Takeaways from Friday's Inland Lakes-Rudyard 3OT football thriller
· Yahoo Sports
INDIAN RIVER — Back and forth all night.
Four quarters wasn’t enough to settle a Bridge Alliance Straits Division 8-player football showdown between Inland Lakes and Rudyard on Friday, Sept. 11.
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So, there was overtime.
And more overtime.
And more overtime.
It was a classic game — and a huge upset took place.
On this night, it was Rudyard that stood tall at the end, using a game-winning touchdown run from junior Kane Savoie to seal a thrilling 42-36 victory over Inland Lakes at Shanley Field.
Here’s some takeaways from the wild conference clash.
Late chaos
In a battle of the Bulldogs, Inland Lakes (2-1, 0-1 Bridge Alliance Straits) found its back against the wall with just minutes remaining in regulation. But at the right time, Inland Lakes received some key blocking from its offensive line and clutch runs from senior quarterback Landon Fenstermaker, who scored a 5-yard TD and successfully ran in the 2-point conversion attempt to tie the game at 30-30 with 1:35 left.
From there, Rudyard (2-1, 1-1) ran the clock out and took its chances in OT.
The chaos was only getting started as both quarterbacks threw interceptions in the opening OT, while Fenstermaker gave Inland Lakes a 36-30 lead in the second OT, but was denied the 2-point attempt. Rudyard immediately struck back when senior Emmett Grenfell tied the game with a short TD run. But like Inland Lakes, Rudyard missed its 2-point try, sending the contest to a third overtime.
Rudyard saved its biggest defensive stop on its last possession, making a goal line stand at the 1-yard line. That set up the magic moment for Savoie, who found open space, scored and sent the Rudyard players into a frenzy.
“It feels great,” Savoie said. “We worked all week for these guys, and they were a tough team, and we came out and just played our game. (The touchdown) was one of the best moments of my life.”
Turnovers, penalties haunt Inland Lakes
Inland Lakes had its clutch moments, led by multiple touchdowns from Fenstermaker. However, three turnovers and several penalties were too much to overcome against a Rudyard opponent that found a way to pull off a stunner.
“We were out of character tonight,” Inland Lakes coach Travis Meyer said. “We lost the ball a few times, especially early, interceptions, and fumbles. Typically, we’re a strong tackling team, but we didn’t do well with that, especially in the first half. We were almost lucky to be tied at half, but at the same time felt like we should’ve been up at halftime. We moved the ball, but we shot ourselves in the foot.”
Trailing 8-0 in the opening quarter after a 57-yard TD run from Rudyard’s Blake Bickel, Inland Lakes responded when Fenstermaker connected with senior Elijah Perkins on a 45-yard TD pass, followed by a successful 2-point attempt. Rudyard countered on the next possession when quarterback Jett Sawyer launched a 50-yard TD pass to Grenfell on a fourth-down play, allowing Rudyard to take a 14-8 lead after a quarter.
Inland Lakes came back quickly, tying the game at 14 after a 5-yard score from Fenstermaker with 7:55 remaining in the first half. The score remained tied going into the break.
Rudyard shows what it’s made of
Just a week ago, Rudyard was on the ugly end of a 55-6 loss to Pickford.
On Friday, it showed a ton of character by reversing the Week 2 disappointment and rebounding with a monumental triumph, one their head coach was incredibly proud of.
“They’re a resilient group — they’ve been through a lot with high school football,” Rudyard coach Steve Sawyer said. “They haven’t had a ton of success, but they’re fighters. They’ve had this in them the whole time and just finally let it out. We needed to have a breakout game from a lot of guys, and we feel like we got that.”
Big plays were a theme all evening for Rudyard, which retook the lead early in the third when Nathan Enriquez recovered an Inland Lakes fumble and raced to the end zone for a TD. While senior Collin Maves helped Inland Lakes tie the game again with a 61-yard TD run, Savoie came back for a 35-yard score that helped Rudyard take a 30-22 advantage into the fourth.
Inland Lakes heads to Brimley for its Week 4 matchup at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18.
Rudyard faces Central Lake next week.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Takeaways from Friday's Inland Lakes-Rudyard 3OT football thriller