For the second straight time, a magnificent Beal City season ended in disappointment at the state finals.
The Aggies lost Nov. 29 to Muskegon Catholic Central 35-12 at Detroit’s Ford Field in the Division 8 title game.
“Obviously, it didn’t turn out the way we had hoped and prepared for,” said coach Lou Rau, who now has a 14-year record of 144-39. “We cleared a big hurdle by getting here two years in a row. We couldn’t quite finish it off with a W.”
The Aggies’ season ended at 13-1.
Catholic Central showed that it meant business on the first play from scrimmage when Alex Lewandoski scampered 78 yards for a touchdown. Beal City responded with a 55-yard drive and 2-yard touchdown run by Hayden Huber. The kick failed and MCC led 7-6.
The Crusaders scored on runs of 1 and 66 yards by Lewandoski in the second and third quarters and a 21-yard jaunt by Tommy Scott in the third for a 35-6 lead. Nick Holt scored for the Crusaders early in the fourth. Ryan Tilmann caught an 8-yard pass from Tucker Gross for a late-game Aggies touchdown.
It was 14-6 at halftime, and an interception by Nick Hoogerhyde stopped a Crusader drive. The Aggies seemed to have a little momentum.
“I thought if we made the right adjustments and could establish something on the ground and get things moving in the air, we’d be in great shape,” Rau said. “It was one of those things. It’s a big momentum killer when they have a big play and get a score and you don’t get that drive.”
Rau acknowledged that while his team had to grind it out for everything it got, MCC prospered with the big play.
“When you give up the first play of the game, that hurts, and you try to dig yourself out of the hole right off the bat,” Rau said. “It definitely changes what you do and how we do it.”
Two pass interceptions against Beal City hurt the Aggies, who had 263 total yards compared to 402 for MCC.
“There were some cleanup things we didn’t do,” Rau said. “We had some assignment errors here and there that were crucial. Obviously, they’re a great strong and fast team.”
Beal City’s passing game seemed to improve after the second quarter. “Starting out, we wanted to use as much possession time as we had,” Rau said. “Obviously as we got behind, we needed to complete more passes downfield.”
MCC was also blitzing its linebackers. “We didn’t pick them up,” Rau said. “To be honest, they didn’t start stunting until later. When they send more guys than you can block, it’s tough to pick them up.”
Gross was 8 of 16 for 94 yards and one interception. Ryan Tillman and Ty Rollin caught three passes apiece for 33 and 32 yards. Huber led in rushing with 52 yards, while Rollin had 44.
Even with the loss, it was still quite season for the Aggies. “We knew with [Lewandoski], they were going to be troublesome,” Rau said. “They ran our T offense to a tee. You had to play tight to what they usually do to try to make them go outside. When we couldn’t stop it up the gap, we were in trouble.”