Huron Daily Tribune Sports Blog

UBLY — It’s been a rare occasion for Ubly to face any adversity this season.
The Bearcats haven’t trailed much, but they found themselves in a fight with Royal Oak Shrine here Saturday in the Division 7 regional championship.
Answering the question of if they could compete and win a big game, they earned a 32-14 decision to move on to face Reading at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Howell High School.
“They’ve put themselves in a position and have an opportunity. If they win next week, they go to Ford Field,” said Ubly coach Bill Sweeney. “That’s the most you can ask for.”
Shrine couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game, though.
The Knights won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving Ubly the ball first.
The Bearcats’ first-team offense was held to a three-and-out.
“Defensively, I think their speed caught up to us a little bit at the start, and they pinned us deep,” Sweeney said.
Shrine took advantage of the early stop, taking a 7-0 lead after Anthony Cade capped off a 9-play, 60-yard drive with 5:14 left in the first.
It’s the first time in the playoffs Ubly has trailed in a game. It would also be the last time in this contest.
“Our team is very level-headed,” said Ubly quarterback Jordan Kaufman. “We don’t get up, we don’t get down. We just go”
Ubly’s ensuing possession was a smashmouth 13-play, 70-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock.
Alex Peruski finished it with a 4-yard run with 10:51 to play in the second quarter, but it was highlighted by a fourth-and-8 conversion by Kaufman.
“They were sitting on our trapping game, and I said all year that we had other things that we can do,” Sweeney said. “I thought we were pretty successful after that initial drive.
“We did a lot of different things that we’ve worked on all year. We knew that we would have to use it at some point, and it worked pretty well.
“Basically, we just ran what we call our ‘Team 40 Series,’ which looks just like our trapping game with our faking, but we block straight ahead. They had a tough time with that because they weren’t prepared for (it).”
On the ensuing kickoff, Ubly caught the break it was looking for as Kaufman forced a fumble, allowing a teammate to recover.
With a short field, the Bearcats eventually scored on a fourth-and-11 play from Kaufman to Mitchel Cleary on a 27-yard slant out of the backfield to make it 14-7 with 9:12 to play in the half.
“That pass is something we work on every day,” Sweeney said. “They were manning us up, worried so much about our run, that they didn’t want to cover guys out of the backfield. Mitch was just wide open.”
Shrine responded with a lengthy drive to tie the game on a 2-yard quarterback sneak from Jamal Townsel with 4:33 to play.
Ubly received the ball on its own 30-yard line, with the intentions of taking care of the ball going into the half.
Taking care of the ball led to picking up some nice yardage, producing a scoring opportunity.
“I was just thinking, ‘Let’s get to halftime tied,’” Sweeney said.
“Then we moved the ball with the ‘Team 40’ and some bootleg passes with Jordan out of different formations. Before you know it, were down at the 20-yard line and ready to punch it in.”
Punch it in is exactly what happened as Kaufman rolled out to his right, avoiding a rush. Cleary kept working and Kaufman found him for a 5-yard strike between a pair of Shrine defenders.
The extra point failed, but the score gave the Bearcats a 20-14 halftime lead.
“Jordan was patient and just threw a ‘BB’ there, and Mitch has got the best hands of any kid I’ve ever coached,” Sweeney said.
Added Cleary: “Jordan’s a great quarterback, he’s got good vision. He’ll find you if you’re open. I had to jump up and protect my body so I made sure I held on to it.”
Kaufman was looking for Cleary the whole time.
“On the run, I was looking for an open man. I knew they were coming across, so Mitchel’s my go-to guy,” Kaufman said.
In the pivotal first possession of the second half, Ubly forced Shrine into a fourth-and-12 situation. The attempt failed, resulting in a turnover on the Bearcats’ 24-yard line with 8:21 to play in the third.
It was just what Ubly was looking for as Kaufman finally broke one of the long scoring runs he’s been know for this season.
He shook off a number of tackles and ran 66 yards to break the game open, giving his team a 26-14 edge with 7:08 remaining.
“He’s done it in games where the outcome was not in doubt, but tonight he was just a prime-time player,” Sweeney said.
Added Cleary: “We needed momentum. The past two games, we came out in the second half kind of slow to start off, and that was a big jump for us right there.”
Ubly’s defense came up big again, forcing Shrine three-and-out.
The Bearcats’ ensuing possession didn’t produce points, but it may have been the most important of the game. They took over pinned deep after a penalty with 5:58 left to play in the third.
As the drive neared midfield, Ubly was forced to punt.
Cleary, the punter, called an audible and saw room to run on the left side.
He picked up the seven yards needed to get the first down, but he paid for his decision with a vicious hit from Cade.
“Mitch just had the presence of mind, and he didn’t mess around with it either,” Sweeney said. “He ran hard and got the first down.
“He just got lit up by Cade and the first thing he asked was, ‘Did I get the first down?’ That’s what he was concerned about.
“It was just a great play by a great football player.”
Cleary said he intended to throw the ball to Kaufman, but saw enough room to run for the first down.
“It wasn’t even a fake punt — it was actually supposed to be a punt,” Cleary said. “One of the coaches on the sideline yelled that they had nobody out on Kaufman.
“I got my bell rung, I was seeing white, but I’ll be fine.”
Ubly held the ball long enough to run the third quarter out and got the bitter north wind at its back for the fourth quarter.
A punt came with 11:07 to play in the game, but to stage a comeback, Shrine would have to do into the teeth of the wind.
“We were able to move the ball all the way to the 40 and run the clock out and spin the field and the wind into our favor,” Sweeney said.
Shrine attempted a fake punt of its own with Cade on a fourth-and-13, but he came up two yards short, virtually ending any hopes of a comeback.
The Knights did get the ball back one more time, but Steven Weber came up with an interception, allowing Peruski to cap off the game with a 12-yard score with 11 seconds remaining.
“We have some great, great players on this football team, and guys to go with them,” Sweeney said.

