Page 12 — Thursday, October 28, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
the win over the Eskymos. “We talked about
that all week. Putting them up against unusu-
al circumstances and how they can mentally
overcome that is kind of a theme that we have
had throughout the season this year. Even
with our loss against Lumen Christi, the next
week, ‘how do you come back from that?
How do you overcome a loss like that?’
“Every time we step on the field, they
seem to answer the call, whatever challenge
we give them. They answer it together.”
The Saxons didn’t make too many mis-
takes Saturday. The second half in Gaylord
opened with a running clock thanks to
Hastings’ 48-21 lead, but there were a couple
blips that the Saxons’ made up for.
Ramirez returned a kick-off 89 yards for a
touchdown, had a team-high 9.5 tackles and
intercepted an Eskymo pass in the ballgame,
but those highlights came after Escanaba
scored on a 61-yard touchdown pass from
junior quarterback Casey Bray to senior wide
receiver Scott Hiller on the opening drive of
the ballgame to take a 7-0 lead.
Bray wasn’t lined up at quarterback on the
play however. Running back Ben Johnson
took the shotgun snap and fired the ball to the
left flat to Bray, who had lined up in the slot.
Ramirez and senior corner back Drew
Gleeson on that side both stepped towards
Bray, and it was too late once Ramirez spun
around to try and catch Hiller streaking up the
Eskymos’ sideline.
Ramirez was responsible for the deep
receiver on the play.
“I feel like he did a good job of keeping his
head in the game and not allowing a big mis-
take to change his focus on his responsibili-
ties,” coach Murphy said.
Junior running back Robby Slaughter, who
became the second Saxon back to go over
1,000 yards rushing this season, made up for
a miscue too – although he had to wait
patiently after Ramirez’s kick return TD.
An interception by Saxon senior defensive
back Matt Thompson gave the Saxons’ good
field position to try to add to a 24-7 lead with
a minute and a half to play in the first quarter.
The Saxons took over at the Eskymos’
37-yard-line and Slaughter was soon charging
towards the end zone on what would turn out
to be a 27-yard run, but the ball was knocked
free as he went down at the four-yard-line
and recovered by the Eskymos’ Connor
Smale in the end zone.
Escanaba put together a nine-play, 80-yard
drive to get within 24-13 on a one-yard TD
run on fourth-and-goal from the one by senior
running back Karson Krutina. Ramirez scored
on the ensuing kick to get those points back.
“I caught a pretty messy kick and I was
like ‘okay, let’s see where this goes,’”
Ramirez said. “I hit up the line, saw the wall
and I saw the open hole to my right, so I slid
out to the right and I saw open field. From the
corner of my eye, I saw a couple of guys. I
thought I was going to get caught. I saw
David Jiles right there and I was like, ‘please
block somebody.’ Luckily he did, and there
was the end zone.”
The Saxon defense forced a three-and-out,
and after fumbling on the first Saxon snap of
the second quarter Slaughter took the second
89 yards for a touchdown.
Slaughter scored again on a two-yard run
with 1:45 to play in the half, after a 30-yard
TD pass for the Eskymos from Bray to senior
tight end Trevor Brown.
Slaughter had three touchdown runs in the
ballgame, also scoring on a 27-yard run to get
the Saxons’ their first points of the ballgame.
Hastings quickly moved ahead 8-7 with a two-
point run by TJ Russell following that first TD.
Russell scored on a 39-yard run and Daniel
Harp on a 40-yard run before the opening quar-
ter was through, with a two-point run by quar-
terback Mason Denton and a two-point pass
from Denton to Russell following those TD’s.
The Saxon half saw the Saxons add a ten-
yard TD run by Collin Fouty in the third and
a one-yard TD run by Jiles in the fourth.
Russell followed up Fouty’s TD with a two-
point run.
Escanaba closed the scoring with foreign
exchange student Tor Spets kicking a 37-yard
field goal with two minutes to go.
Slaughter finished the ballgame with 16
rushes for 220 yards, and he now has 1,
yards total on the season. Russell is at 1,
for the season after rushing three times for 64
yards Saturday.
Harp had four carries for 73 yards in the
ballgame. Hastings had nine different guys
rush the football Saturday. Denton was 1-of-
passing for a 36 yards, on a pass to Russell.
The Saxon defense had 22 different players
in on tackles throughout the afternoon.
