Tuscola County Sports

Cupca ke Vassar (read link) defeated Flint Beecher 28-0. Keif Vickers scored all four of Vassar's touchdowns. Vickers finished the night with 111 yards rushing on 12 carries. Troy Hecht rushed for 78 yards on 12 carries. Kyle Auernahamer ended the game 2-8 passing with 52 yards. He completed one pass to Kevin Pratt for four yards, and the other pass to Jeremy Schiefer for 48 yards. The Vulcan defense came up big in this game as they held the Bucs to just 60 total yards are offense. Tyler Best led the way with 11 tackles. Joe Harper had eight tackles. Milli ngton beat Carrollton 53-21. Justin Stutler scored four touchdowns, while rushing for 148 yards on 29 carries. Cameron Wilson rushed the ball 10 times for 73 yards and one touchdown. Wilson also had a defensive touchdown. Jesse Stewart had two carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. Noah Moore completed both pass attempts to Josh Williams for 37 yards. Matt Harrington scored the Cardinals other touchdown on a 15 yard

North Branch faces dominating Mount Pleasant The Flint Journal , October 27, 2009 8:27 p.m. Division 3 North Branch at Mount Pleasant When: 7 p.m. Friday Records: North Branch 6-3, Mount Pleasant 9-0 Playoff histories: North Branch 2 nd trip, 1-1; Mount Pleasant 10 th trip, 6-9 Scouting report: Mount Pleasant, ranked 22 nd overall in the state by Maxpreps.com and third in Division 3, has been far more dominant, outscoring foes 347-83 to North Branch’s 221-189 mark. The Oilers have also beaten three playoff teams and two others with winning records and finished 9-0 for the first time since 1992. Mount Pleasant is averaging 212 yards rushing per game and 6.1 yards per carry with 33 touchdowns on the ground. Jon McCann has 948 yards rushing, 8.5 yards per carry with 17 touchdowns. Alex Horton and Mark Lee have combined for 705 yards. McCann is also the top tackler with 95. Quarterback Josh Rathje has passed for 837 yards with 11 touchdowns and only one interception. He has completed 6

NORTH BRANCH at MT. PLEASANT Bill Khan: North Branch is in for a case of playoff culture shock, leaving the cozy confines of the Tri-Valley Conference to face the unbeaten champion of the Saginaw Valley Conference. Who you’ve played and where you come from matters at this time of year. Pick: Mt. Pleasant Dan Nilsen: North Branch is back in the playoffs after a two-year absence, but the Broncos get a rude welcome-back host. Mount Pleasant manhandled the Valley this year, and we’re not talking the Tri-Valley. Pick: Mt. Pleasant Mark Spezia: Just making the playoffs thanks to an overtime win over Yale means North Branch has had a successful season. The Broncos struggled against the three top teams on their schedule, losing the three games by a combined 105-28 margin. Mt. Pleasant could be better than any of those teams. Pick: Mt. Pleasant Greg Tunnicliff: The Oilers are 9-0 for a reason and North Branch will soon find out why. The Broncos needed a one-point overtime victory ov

Perennial power Millington faces a rising Carrollton program in the first round of the football playoffs Hugh Bernreuter | The Saginaw News , October 28, 2009 9:14 p.m. They are not strangers, just estranged. Carrollton and Millington take each other on for the first time in 20 years to open the Division 5 football playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday at Millington. The schools are original members of the Tri-Valley Conference, although Millington left briefly to join the Thumb B Association. When Millington returned, the TVC split into two divisions, with Millington in the East and Carrollton in the West. They have not played since 1988, but that changes Friday with the first football playoff game between the two schools. "We are similar teams," Carrollton coach Greg Wasmer said. "They may not be as big as they have been in the past, but they take on the personality of their coach (Tim Furno). They're tenacious. They keep coming at you." Both teams are 8-1, with Carrollt

