” said White Pigeon coach Shawn Strawser. “We just didn’t make any big plays.”

Strawser was impressed with Hudson.

“They’ve got a pretty good offense over there and a great team,” he said. “Their defense was great. They stopped us. We didn’t have an answer for them and that was the difference. They were better than we were on defense.”

White Pigeon was able to put some bruises on the Tigers. It held them out of the endzone in the first quarter, stopped a 2-point conversion and forced a turnover as Hudson scored a season-low 8 points.

In the first half the White Pigeon defense – led by defensive end Seth Miller – stopped the run so much Hudson went to the air for some offense. The Tigers picked up several first downs in the first half on passes to Akers and Ambrose Horwath, who made multiple outstanding catches.

“We knew coming in we thought we’d have to throw the ball a little bit,” Rogers said. “We wound up throwing, but we have to stay away from some of those negative plays. We had some good drives, but negative plays put us behind the chains a little bit.”

The win was the final home game of the season for Hudson and eighth time they played at Thompson Field this year. Next week’s game will be at a neutral site.

“We take pride in our defense,” said senior Payton Rogers. “The offense came out slow, so we had to pick it up. We were all prepared on defense. Playing my last game here is crazy. I get to go out with a trophy. It means a lot.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Hudson wins MHSAA Division 8 football regional in shutout of White Pigeon