“It is interesting on the sideline when the
game is out of hand and we put the subs in, all
the guys are still up on the sideline, cheeringthem on, coaching them from the sideline,”
coach Murphy said. “Of course, everything is
a lot easier when you’re winning, but it is
interesting to see those older guys lead and
show that leadership to the younger guys.”
Owen Winegar had 5 tackles, Layton
Eastman 4.5 for the Saxons and Glen
McFarlan 4. Fouty had one of three Saxon
interceptions, and nearly made a spectacular
touchdown grab, but was bumped just out of
bounds while coming down the football on
the side of the end zone.
Bray ended the day 10-of-21 passing for
183 yards, with two touchdowns and three
interceptions. Johnson finished off the game
at QB, going 2-of-5 for 37 yards, while also
rushing nine times for 40 yards and catching
four passes for 35 yards.
Krutina led Escanaba on the ground with
17 rushes for 73 yards. Hiller had two recep-
tions for 67 yards and Brown two for 54.
Eskymo defensive end Niklas LaFave had a
team-high four tackles.
Escanaba closes the season with a record
of 1-8.
Schoolcraft 31, Delton Kellogg 6
The offense couldn’t finish drives well
enough for the Delton Kellogg varsity foot-
ball team to score its first win over the
Schoolcraft Eagles Friday.
The Panthers will have to take solace in the
playoffs ahead of them.
Delton Kellogg was bested for the first
time in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Valley Division action Friday, falling 31-6 at
Schoolcraft.
Both teams had to postpone one ballgame
this fall, the Panthers against the conference
champions from Lawton and the Eagles a
non-conference ballgame. DK closes the reg-
ular season at 5-3. Schoolcraft ends its fall
campaign with a 3-5 record.
Schoolcraft never trailed Friday, taking a
17-0 lead on a short field goal and a pair of
short Nolan Strake touchdown runs. Strake
scored on runs of five and four yards in the
first half.
The first half was a tough one for Delton
Kellogg before Vincent Quick broke free for a
55-yard touchdown run late in the second quar-
ter that pulled his team within 17-6 at the time.
Delton Kellogg turned the ball over on
downs just across midfield on its first posses-
sion, lost a fumble on a punt return to put the
Eagles in position for their early field goal,
then punted the ball away two more times
before Quick’s long TD run.
The Eagles got those points with a quick
drive before the half. Quarterback Ryan Ling
got the ball away in the face of a Panther blitz
and hit slot receiver Kolby Lloyd on a wheel
route for a 25-yard TD with a minute and a
half to go in the first half.
The second half didn’t go much smoother
offensively for DK. The offense moved into
Eagle territory on its first try of the second
half, but turned the ball over on downs and
did it again in its own end later in the quarter.
DK managed to stymie the Eagles’ short
drive that followed the Panthers turning the ball
over on downs at their own 32-yard-line, with
an Eagle receiver coming down just shy of the
goal-line on a fourth-and-goal reception.
DK had to punt the ball out of its own end
zone however, giving the Eagles a short field
again. This time the Eagles closed the scoring
with Strake grabbing a pitch to the right and
then pulling up to fire a wide open Trey
Schneider with 1:24 left in the ballgame.
Thornapple Kellogg 53, Ottawa Hills 29
Thornapple Kellogg scored a lopsided win
in Wayland in week nine and carried that
momentum right into Bob White Stadium for
the final week of the varsity football season.
The Trojans concluded the 2021 campaign
with a 53-29 win over visiting Ottawa Hills to
close out a 3-5 season overall with a 3-4 OK
Gold Conference record.
The Trojans took a 13-0 lead in the open-
ing quarter, and then answered the first
Bengal score of the evening with three more
TD’s in the final nine minutes of the first half.
TK quarterback Carsen Burbridge fired TD
passes of 31 yards to Zack Gibson and 17
yards to Logan Westcott, then Tyler Gavette
scored on a four-yard run for TK with 2:58 to
play in the half.
The teams traded touchdowns in the sec-
ond half, with TK getting a 45-yard TD run
by Jayden Garcia and a 37-yard TD run by
Matthew Middleton.
The Bengals close the season at 1-6 in the
OK Gold Conference and 2-7 overall.
Ionia 35, Lakewood 14
The Ionia Bulldogs ground out 404 yards
rushing to close the season with a 35-14 vic-
tory over the rival Lakewood varsity football
team in the 2021 regular season finale at
Unity Field Friday.