Vassar (6-3) at #5 Flint Beecher (9-0) In a match up of conference champions, Vassar will travel to Flint to take on the Bucs of Beecher High School. The Bucs are coached by former Michigan State University and Beecher stand-out Courtney Hawkins. This season is Hawkins fourth as coach. He has a 26-11 career record. Beecher just completed their first season in the Genesee Area Conference - Red Division. The Vulcans of the Greater Thumb Conference West Division are coached by Jason Kiss. In his third season at the helm, Kiss holds a 16-11 record. The Bucs went 3-0 this year against playoff teams. They defeated Goodrich 33-13, Lake Fenton 26-0, and Durand 22-16. The Vulcans were 1-2 versus playoff teams in 2009. They defeated Reese 26-17, and lost to Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port 41-21 and Ubly 40-14. Beecher's opponents recorded a 36-45 record this year while Vassar's opponents had a 42-39 record. Beecher finished their championship regular season by scoring 285 points, while only allow

Team Wins Opp. Wins Pt. Diff. Conf. Str. Power Points Millington 8 34 23.111 1.984 67.629 Essexville-Garber 7 43 13.889 1.984 65.040 Ubly 9 36 28.667 1.984 64.851 Croswell-Lexington 7 38 22.889 -1.056 61.233 North Branch 6 42 3.556 1.984 59.006 Elkton-Pigeon Bay Port 7 43 17.778 -0.397 55.270 Brown City 7 38 26.222 1.984 54.606 Reese 7 38 18.778 -0.397 53.703 Birch Run 5 39 12.222 1.984 52.651 Caro 5 41 6.333 1.984 52.062 Sandusky 6 41 11.222 1.984 50.329 Vassar 6 42 6.889 -0.397 50.292

Scores Caro 46 - Cass City 20 Millington 42 - Lakeville 0 Vassar 48 - Frankenmuth 22 North Branch 21 - Yale 20 OT Mayville 20 - Kingston 7 Mt. Morris 14 - Reese 7 USA 33 - Harbor Beach 22 Arenac Eastern 70 - Akron-Farigrove 18 (11-man game) Marlette 17 - Peck 6 Friday's Freaks for Week #9 Millington - Justin Stutler 15-255 rush 3 TD. Stutler is now Millington's single season rushing leader. Frankenmuth - Jacob Frank 18-133 rush Vassar - Kyler Auernahmer 9-15 pass 157 3TD INT, Troy Hecht 4-74 rec 3TD 9-141 rush 2TD 2PAT 10 tck, Keif Vickers 23-135 rush TD 2-2PAT Caro - Mike Daniel 15-145 rush 3TD, Caleb Sundblad 3-5 pass 96 TD 4-66 rush 2-2PAT, Brant Miller 8-111 rush TD 2PAT, Tim Curtis 2-86 rec TD Cass City - Austin Osentoski 21-142 rush TD, Alex Varney 17-117 rush 1-65 rec, Josh Jensen 10 tck, Justin Ketterer 5-14 pass 95 TD North Branch - Doug Griffin 60 yds rush TD 7-13 pass 83 yds TD, Dennis Natke TD rush 2-44 rec TD, Kyle Cline 3-3 PAT, Mitch Bruise 11 tck Mayville

Rumor Mill Is Millington in line to be the next team to jump conferences? I have heard from multiple sources that Millington is waiting on the Greater Thumb West (GTW) to say yes, to the Cardinals joining the conference. A decision is supposed to made by November, and if the decision is yes, then Millington will begin play starting with the 2010-2011 school year. If a move happens, the GTW would have eight schools. Deckerville is leaving the Greater Thumb East (GTE) which would make only six schools left. The Greater Thumb would most certainly be unbalanced, unless the GTE gets a replacement for Deckerville. Adding football rich Millington to traditional powers Reese, USA, and Laker High would likely put the rest of the conference on the backburner for most falls. It is this reason that I do not see the GTW saying a resounding YES. Playoff Talk Tuscola County has only two schools with automatic bids for the playoffs - Millington and Reese. North Branch and Vassar can clinch birth

Thanks to Bill Petzold for alerting me about this article of his. By Bill Petzold | The Bay City Times October 16, 2009, 6:52PM Reese softball coach Andy Behmlander didn’t get into coaching for personal accolades. But when a coach spends 24 years building a small-town high school softball program into a state powerhouse, people are bound to notice. Behmlander, who guided Reese to a 42-2 record and a state runner-up finish this spring, has two Michigan High School Coaches Association banquets to attend this offseason: One to accept the award for 2009 Coach of the Year and one for his induction into the MHSCA’s Hall of Fame. “Coaches get the credit when things go well, and they get the blame when it goes bad,” Behmlander said. “I end up getting recognition, but it really comes down to the kids.” Behmlander, a 1972 Bay City Central graduate, is nearing 600 wins coaching in a village with a population under 1,400. Since the 2000 season, Behmlander’s teams have compiled a record of 307