NOTEBOOK

UBLY — The last time Royal Oak Shrine and Ubly met in a Division 7 regional championship, the outcome was in doubt until the final minutes.
Early on Saturday, a repeat looked likely as the teams exchanged scores as they were tied at 14 late in the first half.
Ubly punched in a go-ahead score with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter and never looked back.
The Bearcats tacked on two more scores en route to a 32-14 victory.
Two things led to Ubly’s win, experience and physicality, according to coach Bill Sweeney.
“I think we were a little shell-shocked by their ability,” said Sweeney. “We have not played a team that had close to their athletic ability and size.
“Then we decided to play Ubly football, which is Thumb football, which is hitting. That made a world of difference.”
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The result of Thumb football took its toll on the Shrine players as the second half wore on.
Star running back Anthony Cade, who had his way in the first half, couldn’t get it going in the second half.
For the game, he was held to 104 yards on 21 carries after racking up over 200 in last week’s win over Rochester Hills Lutheran North West.
Meanwhile, fullback Phil Galloway, who rushed for over 100 yards and three scores in last week’s win, was kept out of the end zone and under 40 yards.
“We adjusted defensively, and the kids started to square up and hit (Cade),” Sweeney said. “We hit him real well in the second half.”
As a team, Shrine was held to less than 200 offensive yards.
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Shrine brought in the toughest defense Ubly had seen all season, and for a while it was effective.
Eventually, the Bearcats wore down the Knights with a steady diet of quarterback Jordan Kaufman, who gained 142 yards on 20 carries, including a 66-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
The backfield trio of Justin Cleary, Mitchel Cleary and Alex Peruski combined to gain 144 yards on 25 totes with a couple of touchdowns from Peruski.
Justin Cleary led the way with 88 yards on 15 carries.
Mitchel Cleary also added a pair of touchdown catches while Peruski scored on runs of 4 and 12 yards.
“The kids did a great job of exploiting what they were doing defensively,” Sweeney said. “We made plays. We had to mix it up, and the kids executed very well.”
The 32 points for Ubly was a season-low, but it was also a season-worst allowed for the Shrine defense.
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Ubly was faced with the unfamiliar position of trailing 7-0 in the first quarter.
It took the Bearcats out of their game, but they didn’t panic.
They tied it up to begin the second quarter and took a 14-7 lead.
From that point on, Sweeney felt good about what his team was able to do.
“We are a ball-control team, especially against a team that has athletes like they have,” he said.
“It was very important for us to dictate the tempo of the game.”
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In 2006, when Ubly defeated Shrine 22-21, the likes of Kaufman, Cleary and a few others were just sophomores.
The experience of that game has helped shape their careers, and lead to performances like the ones on Saturday.
“Mitchel and Jordan were sophomores and we depended on them a lot,” Sweeney said. “Now they’re seniors and it just showed how much experience those guys have.”
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As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Ubly student section made its way to the track behind the home bench.
Following the post-game hand shake, the students stormed the field to celebrate with their team.
“It’s pretty big... The last home game, we got a big win, senior year, it feels pretty good,” said Mitchel Cleary. “I think it’s huge for the town.”
Win or lose, the seniors knew it would be their final game on a home field that has seen many big moments during their careers.
“That’s about the only thing that makes this bigger is that it’s our senior year,” said Kaufman.
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The conditions were less than ideal as there was a chilling north wind and a steady rain throughout the game.
Both teams adjusted and the field held up for the most part.
“It was terrible out. This was as bad of conditions that I can think of that we’ve played in probably in five years,” Sweeney said. “For the number of people to show up and as rowdy as they were, it’s just exciting.”
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Ubly moves on to play in its third Division 7 semifinal since 2003.
The Bearcats will face Reading (12-0), which was a 28-20 winner over Decatur on Saturday in its regional final.
Like Ubly, the Rangers have set school records for wins and points in a season.
In fact, this will be a rare meeting of two teams that have scored over 500 points in a season.
Ubly is the second-highest scoring team in Thumb history at 569 (47.4 ppg) while Reading has scored 527 (43.9 ppg).
Sweeney said his players can’t get caught up thinking about playing at Ford Field for the Division 7 state championship.
“The way we approach it is there’s never a bigger game than this one,” he said. “You’ve never played in a bigger game in your life than the one that’s before you.
“That’s how we have to look at this. We can’t think about Ford Field.”

