Adrian, MI – What a wild weekend of football for Lenawee County teams… eight high schools played in the first round of the MHSAA playoffs, with three coming away with wins. Both Siena Heights University and Adrian College had home football games Saturday afternoon.
Siena Heights Football Wins Third Straight After Downing Lawrence Tech at Home:
Quarterback Elijah Taylor had three touchdowns passes and defensive lineman Antonio Simley recorded three sacks as the Siena Heights football team earned a 31-10 victory over MSFA Mideast opponent Lawrence Tech on Saturday at O’Laughlin Stadium.
Taylor finished 12 of 19 for 184 yards. His TD passes were completed to wide receiver Credell Prather, who totaled three grabs for 65 yards and two scores, and fellow wide-out Eric Williams II, who had four catches for 73 yards and one TD.
Running back Ethan LoPresto eclipsed the 100-yard plateau for the fourth straight week, compiling 128 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.
Simley had seven total tackles on defense, including his trio of QB takedowns. Linebacker Cayden Hankins led the unit in stops with nine tackles.
Defensive lineman Joseph Wharton added seven tackles, including 2 1/2 for-loss (1 1/2 sacks).
Linebacker Clarke Hamilton had a sack, lineman Nico Fernandez had a half-sack and linebacker Tanner Rubenstein recovered a fumble. Defensive backs Shamar Askin and Amir Stewart made interceptions.
SHU (5-3, 3-2) built a 14-0 lead through the first quarter after a pair of touchdown passes by Taylor: the first, a 24-yarder to Prather, and the second, a 54-yard connection to Williams.
The visiting Blue Devils (1-7, 0-5) pulled within 14-7 in the second quarter before Siena Heights scored twice more. LoPresto had a 3-yard TD run and, later, Taylor found Prather for a 35-yard scoring strike.
SHU led 28-10 at halftime. Kicker David Medvedik closed out the scoring with a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter. He was 4 of 4 on PATs.
The Saints will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 4, with their final home game of the regular season when Madonna visits for a noon MSFA Mideast kickoff.
Adrian College Drops MIAA Contest to Albion in Interim Coach Harry Bailey’s Debut:
The Adrian College football team fell to Albion College on Saturday, its first game under interim head coach, Harry Bailey. The Britons defeated the Bulldogs by a score of 34-21.
The Bulldogs were held scoreless in the first half, while the Britons put up three touchdowns and three conversions for 21 points in the first two quarters. Adrian quarterback Mark Lopez threw for an interception and fumbled the ball while going 6/15 on pass attempts for 83 yards in the opening half. The Bulldogs fumbled once more on offense but did end up recovering the ball. On defense, Adrian forced a fumble but did not recover.
The Bulldogs were first to score in the second half as Tyler Poirier rushed it up the middle for a one-yard score, followed by a point-after conversion to make it 21-7. They followed that up later with a fourteen-yard reception touchdown from Alyjuuan Paris and another conversion from Alec Milley to bring the score to 21-14 after the third quarter.
The fourth quarter of play started with an Albion blocked punt after an Adrian opening drive, returned for a touchdown and conversion to make it 28-14. The Bulldogs answered right back with a 33-yard reception touchdown from Keontae Townsend and a Milley conversion to bring it to 28-21. The Britons would add another touchdown but missed their conversion, to go up 34-21. The Bulldogs pushed back late, but Lopez threw another interception, allowing the Britons to hold on for the win.
Lopez finished the day with 20 completions on 40 attempts for 327 yards and two touchdowns. He also fumbled the ball twice. Poirier led in rushing with 93 yards on 26 attempts, while Cole Seslar led the way in receiving with four receptions and 113 yards.
Ryker Bidwell led the defense with fourteen total tackles for Adrian, followed by nine from Beau Ginop and seven from Waides Ashmon. Randall Broome collected the only sack for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs next game will be the final home game of the season at Docking Stadium on November 4 against Alma College. Before the game, Adrian’s senior class will be honored. Kick off at 1:00 PM.
Cougars, Redwolves, Tigers all Advance to District Title Games:
Lenawee County sent eight teams to the MHSAA Playoffs Friday night, and three of them came out on top. Here are the results from Friday night, and the next games for the trio of victors:
40 Hudson @ Addison 0
15 Clinton vs Blissfield 7
31 Haslett vs Adrian 12
49 Chelsea vs Tecumseh 35
56 Lenawee Christian vs Camden-Frontier 6
59 Whiteford vs Sand Creek 0
Coming up this Weekend-
Division 8, Region 3, District 2 on Friday- Hudson (8-2) @ Whiteford (10-0) (winner will play Saugatuck or White Pigeon for a Regional Championship)
Division 7, Region 4, District 2 on Friday- Clinton (9-1) vs Monroe St. Mary’s Catholic Central (6-4) (winner will play Napoleon or Jackson Lumen Christi for a Regional Championship)
8-Player Division 2, Region 4 Championship on Saturday- Lenawee Christian (10-0) vs Climax-Scotts (10-0) (winner will play in the semi-final round on Saturday, November 11th vs. Portland St. Patrick or Deckerville)