Schoolcraft and Constantine had another gridiron classic Friday as the Eagles took their week six encounter 27-24 at Sweetland Stadium. Schoolcraft’s win in their 74th meeting since 1953 keeps the Eagles unbeaten in 2019, while also giving them six consecutive wins against the Falcons. It also clinches their 11th straight playoff berth.
Extra points and two-point conversions were the deciding factor ultimately with both teams scoring four touchdowns. Schoolcraft went 3-4 on PAT kicks, whereas Constantine missed their first PAT and failed to convert the ensuing three conversion tries. The Eagles still had to hold on in the final minute of the game, despite jumping to a 20-6 lead in the first quarter.
Although they had that lead by the end of the first, the game had an abysmal start for Schoolcraft with an opening kickoff fumble. The Falcons recovered and soon after, freshman running back Brayden Clark had a 27-yard touchdown run for a 6-0 lead.
The Eagles answered with a touchdown drive, capped off as quarterback Alex Thole connected on a 20-yard pass to Trenton Cook. Parker Lawrence made the PAT for the 7-6 advantage and Schoolcraft wouldn’t trail for the remainder of the game.
Constantine had their own kickoff return fumble to even the turnover score, followed by an 18-yard TD pass from Thole to Harmon DeVries. Schoolcraft’s defense forced a three-and-out, then Thole connected with Lawrence on a 45-yard touchdown pass. Their lone failed kick after the third touchdown set the score at 20-6 late in the first quarter.
The next Falcon drive lasted 13 plays, but ended in a turnover-on-downs in the red zone. However, Hunter Bacheller intercepted Thole at midfield to reclaim possession for Constantine. Clark would score his second rushing TD of the night on a 12-yard scamper with 4:09 left in the half, although the failed two-point try kept the Falcons behind 20-12.
Schoolcraft seemed to have their fourth touchdown pass of the night on a big screen pass gain by Kobe Clark, but an illegal man downfield penalty nullified the score, eventually setting up an Eagle punt with 1:25 remaining. Constantine would answer with a 74-yard scoring drive in 1:14, scoring on a 31-yard pass to their Clark by Caden Hetmansperger. The failed two-point attempt put the score at 20-18 into halftime.
The game shifted into a defensive duel in the second half. After trading punts, a diving interception by Kobe Clark gave Schoolcraft the ball at their own 34. The Eagles then shifted from their spread set to primarily an I-formation set and began to grind.
Clark, who set a state record with nine rushing TDs against the Falcons in week six last season, came alive on this drive. After being held to a whopping six yards in the first half, Kobe had almost all of the drive’s 66 yards, including the two-yard TD run. Lawrence’s PAT put the score at 27-18 with 10:53 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons matched on the ensuing 64-yard drive, capped off with Isaac Hall’s 21 yard rushing score. Another failed two-point attempt led to a 27-24 mark with 7:37 left.
Schoolcraft put together a methodical drive from their own 47 that drained the clock from 7:27 to 0:58 by the time it ended. The Eagles made it to the goalline but twice were stopped mere centimeters short.
Constantine forced a turnover-on-downs and got the ball at the 15 due to a Schoolcraft penalty, but no timeouts and only 58 seconds left proved to be too tough. A 39-yard pass to Brayden Clark got them a big chunk, but the clock would expire as their final pass attempt fell incomplete near the Eagle 20-yard line.
The Falcons fall to 4-2 overall with the defeat and 1-1 within the SAC Lakeshore. Constantine travels to Watervliet in week seven, hosts Kalamazoo United in week eight, and travels to Delton Kellogg to close the regular season.
The Eagles improve to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in division play, tied with defending champ United for the top spot. Their sixth straight win over Constantine puts Schoolcraft at 34-40 all-time against their long-time rival. The Eagles go to Coloma in week seven, then host Watervliet and United to close the regular season.
Listen back to Friday’s broadcast here.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| SCHOOLCRAFT | 20 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| CONSTANTINE | 6 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 24 |
First Quarter
CO- 27 yard rush Brayden Clark, PAT missed (10:00)
SC- 20 yard pass Trenton Cook from Alex Thole, Parker Lawrence PAT (6:47)
SC- 18 yard pass Harmon DeVries from Alex Thole, Lawrence PAT (5:29)
SC- 45 yard pass Parker Lawrence from Alex Thole, PAT miss (2:56)
Second Quarter
CO- 12 yard rush Brayden Clark, 2PT fail (4:09)
CO- 31 yard pass Brayden Clark from Caden Hetmansperger, 2PT fail (0:11)
Fourth Quarter
SC- 2 yard rush Kobe Clark, Lawrence PAT (10:53)
CO- 21 yard rush Isaac Hall, 2PT fail (7:37)
Total Yards: Schoolcraft 310, Constantine 321
Penalties: Schoolcraft 4-20, Constantne 7-45
Turnovers: Schoolcraft 2, Constantine 2
Schoolcraft Rushing: Kobe Clark 93, 1 TD; Alex Thole 31, Mark Fox -1
Constantine Rushing: Isaac Hall 107, 1 TD; Brayden Clark 75, 2 TD; Caden Hetmansperger 45, Hunter Bacheller 23, Ty Dumm 4
Schoolcraft Passing: Alex Thole 16-20, 187 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Constantine Passing: Caden Hetmansperger 2-9, 73 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Schoolcraft Receiving: Parker Lawrence 3-89,1 TD; Harmon DeVries 3-38, 1 TD; Jimmy Downs 4-27, Trenton Cook 2-23, 1 TD; Caden Sukich 1-13, Kobe Clark 3–3
Constantine Receiving: Brayden Clark 2-73, 1 TD
Schoolcraft Defense: Kobe Clark INT, no individual stats available
Constantine Defense: Hunter Bacheller 7 tck, 1 INT; Wyatt Alwine 9 tck, Isaac Hall 6 tck, Ty Dumm 4 tck, Nathan Scott 11 tck, 1 TFL, Bo Eckman 6 tck, 1 TFL; Dakota Anthony 5 tck, 1 TFL; Solomon Walker 4 tck, 1 TFL; Trey Salisbury 2 tck, Owen Griffith 1 tck, Davonte Conley 1 tck, Matthew Hutton 2 tck
Records: Schoolcraft 6-0 (2-0 SAC Lakeshore), Constantine 4-2 (1-1 SAC Lakeshore)