Potterville at Perry – – Football – – The Bleacher Denizen – – October 18, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the Bleacher Denizen is off to Perry High School, where the Hometown Ramblers will play the Vikings from Potterville. Potterville has a 2-4 record in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference and is 2-5 overall. Perry enters the game with a 1-5 record in the CMAC and is 1-6 overall.

This is my first visit to the Perry Football field. It’s a nice field with a really nice press box!! As an extra tweet, I got to meet Earle Burns, who has left a lot of nice comments about “The Bleacher Denizen” blog on Twitter. He will be taking statistics for Perry tonight! His wife, Ashley, will be helping, too.

It was senior night, tonight. The announcer introduced Potterville seniors Ezzy Taylor, Cameron Wood, Aidan Stirrett, Keaton Bush and Tyren Mitchell as well as senior cheer leaders Brooke Glover, Shannon Murphy, Emalee Scott and Larissa Turner.

They then introduced the Perry senior cheerleaders, who walked out onto the field with their parents. Hailey Hansen, Ali Miller, Monita Penrose, Grace Spiess, Chloe Zegelien and Natalia Bailor were all honored.

It was then time for the football seniors, D.J. Jenks, Brady Burns, Hunter Steiss, Brayden Connell, Christ Lanscheidt, Mark Rinjninks, Johnathan Schmidfrantz, Keegan Brown, Adrin Grossett, Blake Bawks and Brandon Ketchum.

It is now time to record the events of this game through the somewhat clear lenses of an aging Bleacher Denizen whose football career never got off to much of a start. He was showing some promise as a player who could block field goals and extra point kicks, but everything fell apart when the football movers and shakers decreed that I was no longer allowed to use my pogo stick to help me jump.

Perry’s Jacob Adkins opened the game by kicking the ball off to Potterville’s 10 yard line where Elijah Pung fielded it and returned it twenty-two yards before Mason Nosis and Alex McEwan pulled him down.

Potterville started its first series on its own 32 yard line.

J.T. Lynch and Keegan Brown teamed up to start Potterville’s first down run for a two yard loss. Ezzy Taylor’s second down run around the right end was good for fourteen yards and a first down.

Alex McEwan and Gavin Fitchett teamed up to stop Potterville’s first down pitch for no gain. An illegal procedure penalty moved Potterville back five yards. Brady Burns deflected the Viking second down pass and it fell incomplete. Ezzy Taylor went to the left and cut to the right for a fourteen yard third down gain; D.J. Jenks and Brady Burns teamed up for the Rambler tackle. On fourth down, Ezzy Taylor plowed up the middle for a two yard gain and a first down before Keegan Brown took him down.

Potterville had a first down on the Perry 43 yard line.

Jacob Adkins deflected Potterville’s incomplete first down pass. Potterville’s second down screen pass fell incomplete. D.J. Jenks intercepted the Viking third down pass and gained about fifteen yards, but a penalty for a block in the back was assessed to the Ramblers. Perry had a first down on its own 28 yard line.

Brayden Connell took the ball around the right end for a seventeen yard gain and a first down. Keegan Bennett and Blake Hollern teamed up for the Viking tackle.

D.J. Jenks gained fifteen yards around the left end on first down before Greg Croze pushed him out of bounds to give his Ramblers a first down in Viking territory on the 40 yard line.

Cameron Wood and Keaton Bush teamed up to stop Perry’s first down run for a three yard loss. Brayden Connell took the ball to the right for a six yard second down gain before Julius Clark made the stop. Greg Croze and Damon Boyd covered on Perry’s incomplete third down pass. Blake Pluda covered on the Rambler incomplete fourth down pass.

Potterville took over the ball on downs on its own 37 yard line.

A delay of game penalty cost the Vikings five yards. A false start penalty cost the Vikings another five yards. This was followed by an offside penalty against the Ramblers. The teams finally actually played first down; Brady Doerner covered for Perry on Potterville’s incomplete pass. Another false start penalty negated a Viking second down gain on a run up the middle. Gavin Fitchett tackled Potterville’s runner for a one yard loss on the second down replay.

A false start penalty cost the Vikings another five yards. Jacob Adkins knocked the Viking third down pass down. On fourth down, Greg Croze’s punt was downed by his teammate, Ezzy Taylor at the Viking 44 yard line.

Perry fumbled on its first down run; Cameron Wood recovered it for Potterville on the Viking 43 yard line. The Vikings started their next series there.

Blake Bawks and Keegan Brown teamed up to stop Potterville’s first down run for no gain. Keegan Brown stopped the second down run for no gain. A pass interference penalty on third down moved the Vikings to the Rambler 48 yard line. Ezzy Taylor’s run on the third down repeat gained two yards before he was tackled by Blake Bawks; Potterville had a first down on the Perry 46 yard line.