Ionia quarterback Austin Hillabandt rushed
15 times for 160 yards and two touchdowns
and a pair of other Bulldog backs surpassed
the century mark rushing as well. Trevor
Tooker had 16 carries for 123 yards and
teammate Travis Tucker Jr. carried the ball 13
times for 105 yards and three TD’s.
A fumble recovery by the Vikings’ Reese
Keller and an Ionia drive that stalled with a
flurry of penalties in the Vikings’ end kept the
Bulldogs from scoring on every possession of
the first half, and the Vikings were still in the
ballgame down 14-7 at the half.
Lakewood put together a 67-yard scoring
drive in the final four and a half minutes of
the first half to get within a touchdown before
the intermission. Viking quarterback Nathan
Willette connected with senior running back
Denny Sauers on a 20-yard touchdown pass.
Eli Minard hit both of her extra-point kicks in
the ballgame for the Vikings.
The Vikings didn’t find the end zone again
until the Bulldogs had pushed their lead to
35-7 in the fourth quarter. A Bulldog puntwas downed at the Viking one-yard-line.
Sauers took one hand-off for four yards and
then on the next play broke free for a 95-yard
touchdown run.
Sauers finished the night with 7 rushes for
118 yards.
Before that final run, the Vikings had man-
aged just 27 yards in their first 21 rushes of
the ballgame.
Sauers also had a team-high 12 tackles in
the loss.
Tucker scored the first points of the ball-
game for the Bulldogs midway through the
opening quarter on an 18-yard run. Bulldog
kicker Emmanuel Velasco was a perfect
5-for-5 on his extra-point tries.
Hillabrandt pushed his team’s lead to 14-
with a five-yard TD run three minutes into
the second quarter, and then scored again on
a 49-yard run midway through the third.
Tucker tacked on TD runs of 48 yards and
22 yards in the first two and a half minutes of
the fourth quarter, with the second following
a Viking fumble that gave the Bulldogs the
ball at the Lakewood 20-yard-line.
Lakewood turned the ball over twice, with
Raymond Lopez-Colon intercepting a
Willette pass.
Maple Valley 56, Bellevue 0
Lion senior center Travis Mater, the team’s
lone senior, stepped into the backfield to
carry in a two-point conversion late in the
Maple Valley varsity football team’s non-con-
ference win at Webberville.
Mater said he was told by coach Marty
Martin that the offense just never quite got
into his “range” to chase a touchdown. The
Lions got into Mater range Friday in the sea-
son finale at Bellevue.
With the Lions already leading 6-0 and
setting up for a second-and-goal from the
Bronco two-yard-line, Mater stepped to the
fullback position in the I-formation and team-
mate Christian Huissen, a junior, took Mater’s
place at center. Lion quarterback Ayden
Wilkes turned and put the ball in the belly of
Mater, who carried it and a big pile of
Broncos and Lions just across the goal-line.
Mater carried in a two-point conversion later
on the ballgame, and finished off his time as a
varsity football player by hoisting the Little
Brown Jug as the Lions sang the school fight
song in front of their fans and addressing his
teammates near midfield following their 56-
victory at Bellevue High School.
“It is a great way to end the season,”
Mater said. “I couldn’t ask for a better team
or better people to be with – being the only
senior and having this family that is loving
and supportive.”
As much as things went right for the Lions,
things went wrong for the Broncos on their
senior night. Massive senior lineman Nicholas
Bender scooped up a Maple Valley fumble
near the Broncos’ 35-yard-line and rambled
towards the end zone shedding would-be
Maple Valley tacklers like a father could
playing ball with his toddler in the backyard.
He was finally hit with enough force to bring
him down at the Lion 23-yard-line, but his
offense fumbled the ball back to the Lions
three plays later.
The Broncos gave Bender a carry of his
own in the closing moments, but he didn’t get
a glorious ending like Mater, rather he had to
be helped off the field with an injured leftknee as the Lions’ couldn’t help but go low to
try and bring him down.
The good for the Lions and the bad for the
Broncos began in the very first moments of
the ballgame.
The Lion defense forced a three-and-out on
Bellevue’s opening possession of the game,
and then Lion quarterback Ayden Wilkes
fired a 52-yard TD pass down the middle to
Cam Carpenter and Maple Valley had a 6-
lead 1 minute and 47 seconds in.
The Lion offense took over again with 8:
to go in the first quarter, 53 yards from the
end zone. The Lions put together a methodi-
cal drive that ended in Mater’s two-yard TD
run, which was followed by a two-point con-
version run from teammate Andrew Shepard.
