Skyline must keep moving T he Skyline football team is part of a pretty dubi- ous club this season. After starting the season 0-4, the Eagles are one of several teams across the state that has yet to win a var- sity football game. I’ve been doing this job for awhile now, and I’ve been working in jobs like it for even longer. Winless teams are not uncom- mon. You see them all the time. In fact, I have some first-hand experience with one winless football team in particular. That team being the Red Raiders of my alma mater, Marlette High School. Things are kind of hazy , but I’ll try to recall everything right. I think the losing started when I was in middle school. I think it was eighth grade, but I can’t be sure. What I am sure about, though, was that the losing didn’t stop until the final game of my junior year . I believe the streak was like 44 or 45 games. I would look it up, but people don’t keep those kinds of records. My high school team lost every game for four consecutive seasons. And the only reason the team got a win to end the streak when it did was because our athletic director somehow Photo by Jonathan Knight/A2 JOURNAL Two Pioneer blockers level a pair of Skyline players last Thursday while Pioneer receiver Jeron Clayton streaks by. Pioneer defeated Skyline in the game, 62-40. PIONEER 62, SKYLINE 40 Irish crumple Cranes By Mike Larson A2 Journal The Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard football team had no idea what to expect last Thursday when they took on Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook- Kingswood. The Cranes, who are a new addition to the Fighting Irish schedule , were kind of a mys- tery for Richard. However, it didn’t take the Irish long to figure that mystery out. Gabriel Richard won the game easily, shutting out the Cranes in a 35-0 drubbing. Even more impressive was the fact that Richard scored all 35 points in the first half, and then used the second half to get the second string some valuable experience. “It’s so important to make sure everyone gets a chance to play in game situations,” Richard coach Brian Lemons said. “And it was huge for our second team guys to preserve the shutout.” The Irish finished the game in dramatic fashion, as the Richard defense stopped Cranbrook’s Stefan Czarnecki from scoring on a fourth-and- goal play from the 2-yard-line. “It was a huge stop,” Lemons said. “It was such a big play for this team.” When the game started, there were questions about whether it would even be completed. After a delay because of light- ing, the game had to be moved because Cranbrook’s field isn’t equipped with lights. However, the game was able to be played at Bloomfield Lahser High School. But the Fighting Irish wasted no time getting into the game. Richard’s Joey Birchler opened up the scoring on the very first play of the game, retuning the opening kicko ff 93 yards for a touchdown. Cranbrook didn’t seem as ready to play. The Cranes fumbled on their first possession and Richard recovered, giving the Irish great By Mike Larson A2 Journal Skyline fans were very disappointed as they left Ann Arbor Pioneer Thursday night after the Eagles’ first varsity game at Holloway Field. The only football fans who might have been more disap- pointed were the ones who came to the contest in hopes of seeing a low scoring game. Pioneer defeated Skyline 62-40 in a shootout where both teams seemed to be able to score at will. “Any time you score 62 Tommy Polornery intercepted a Copp pass. Two plays later, Johnson found the endzone on a 19-yard run. Holding a 21-7 lead, and scoring on every offensive pos- session they had had, it looked as if Pioneer was goi ng to blow out the younger Skyline team. However, the Eagles had other ideas. Skyline answered right back, when Copp found Jordan Woods with a 31-yard touch- down pass. With less than three min- utes remaining in the first quarter, the two teams had already combined for 35 points, as Pioneer led 21-14. The Eagles, who had been struggling on defense, then Pioneer, Skyline put up big points PiHi win River Rats get bucked by Bedford By Terry Jacoby A2 Journal On Ann Arbor Huron’s open- ing drive of the third quarter Thursday night, quarterback Alex Hassan fired a bullet to receiver Charles Boyd on a slant play. The senior wideout made a nice grab and tumbled into the endzone to give the River Rats a 29-15 lead with 8:14 to play in the third quarter. After a first half filled with penalties – it seemed as if false starts were part of their offense – and a couple of big plays by visiting Monroe, it appeared the River Rats were settling in for an easy victory. But less than 4 minutes later, the Trojans tied the game at 29-29 and never looked back in a 50-29 win over Huron in a Southeastern Conference game on a chilly evening in Ann Arbor. The loss drops the River Rats to 1-3 on the season. They play next Friday at Skyline. Monroe improves to 2-2. The first scoring drive for Huron featured the River Rats’ ability to overcome mistakes – something that eventually would catch up with them. On a third-and-19 play from the 41- yard line, Hassan found Brent King over the middle for a huge gain and a first down at the Monroe 23. On the next play, Huron was called for holding and it was suddenly first-and-23 at the 36-yard line. But Hassan lofted a pass to Matt Hastings, who went up and grabbed it in the endzone to give Huron a 7-0 lead with 3:52 to play in the first quarter. The lead didn’t last long. A good kick return – Huron had trouble all game on special teams – set Monroe up at the Huron 39. Three plays later, Mitchell Kuehniein threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Reginald Allen. After Huron FOOTBALL PLEASE SEE HURON /2-D PLEASE SEE LARSON /2-D Photo by Jonathan Knight/A2 JOURNAL A Huron player takes down a Bedford player in a recent game. Last week, the River Rats fell to Monroe. September 23, 2010 Heritage Newspapers O UR S PORTS D SECTION Log onto our Web site for additional stories, local video and daily updates on everything Ann Arbor. GENERAL ADMISSION MIKE LARSON Cut down the Net: Make sure to www. a2journal.co m for the lastest information on Ann Arbor’s local sports happening s. Check out our video: Be sure to watch high- lights from the Pioneer vs. Skyline football game from last week. Shootout!