Alex McEwan pressured the Potterville quarterback into throwing an incomplete first down pass. Ezzy Taylor passed to Greg Croze over the middle for a nineteen yard second down gain. Blake Bawks made the tackle for Perry.

That was the final play of the first quarter. The quarter ended in a scoreless tie. Potterville had a first down with ten yards to go on Perry’s 27 yard line.

Ezzy Taylor ran out of the pocket and gained eleven yards around the right end before he ran out of bounds. The Vikings had a first down on the Rambler 16 yard line.

Keegan Bennett ran up the left tackle for a six yard first down gain before Keegan Brown and Blake Bawks took him down. Dellon Body and Keegan Brown stopped the Viking second down run for a one yard loss. Jacob Adkins broke up Potterville’s incomplete third down pass. On fourth down, Brayden Connell sacked the Viking quarterback for a four yard loss.

Perry took over the ball on downs on their own 15 yard line.

Brayden Connell went around the right end for an eight yard first down gain. Julius Clark made the tackle for Potterville. On second down, Brayden Connell went up the right tackle for a three yard gain; Luke Ward got the Viking stop. Perry had a first down.

Perry fumbled the ball on the next play and Blake Pluda recovered the ball for Potterville to give the Vikings a first down on Perry’s 40 yard line.

D.J. Jenks broke up Potterville’s first down pass. Ezzy Taylor ran out of the pocket to the right and gained four yards before Blake Bawks and Brandon Ketchum pulled him down. Brandon Ketchum stopped the Viking third down run for a three yard loss. On fourth down, Greg Croze punted the ball into the end zone; Perry started its series on its own 20 yard line.

Cameron Wood and Blake Hollern stopped Perry’s first down run to the right for a one yard loss. Tyger Whitbeck passed to D.J. Jenks on the right side for an eight yard second down gain; Julius Clark made the Viking tackle. Blake Hollern and Luke Ward teamed up to sack the Rambler quarterback for a ten yard third down loss. Jacob Adkins boomed a fifty-three yard fourth down punt; it was downed by Brayden Connell on the Viking 30 yard line; Potterville started its next series there.

Keegan Bennett pushed his way up the middle for a five yard first down gain before Dellon Body and Johnny McConnell tackled him. Keegan Bennet went back up the middle for a four yard second down gain; Keegan Brown made the Rambler tackle. Brady Burns stopped the Potterville third down run around the right end for a two yard loss. Greg Croze punted for Potterville on fourth down; his thirty-eight yard punt was downed by a teammate on the Perry 25 yard line. The Ramblers started their next series there.

Tyger Whitbeck passed to Brayden Connell for a twenty-one yard gain on the right side.

Tyger Whitbeck passed to Jacob Adkins for a seventeen yard gain to give his Ramblers a first down on the Viking 30 yard line.

Blake Pluda covered for Potterville on Perry’s incomplete first down pass. Tyger Whitbeck completed a pass to Jacob Adkins for a long gain; a roughing the passer penalty moved the ball up to the Viking 3 yard line where the Ramblers had a first down.

Tyger Whitbeck took the ball up the middle for a three yard touchdown run. The Perry extra point kick failed.

With 1:47 remaining in the second quarter, Perry had a 6-0 lead.

Jacob Adkins kicked the ball off to the Potterville 17 yard line where Julius Clark fielded it and ran up the left side fifty-one yards before he went out of bounds at Perry’s 32 yard line.

Keegan Bennett took a first down pitch for a short gain; Brady Burns and Alex McEwan made the tackle for Perry. Ezzy Taylor ran out of the pocket on second down and gained nearly ten yards up the left side before Brayden Connell halted his progress. Potterville was just short of a third down. Brady Burns pressured the Viking quarterback and Brayden Connell intercepted the pass at Perry’s 37 yard line where the Ramblers started a series.

Tyger Whitbeck threw to Jacob Adkins for a thirty-six yard gain to give the Ramblers a first down on the Viking 27 yard line.

On the next play, Ezzy Taylor intercepted Perry’s pass around the Viking 5 yard line.

Potterville took a knee on the final play of the first half.

Perry took a 6-0 lead into the locker room at half time. I predict that if ordinary procedures are adhered to, Perry will also have a 6-0 lead at the start of the third quarter.

I really enjoyed watching Perry’s band at halftime. It was one of the best band performances I have seen this season!! Evan Meekhoff is the band director. Senior Drum Major Jocelyn Hessling and Junior Drum Major Chandler Webb lead the band on the field.

