By BUTCH HARMON
*Thanks to a high-powered offense and some stingy play on defense, the Corunna football team is heading back to the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
Corunna clinched a playoff berth with a 44-6 win over Durand and then earned a share of the Genesee Area Conference (GAC) Red division title with a dramatic 35-28 win against Lake Fenton. The win was the seventh of the season for Corunna and is the most in a season by Corunna since the 2002 season, when it went 10-1.
Junior quarterback Jerod Fattal threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Corey Mort with 35 seconds remaining in the Lake Fenton game for the game-winning points. Fattal finished the game completing 17 of 24 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns. Spencer Mort caught nine passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns while Corey Mort caught a pair of balls for 34 yards and a score.
With the win, Corunna moved up to fourth in the state rankings in Division 4.
Fattal has been leading the way for the Cavaliers this season, as he has completed 82 of 121 passes for 1,052 yards (67%) and 12 touchdowns. Fattal has also rushed for 245 yards and five scores.
The Cavaliers also have a strong running attack, led by Michael Parker, who has rushed for 582 yards (6.8 avg.) and three touchdowns and junior David Dumond, who has rushed for 470 yards (9.2 avg.) and six touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, senior linebacker Dylan Pavka, junior linebacker Owen Walter, and junior defensive end Brandon Blair have led the charge.
*The New Lothrop football team captured the GAC Blue title with a perfect 6-0 record. The Hornets blanked Hamady to improve to 8-0 for the season and are ranked third in the state in Division 7.
Quarterback Eric Birchmeier has paced the offense with 800 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns and 649 passing yards and 10 touchdown passes.
Senior Quentin Taylor has also been a big part of the ground game. He rushed for 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Hamady and is averaging 10.5 yards per carry this season.
New Lothrop entered the final week of the season averaging 41.6 points per game and has posted four shutouts on defense.