I am still waiting on information regarding these games, but here are a few scores from around the county the scores from last night. Frankenmuth 1 - Caro 0 Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port 2 - Millington 0 Lakeville 3 - Cass City 2

Rushing Thumb Rushing Leaders Name School Att. Yards Avg. TD Justin Stutler Millington 160 1,266 7.9 13 Mike Daniel Caro 211 1,142 5.4 11 Clinton Northrop Sandusky 176 1,034 5.9 14 Keif Vickers Vassar 143 922 6.4 9 John Schramski North Huron 154 932 6.1 6 Tyler Masse USA 135 853 6.3 9 Chris Rowe Laker 110 839 7.6 5 Doug Griffin North Branch 100 771 7.7 11 Donnell Hamilton Peck 104 751 7.2 8 Austin Osentoski Cass City 130 727 5.6 11 Passing Thumb Passing Leaders Name School Comp Att Pct

Team Wins Opp. Wins Pt. Diff. Conf. Str. Power Points Essexville-Garber 7 37 19.250 1.786 62.044 Millington 7 29 20.750 1.786 58.861 Ubly 8 30 27.375 0.893 55.853 Croswell-Lexington 6 36 25.125 -0.781 55.065 Reese 7 32 22.125 0.000 51.101 North Branch 5 38 3.875 1.786 51.062 Elkton-Pigeon Bay Port 6 39 17.250 0.000 48.947 Sandusky 6 35 15.375 0.893 46.319 Brown City 6 33 24.750 0.893 46.146 Caro 4 37 3.875 1.786 44.951 Birch Run 4 34 10.250 1.786 43.922 Vassar 5 38 4.500 0.000 42.672 D

Tuscola County Scores Reese 48 USA 13 Millington 40 North Branch 8 Birch Run 52 Frankenmuth 18 Caro 48 Tawas Area 28 Vassar 35 Cass City 3 Brown City 41 Marlette 15 Harbor Beach 46 Mayville 12 Friday's Freaks Mayville - Aaron Mercer 12-21 pass 97 yds TD 2 INT 54 yds rush, Jake Coutcher 4-35 rec TD USA - Tyler Masse 22-107 rush 2 TD 1-34 rec Reese - Jimmy Hahn 9-75 rush 3 TD, Kevin Kinasz 15 tck, Caleb Gnatkowski 2 of the hardest hits seen all year, Kyle Yaklin 62 yd punt return for a TD 65 yd INT return for a TD, Cody Somerville 54 yd fumble return for a TD, Chris Bauer 6-7 PAT Caro - Mike Daniel 33-216 rush 2 TD 3 2PAT, Brant Miller 11-103 TD, Tim Curtis 2 TD rec, Caleb Sundblad 2TD pass TD rush Millington - Justin Stutler 28-283 rush 3 TD, Jesse Stewart 12-98 rush North Branch - Doug Griffin 2-15 pass 27 TD 13-44 rush, Kyle Cline 12 tck Vassar - Tyler Best 14 tck, Kyle Auernhamer 10-14 pass 201 TD TD rush 3-4 PAT, Troy Hecht 11-128 rush TD, Keif Vickers 15-113 rush 2TD 2PAT Cass

Looking to the Future If the high school football season were to suddenly end as of October 15, which teams in the Thumb would have the right to be named as the Team of the Thumb. Only four schools have a right to be mentioned - Croswell-Lexington, Millington, Reese, and Ubly. As of this time, these are the only four schools in the Thumb who have automatically qualified for a spot in the MHSAA post-season tournament. Clearly the team have the best season is the Ubly Bearcats. Ubly is currently in the midst of a 21-game regular season winning streak, and advanced to the Division 7 championship game last year. If they finish the regular season 9-0, they should be the Thumb Sportswriter's Association Team of the Year. What player has stood head and shoulders above all others this year to be named the Thumb Player of the Year? Here are a few in no particular order - Erik Dhyse of Kinde-North Huron has 903 yards passing on the year to go along with 15 TD and 6 INT. Dhyse also has