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By Griffin Brooks ’16 | Staff Writer
The varsity football team clinched a spot in the playoffs last Friday after they beat Utica Ford 28-7.
The blue devils started out slowly against Utica’s aggressive football team, giving up an interception and a 53-yard touchdown in the first two minutes of the game, but they rebounded in the first series of the in the second quarter when Michael Stuhldreer ‘16 forced and recovered a fumble at Utica’s 10-yard line.
“When we got that fumble recovery on the goal line and punched it in for seven, at that point they completely unravelled. They had momentum, and they lost everything.” Mac Cimmarrusti ’16 said. “That score turned the tide of the game for sure. Michael Stuhldreer turned the tide of that game.”
South got on a roll after the turnover. They quickly followed up with a touchdown run from Garrett Hudson ‘16 to tie the game 7-7. Then later in the second quarter, quarterback Logan Mico ’17 had a 25 yard touchdown pass to David Burnett ’16 and a one yard touchdown run to give South a 21-7 lead going into the second half.
South put the game out of reach with a touchdown pass from Mico to Sam Jones ‘16 to make the score 28-7, Cimmarrusti said. That touchdown capped off a run of 28 unanswered points by the blue devils.
“When they came out and we threw that pic and scored immediately I thought this game was coming away from us.” Cimmarrusti said. “Then we did what we have done every game. We just rallied back, got to them, hit them hard, and they didn’t want to play at the end of the game.”
As of right now the team doesn’t know who they will play in the playoffs, Head Coach Tim Brandon said. The way Michigan high school football is designed, the division that a team is in is not decided until the regular season is done. A certain number of teams make the playoffs, then the teams are broken into eight divisions.
“We don’t know what division we will be in yet,” said Brandon. “Right now we’re on the border between division one and two.”
If the football team is in division one they will most likely be in a district with Cass Technical High School, Warren Mott High School, and possibly Fordson High School, Brandon said. If they are in division two then their district will have East English Village Preparatory Academy and maybe De La Salle high School.
The football team is excited to advance to the playoffs after not making them last year, and look forward to their first round game in two weeks, Will Poplawski ‘16 said.
“We’re in the playoffs now. A little undisciplined sometimes in the game, but we stopped them when we needed to, and we’re going to the playoffs, that’s all that matters,” Poplawski said.
