Local Sports Journal

Sometimes it takes a while to overcome the opening night jitters.

The Mason County Central Spartans discovered that Thursday as they dueled to a scoreless tie at halftime with Benzie Central in non-league football action.

But the Spartans found their legs after halftime, scoring touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters to secure a 16-0 victory.

The Spartans got on the scoreboard quickly in the third quarter with a two-play drive that was capped by a 36-yard touchdown run by Murphy O’Brien.Josh Ritsema finished the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard run for MCC.

Ritsema finished with 69 yards rushing on 11 carries while O’Brien totaled 51 yards on five carries. Matt Burbridge and Blake Bladzik led the defense with 11 tackles apiece.