Junior running back Tyler Rose scored on
a two-yard TD run for the Lions nine second
into the second quarter to move his team’s
lead to 20-0. Shepard recovered a Bronco
fumble at the Broncos’ 20-yard-line and then
the Lions scored again 2:13 into the second
quarter on a four-yard run by junior back
Cayden Scott. This time Wilkes, the Lions’
sophomore QB, connected with junior tight
end Reece Proctor-Burhans on a two-point
conversion pass that moved their team’s
advantage to 28-0.
Bronco starting quarterback Connor Odette
was ejected following that touchdown as he
picked up his second personal foul penalty of
the game for arguing with officials.
The teams traded punts from there before
Shepard scooped up a Bronco fumble and
returned it 56 yards for a touchdown. Rose’s
two-point run had the Lion lead to 36-0.
Maple Valley sophomore Callan Hoefler
recovered the ensuing kick-off from team-
mate Jesse Deppe, and on the next play
Wilkes hit Proctor-Burhans for a 35-yard
touchdown. The Lions held a 42-0 lead at the
half, meaning the second half began with a
running clock.
The Lions received the second half kickoff
and then Shepard took the first hand-off of
the second half 55 yards for a touchdown and
tacked on the two-point run himself.
The scoring finally ceased with 6:33 to go
in the fourth quarter as a long Lion drive con-
cluded with an eight-yard TD run by Scott.
“It was really nice to see us finally have that
focus where we were focusing on our assign-
ments, and we were focusing on our teammates
and what they needed to do and how we fit into
that,” Lion head coach Marty Martin said. “You
saw us very disciplined tonight. It is something
we have been striving for all year.”
The Lions amassed 333 yards of offense in
the ballgame, while the Lion defense held the
Broncos to just 49 yards and four first downs
all game.
Shepard closed the game with seven car-
ries for 89 yards. Rose had ten rushes for 66
yards. Wilkes was 2-of-9 passing for 87
yards. The passing game was just a tiny bit
off for the Lions. He had the chance to hit
tight ends streaking down the middle of the
field a couple times, and also had a couple of
passes dropped.
Nicholas Martin led the Lion defense with
eight tackles. Deppe and Rose had four each
and Scott added three.
Hoefler and Proctor-Burhans each recov-
ered two Bronco fumbles and Scott had one
fumble recovery.170078RUTLAND CHARTER TOWNSHIP
BUDGET
HEARING NOTICEThe Rutland Charter Township Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed
Township Budget for fiscal year 2022, at a regular meeting to be held on
Wednesday, November 10, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. at Rutland Charter Township
Hall, 2461 Heath Road, Hastings, Michigan.THE PROPERTY TAX MILLAGE RATE PROPOSED TO BE LEVIED
TO SUPPORT THE PROPOSED BUDGET WILL BE A SUBJECT OF
THIS HEARING.A copy of the budget is available for public inspection at 2461 Heath Road,
Hastings, Michigan.This notice is posted in compliance with PA 267 of 1976 as amended (Open
Meetings Act), MCLA 41.72a(2) (3) and the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA).The Rutland Charter Township Board will provide necessary reasonable
auxiliary aids and services, such as signers for the hearing impaired and
audiotapes of printed materials being considered at the meeting, to individuals
with disabilities at the meeting/hearing upon seven (7) days notice to the
Rutland Charter Township Clerk. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary
aids or services should contact the Clerk at the address or telephone number
listed below.Robin J Hawthorne, Clerk
Rutland Charter Township
2461 Heath Road
Hastings, MI 49058
(269) 948-FOOTBALL, continued from page 11 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Hastings defenders Victor Ramirez (28), Layton Eastman (24) and Hayden Simmet
(21) team up to bring down Escanaba's Trent Lawson during the Saxons' win over the
Eskymos at Gaylord High School in the final football game of the regular season
Saturday. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Hastings defensive back Collin Fouty stretches to try and break up a pass for
Gaylord tight end Trevor Brown at the goal-line late in the first half of the Saxons'
62-24 win over the Eskymos in the regular season football finale in Gaylord Saturday.
(Photo by Brett Bremer)
Maple Valley defender Tyler Rose (6) sets his sights on Bellevue ballcarrier Jeremy
Odette as fellow Lions Nicholas Martin (29), Jesse Deppe (44), Christian Huissen (65)
and Reece Proctor-Burhans chase the play Friday night at Bellevue High School.
(Photo by Brett Bremer)