LocalSportsJournal.com
SCOTTVILLE — David Smith’s debut as the Mason County Central varsity football coach was successful, but costly on Thursday night.
The Spartans defeated Wyoming Godwin Heights 27-7 in their season opener at Spartan Stadium Thursday night.
Early in the contest, Mason County Central was dealt a devastating blow when its starting tailback went down with an injury and Smith had to thrust an inexperienced sophomore into the lineup that he hadn’t expected to play at tailback.
But, after some initial difficulty recovering from the loss and youthful mistakes, the Spartans prevailed.
“Defense played very well,” Smith said. “We should have had a shutout. One of our defensive backs kind of stopped and let a guy behind him. He thought we had a sack.
“A lot of first-game mistakes and stuff like that,” he said. “But, I’m real happy these guys were able to get a win and start getting that taste. Plus, playing a bigger inner-city school, I think it’ll give them a little more confidence, too.”
One of the Spartans’ newcomers, Eathan Huffman scored their first touchdown on a 5-yard run late in the first quarter. He later returned an interception for a score and the Spartans converted a pass for the extra two points to take a 14-0 lead with 3:25 remaining in the second quarter.
Godwin Heights cut the Spartans’ lead in half, 14-7, at halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Spartans extended their lead to 20-7 when Tyler Norton ran the ball in from short range. The drive was kept alive when Gus McLouth converted a fourth-and-two.
The Spartans tallied their last touchdown of the game when Huffman punched the ball in from 7 yards out with less than six minutes to play. Quentin Lange set up the short drive when he intercepted a Fighting Wolverines’ pass at the Godwin Heights 47-yard line.
“It was a team effort,” Smith said. “We spread the ball around. I had to keep it very vanilla, and the kids did a good job. Our freshman quarterback (Pierce Blazik) threw a lot more than I wanted. But he’s a tough, smart kid so he takes it pretty good.”
Mason County Central hits the road next Thursday to play Manistee, which defeated Kalkaska 45-0 in its opening game.