Perry’s band just received all top scores at the V MSBOA Marching festival from all judges. The band plays really well; this professional musician was really impressed and understands why the judges liked them!

This year’s show is titled “A Tribute to Classic Rock” and plays some of the greatest rock hits of all time! They did a fine job on “Dream On” by Aerosmith; Will Luce was featured on the Baritone for this number. They then played “Bohemian Rhapsody”, a challenging number, by Queen!

They then honored Band Seniors Blake Bawks, Logan Bigelow, Brady Burns, Michael Canfield, Theodora Carr, David Cramer, Caedan J. Creps, Kameron Decator, E.J. Fisher, Cypriann Fletcher, Jocelyn Hessling, Joshua Hinkley, Zachary Grimwood, Evan Jun, Will Loos, Monita Penrose, Emily Provost, Grace Spiess, Lin Stradley and Tina Zheng.

It was time to start the third quarter. Your Bleacher Denizen glanced at the scoreboard to see if he had predicted the third quarter opening score correctly. While I wish I could borrow one of the band’s snare drums to make the announcement, I am proud to note that the score is still 6-0 in Perry’s favor at the beginning of the third quarter! Your Bleacher Denizen continued his long string of predicting third quarter opening scores correctly!!!

Greg Croze kicked off for Potterville to start out the second half. Brady Burns fielded the kickoff at Perry’s 30 yard line and gained eighteen yards before Blake Hollern tackled him. Perry started the first series of the second half on its own 48 yard line.

D.J. Jenks took the ball to the left for a nine yard first down gain. On the next play, Tyger Whitbeck passed to Brayden Connell for a forty-three yard touchdown. Potterville’s Blake Pluda foiled Perry’s point after pass with a timely hit that caused the pass to be dropped. With 11:01 to play in the third quarter, Perry extended its lead to 12-0.

Jacob Adkins kicked the ball to Potterville’s 2 yard line where Ezzy Taylor fielded it and gained twenty-two yards before he was stopped by Mason Nosis and John Schmidtfranz. Potterville started its series on its own 24 yard line.

An offside penalty cost Perry five yards. On the next play, Ezzy Taylor tossed the ball to Tyren Mitchell, who pulled the ball away from the Rambler defenders and won a race to the end zone for a seventy-one yard touchdown. The point after kick failed. With 10:42 to play in the third quarter, Potterville trimmed Perry’s lead to 12-6.

Greg Croze kicked the ball to the Perry 37 year old line where Blake Bawks dove on the ball; Perry started its series there.

Brayden Connell burst through the line for an eleven yard gain and a first down before Damon Boyd made the Potterville tackle.

Brayden Connell went to the right for an eleven yard gain before Blake Pluda and Julius Clark teamed up to tackle him. Perry had a first down on the Potterville 41 yard line.

Blake Pluda broke up Perry’s incomplete first down pass. Blake Pluda and Ezzy Taylor covered on the Rambler incomplete second down pass. Tyger Whitbeck completed a two yard third down pass to Brayden Connell, who made a diving catch. Greg Croze covered for Potterville on Perry’s incomplete fourth down pass. Potterville took over the ball on downs on its own 39 yard line.

The Viking first down snap was fumbled for a thirteen yard loss; Ezzy Taylor alertly dove on the ball to prevent a turnover. Ezzy Taylor passed to Keegan Bennett for an eleven yard second down gain; Keegan Brown made the tackle for Perry. J.T. Lynch chased the Potterville quarterback out of the pocket on third down. A penalty moved the Vikings back to their own 13 yard line. Greg Croze booted a thirty-nine yard fourth down punt which was downed by his teammate Drew Morales on Perry’s 49 yard line.

Keegan Bennett stopped Perry’s first down run for no gain. Ethan Woloszyn stopped the Rambler second down pitch to the left for a two yard gain. Greg Croze intercepted the Rambler third down pass; he followed a fine block by Ezzy Taylor on his way to a long return. Potterville ended up with a first down on the Perry 20 yard line.

Keegan Bennett took the ball up the middle for a first down six yard gain; Mason Nosis and Keegan Brown collaborated on the Rambler tackle. A fast start penalty cost Potterville five yards. On the next play, Ezzy Taylor tossed a pass to Tyren Mitchell, who carried the ball about ten yards and dove to get into the end zone. Ezzy Taylor threw a complete Point After Pass to Tyren Mitchell to give Potterville a 14-12 lead with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter.

Greg Croze kicked the ball off to Blake Bawks, who caught the ball around the Perry 38 yard line and was swarmed by a boatload of Vikings after a four yard gain. Perry started its next series on its own 42 yard line.

