STURGIS — For the first time all season the Sturgis football team outgained its opponent. For the third time in as many weeks the cardiac kids in orange found a way once again to claw out a victory.
Matt Phillips runs for a 28-yard touchdown in the first quarter against Marshall. (Photo by Michael Caywood)
This time it was a combination of chewing up the clock late with a running game that was effective most of the night and coming up with a crucial interception early in the third quarter to put away visiting Marshall 28-25. As a result, Sturgis improved to 3-1 and 2-0 in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division.
“These guys have been through a lot over the last couple years,” Sturgis coach Jimmy Lamb said. “We had a playoff experience two years ago, and a lot of these guys were on that team. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to. Last year we had some turmoil. Then we got thumped 55-0 [by Portage Central in the season opener]. We didn’t fold the tent. We came back ready to work and put together a pretty good system.”
All Lamb wants for now is for his guys to execute that system on a more consistent basis. When the film is reviewed, he knows it will be chock-full of miscues that could have changed the outcome of Friday’s game.
“When it matters, it’s great that we’re executing and making plays,” he added. “But we have to make that matter every single rep. When we figure that out, I’m going to be really excited.”
Check out our Sturgis-Marshall photo gallery here.
Sturgis knocked on the door on its first possession of the game, but came up empty on a fourth-and-4 at the Redhawks’ 14-yard line. After forcing a punt, the Trojans made the most of a midfield start and struck first on a 28-yard run down the left sideline by senior running back Matt Phillips.
Marshall (0-4) answered with a 24-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Danny Welke, who delivered a perfect fade to senior Landry Reynolds in the corner of the end zone to open the second quarter. But the Trojans didn’t flinch, and senior quarterback Chance Stewart connected with speedy senior receiver Kalvyn Bowdish on a 59-yard scoring hookup to take a 14-6 lead.
The Welke-Reynolds combo hooked up again on the next Marshall possession, this time from 10 yards out. The 2-point conversion failed and Sturgis held on to a thin 14-12 advantage.
Full box score can be found here.
The Trojans nearly picked off a Welke pass with the Redhawks deep in Sturgis territory, but the ball hit the turf after touching the hands of two defenders. Welke made the most of the second chance and found Alex Welton open in the end zone from 12 yards out on third down to take an 18-14 lead into intermission.
Sturgis fumbled to open the third quarter but senior Luke Summey got great pressure on Welke on Marshall’s next possession to force an interception by Jack Caywood.
The Trojans went down the field and Stewart arched a 32-yard pass over a Marshall defender into the hands of Bowdish to regain a 21-18 lead with 8:48 to play in the third frame. Another sustained drive, including a catch by Bowdish, who used a timely spin move for 20-yard gain, resulted in a four-yard keeper by Stewart for a TD and a 28-18 cushion with under two minutes to play in the third.
Marshall had some hope when the Trojans went three-and-out midway through the fourth stanza, but the Redhawks couldn’t make anything happen until 1:23 to play I the game when Welke found Reynolds a final time for 17 yards out.
“Our offense played really big in the second half, scored a couple touchdowns, and our defense came up big on a couple drives,” said Stewart, who rushed for 47 yards even with a 30-yarder in the second quarter called back for a false start. “If we play a perfect game one of these times, or even close to one, it’s going to be scary.”
Click here for video interviews with Lamb and Stewart.
The Trojans finished with a well-balanced 407 yards of total offense (192 rushing), with Stewart completing 11 of 22 passing attempts for 215 yards and two touchdowns. Phillips gained 108 hard yards on 16 carries and J.D. Bowdish added 28 on eight takes.
Kalvyn Bowdish had four receptions for 112 yards and Jack Scheske, turning in the best all-around games of his career, grabbed six catches for 95 yards.
Marshall put up 269 yards, with Welke throwing for 148 yards and four scores on 11-of-24 passing.
Phillips led the Trojans from the linebacker position with 7.5 tackles and Summey posted four with several hurries. Adam Yunker, Tristen Stewart and Scheske each registered 3.5 stops.