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Triumphant return

Hurons top Blue Devils to secure first playoff spot since 2009

News Photo by James Andersen Rogers City quarterback Caleb Bade (14) gets up after scoring a touchdown during a game against Sault Ste. Marie on Friday at Gilpin Field in Rogers City. The Hurons won and secured a playoff spot for the first time since 2009.

ROGERS CITY–For the first time in nine years, the Rogers City football team is headed to the playoffs.

Caleb Bade scored a 24-yard rushing touchdown on a fourth down quarterback sneak and the Hurons topped Sault Ste. Marie 20-16 at Gilpin Field on Friday.

Jeff Ellenberger intercepted Sault’s Tate Kay with 21 seconds left to seal the win for the Hurons (6-1), who earned a playoff spot for the first time since 2009.

Playing against a Class B school with a noticeable size advantage, the Hurons didn’t back down and went toe-to-toe with the Blue Devils.

“It comes down to how much heart this team has. Our boys play with a ton of heart, a ton of passion. Sometimes (it’s with) a little bit of reckless abandon out there, they fly around the ball a lot, but I couldn’t ask for a better team,” Rogers City coach Jesse Fenstermaker said. “Our boys, they fought; they fought hard. They came out and packed a punch tonight.”

Bade made the play of the game on a fourth-and-inches attempt, breaking through the middle on a quarterback sneak for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:36 left.

The play came after Lewis Fleming came up just short on a third down rushing attempt. The touchdown capped a nine-play drive during which the Hurons earned three first downs and ultimately took the lead for good.

Fenstermaker credited senior center Griffin Bredow with the play call on the winning touchdown. Bade came to Fenstermaker and told him Bredow wanted a quarterback sneak over him. With Bredow’s experience, Fenstermaker trusted Bredow to make the call and it turned out to be the right one.

“He’s a senior, so we let him have it and he did his job. Griffin did his job (and) Bade just went through his center,” Fenstermaker said. “These guys know how to play football (and) they do it well.”

Bade finished the game with a pair of rushing touchdowns and another through the air after he found Ellenberger for a 71-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. A conversion run by Bade gave Rogers City a 14-9 lead with 9:24 left in the period.

Bade was 6-of-9 passing for 138 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He added 35 rushing yards on six carries.

The Blue Devils took the lead with 7:01 to play after Kay found Chase Hilgendorf on a 33-yard halfback pass. Kay took a pitch from quarterback Jakob Davie, scrambled right and found Hilgendorf over the middle for the touchdown.

Kay added the PAT to give Sault a 16-14 lead.

Kay was Sault’s workhorse all night and finished the game with 176 yards on 30 carries. While he had several plays that went for big yardage, Fenstermaker praised his team for keeping Kay in check for much of the night.

“I thought we bottled him up pretty good,” Fenstermaker said. “It was a back-and-forth game. I thought if we could control the clock and keep their offense off the field, keeping No. 3 off the field offensively we’d have a shot.”

After Bade’s go-ahead score, the Blue Devils’ final drive began on their own 13 with 2:28 left. Sault methodically worked the ball to around midfield but couldn’t connect on several pass plays with Kay stepping in under center as time wound down. Kay found Robert Landis for a seven-yard gain and a first down, but his next pass was incomplete and his final pass of the night was picked off by Ellenberger, who finished the game with a pair of interceptions.

In addition to the two interceptions, Ellenberger led all Huron receivers with two catches for 78 yards and led Rogers City on the ground with 75 yards on five carries.

Rogers City took knee for the final play and when the whistle sounded, players ran from the sideline to celebrate with and embrace those already on the field.

In Fenstermaker’s first season at the helm, the Hurons have had quite the turnaround. Last week’s win over Alcona guaranteed a winning record for the 2018 season and Friday’s win gave Rogers City at least six wins for the first time since 2009.

“Man I’m proud of these guys. I don’t know what else to say,” Fenstermaker said. “They played as hard as they could possibly play and it’s nice to see them come out (with a win).”

Sault got on the board first as the Blue Devils sacked Bade in the end zone for a safety late in the first quarter. Rogers City answered back midway through the second quarter as Bade made a heads-up play, turning a designed pass play into an eight-yard run for a touchdown that gave the Hurons a 6-2 lead halftime lead.

The Blue Devils had two golden opportunities just before halftime after a series of penalties gave them the ball inside Rogers City’s 10. A third down pass fell incomplete and a field goal attempt by Kay on fourth down was no good.

Kay scored his only touchdown of the game on the opening drive of the second half, rumbling in from 30-yards out. An added PAT gave Sault a 9-6 lead, but it didn’t last long as Bade found Ellenberger for a touchdown just three plays later.

The Hurons play at St. Ignace next Friday.

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