Brayden Connell took the ball around the left end where he was swarmed by a landing party of innumerable Vikings after a ten yard gain and a first down.

Brayden Connell took the ball to the right on first down and gained five yards before he stepped out of bounds. Keegan Brown went up the middle and gained ten yards before Ezzy Taylor made the tackle for Potterville.

Perry had a first down on the Potterville 33 yard line.

Keegan Brown went up the middle on first down and gained two yards before a squad of Vikings stopped him. Damon Boyd stopped Perry’s second down run for no gain. On the final play of the third quarter, Tyger Whitbeck passed to Jacob Adkins for a twenty-four yard gain.

The third quarter ended with Potterville holding a 14-12 lead. Perry had a first down on the Potterville seven yard line.

Brayden Connell gained two yards to the right on a first down run before Damon Boyd brought him down. On the next play, Brayden Connell got through the right tackle slot to score a five yard touchdown for the Ramblers. After Keegan Brown ran the ball in for the two point conversion, Perry had a 20-14 led with 11:26 left on the game clock.

Jacob Adkins kicked the ball off to the Potterville 45 yard line where Luke Ward dove on the ball; the Vikings started their next series there.

Ezzy Taylor took the ball to the left and gained nine yards on first down before Jacob Adkins tackled him. On second down, Ezzy Taylor went to the left and cut back to the middle for a thirteen yard gain. Brady Burns got the tackle for Potterville. The Vikings had a first down on the Rambler 33 yard line.

Blake Bawks and Gavin Floyd teamed up to stop Potterville’s first down run for a one yard gain. On the next play, Ezzy Taylor eluded several tacklers on his way to a thirty-two yard touchdown run. Drew Morales snapped the ball, Ezzy Taylor held the ball and Elijah Pung sent the extra point kick through the uprights to give Potterville a 21-20 lead with 8:55 remaining in the game.

Greg Croze kicked the ball off to the Perry 20 yard line where Jacob Adkins grabbed it and returned it nine yards before he ran into Nick Morales. Perry had a first down on its own 29 yard line.

D.J. Jenks ran the ball to the left and earned fifteen yards as well as a first down before Ezzy Taylor stopped him.

Keegan Brown took a first down pitch to the left for a four yard gain; Keegan Bennett got the Viking stop. Brayden Campbell took a second down pitch to the right and gained four yards before he was tackled by Blake Hollern. An offside penalty on Potterville gave Perry a first down on Potterville’s 43 yard line.

Keegan Brown gained three yards up the middle on first down before Keaton Bush tackled him. Cameron Wood and Damon Boyd teamed up to stop Perry’s second down run for a two yard loss. A roughing the passer penalty on the next play gave Perry a first down on the Potterville 26 yard line.

Tyger Whitbeck passed to D.J. Jenks for a twelve yard gain on the right side. Ethan Woloszyn made the tackle for Potterville.

Brayden Connell went through the middle for a twelve yard first down run; Ezzy Taylor tackled him on the 2 yard line to prevent a touchdown.

On the next play, Brayden Connell went through the right tackle for a two yard touchdown run. Keegan Brown made the successful extra point run to give Perry a 28-21 lead with 5:05 left.

Jacob Adkins kicked off for Potterville; Drew Morales downed the ball at Potterville’s 40 yard line, where the Vikings started their next series.

Keegan Bennett took the ball to the left and gained five yards on first down before Brandon Ketchum and Gavin Fitchett took him down. Gavin Fitchett stopped Potterville’s second down run into the middle for a one yard gain. Brandon Ketchum tipped the ball to foil the Viking third down pass. On fourth down, Ezzy Taylor completed a seventeen yard pass to Tyren Mitchell; Jacob Adkins appeared to knock the ball loose with a timely hit, but the referee ruled it was a catch, so Potterville had a first down on Perry’s 29 yard line.

A holding penalty moved Potterville back ten yards. On the next play, D.J. Jenks made a diving interception on the Rambler 5 yard line to stop Potterville’s threat.

Perry had a first down on its own 5 yard line with 2:30 to go.

Cameron Wood stopped Perry’s first down run for no gain and blocked a second down pass to cause it to fall incomplete. Brayden Connell took the ball to the right to give Perry a first down and a chance to run four more plays.

Damon Boyd stopped Perry’s first down run for a one yard loss. Brayden Connell gained nine yards on his second down run before Ezzy Taylor pulled him down. Tyger Whitbeck bulled his way up the middle and gained seven yards before Ezzy Taylor and Ethan Woloszyn tackled him. This gave Perry a game-clinching first down on their own 35 yard line with about a minute left.

Perry ran one play and took a knee on the final play of the game.

Perry won by the final score of 28-21.