By John Raffel
Mount Pleasant’s football team lost, 35-0, in the Division 3 regional final to East Grand Rapids. The Oilers were pestered by four interceptions, and several penalties took their toll.
Hunter Buczowski had 18 tackles to lead the Mount Pleasant defense. But the Oilers couldn’t keep their defense off the field enough. It was 28-0 at halftime.
“We were disappointed; we certainly didn’t play our best,” said assistant coach Josh Wheaton. “Defensively, we played well. You would not think so looking at the score. They could not run the ball on us. We did a good job defensively.
“We couldn’t get any rhythm on offense. It was a long day offensively.”
The loss couldn’t totally erase memories of a solid season for the Oilers, who scored a dramatic 16-13 win over Petoskey for the Division 3 district title. Connor Fiolek booted a 42-yard field goal with 24 seconds remaining for the win.
Perry was 5 of 14 passing for 81 yards. He had one touchdown pass to Obie Ricumstrict, who caught two aerials for 20 yards. Perry caught a pass for 20 yards, and Jake Mogg had two catches for 13 yards. Hunter Buckowski had 24 rushes for 111 yards. Perry also had a touchdown run.
Petoskey ended Mount Pleasant’s season in 2014, but the Oilers got revenge this time.
The Oilers ended their season at 9-3.
Beal City Football
The season ended too quickly for Beal City this year. The Aggies, who were in the state final in 2012 and 2013 and in the semifinal round in 2014, lost in the district final of Division 8 to Muskegon Catholic Central. The Aggies trailed 28-7 after the third quarter and lost 48-13.
Tucker Gross threw a 35-yard touchdown pass and also had a 9-yard scoring run.
Gross had seven completions for 112 yards. Kendall Flaugher caught three passes for 61 yards, and Thomas McCann had two snags for 39 yards. Chris Rollin gained 100 yards on 12 carries. Gross had 72 yards on 19 attempts.
Beal City rolled past Vestaburg, 37-0, in its playoff opener. Rollin had an interception early in the game and then a 21-yard run for a 7-0 lead. Beal City later scored on a 10-yard quarterback sneak. Rollin had a 30-yard scoring run and an interception to set up another score.
The Aggies were 9-2 this season. The only regular-season loss was 17-7 to Evart.
Chippewa Hills Football
The Warriors had their deepest playoff run this season, losing in the regional final, 34-7, to Forest Hills. John Wixson had a 52-yard punt return for the Warriors, who ended the season at 9-3. The team had 161 yards rushing, led by senior Brendan Barry with 76.
The program’s first district title came on Nov. 6 in a 35-12 victory over Big Rapids. Quarterback DJ Lowery was 6 of 18 passing, for 143 yards, and also ran for 106 yards. Barry had 153 yards rushing and a touchdown. Luke Henderson also had a touchdown return.
Big Rapids ended its season at 7-4. The Cardinals, who won at Escanaba in the first round, were coming off a 1-8 season in 2014.