UBLY — A record-setting offense vs. a strong defense.
That’s what Saturday’s Division 7 regional final between Royal Oak Shrine (11-0) and Ubly (11-0) will feature.
In a season which has seen the Bearcats easily defeat every team standing in their way, while imposing their will offensively, this will be by far the biggest test.
But it’s also a familiar test.
In 2006, Ubly had to travel to Royal Oak, and came away with one of its most exciting playoff victories, a 22-21 decision in the game’s final minute.
Shrine brings in the toughest defense the Bearcats have seen all season, allowing just 6.3 points per game while pitching five shutouts, including last week’s 35-0 victory over previously unbeaten Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest.
“Eventually, we’re going to run into somebody, and it’s probably going to be this week, that’s going to be toe-to-toe with us,” said Ubly coach Bill Sweeney. “We have a very mature group of kids. They’re itching for a ball game, too.
“We’ll find out what we’re made of when we get that challenge.
“In the back of your mind, you think about what’s going to happen, but I think we’re definitely going to be prepared for that type of challenge.”
Sweeney acknowledged moving the ball on this defense is going to be a challenge.
“Numberswise, they’re very, very strong. They look tough on tape defensively,” he said.
“They have some big down linemen and some very active linebackers.”
In last week’s 46-8 win over Dryden, the Bearcats faced their first bit of adversity in the playoffs as they fumbled on their opening possession, giving the Cardinals a short field.
Ubly survived two fourth-down attempts and came out of it without allowing a score.

“Our problem defensively has been lulls and we really didn’t have that last week,” Sweeney said. “That’s probably why they looked so good (defensively).”
The Bearcats have plenty of players who were involved in the 2006 win over Shrine. The Knights have pretty much turned over their roster.Despite not having the same players, the 2006 contest has prepared the Ubly coaching staff for the unexpected.
“Two years ago when we played them, we thought they had three or four kids that were weapons — and they had one kid that we didn’t even know was on the (team). And that’s what killed us,” Sweeney said.

“We have to attempt to stop their four studs and then guard against them having a fifth or sixth guy.”
The main weapon the Bearcats will be preparing for will be running back Anthony Cade.
Cade gained 224 yards on 21 carries in the win over Lutheran Northwest while fullback Phil Galloway contributed 128 yards on 13 totes and three touchdowns.
As a team, Shrine rushed for 407 yards.
Cade and Galloway are much different runners, according to Sweeney.
Galloway is a thundering back who runs downhill while Cade is shifty with very good speed.
“Our biggest thing is we have to make the tackle where it’s at. If he gets in the open field he’s going to be gone,” Sweeney said of Cade. “Basically, it comes down to playing solid technique football and tackling.”
Shrine will be faced with its own difficult test of trying to do what no team has been able to do thus far — shut down Ubly’s offense.
The Bearcats became the second-highest scoring team in Thumb history with their performance last week. At 537 points, they trail only the 2004 Unionville-Sebewaing Area team that scored 581 points.
Led by quarterback Jordan Kaufman, Ubly doesn’t do anything fancy, other than run the Wing-T to near perfection.
Kaufman has run for 1,349 yards and 21 touchdowns and is averaging nearly 13.6 yards per carry.
It’s not just a one-man show, though, as Justin Cleary, Alex Peruski and Mitchel Cleary have combined for 2,147 yards and 33 scores. That trio averages 8.6 yards per carry.
“We don’t try to out-scheme people, we just try to do things better than them,” Sweeney said. “That’s the way that offense is supposed to run.
“You kind of hope that they pick their poison.
“If you run into somebody that’s good enough to stop (us), then you have to pull something out of your hat, I guess.”
Last week, Dryden picked its poison by attempting to contain Kaufman. For the most part, the Cardinals did as he gained 75 yards on seven carries and no scores.
They forgot about Peruski, though, as he got off for 92 yards and three scores.
“The offense is not geared for one player,” Sweeney said. “It’s geared for four players and a solid offensive line.”
The line has been steady all season, protecting Kaufman and allowing the backs to pick their spots.
“I think I would do a disservice to the kids if we did try do too much of that out-formationing people because that would take the fun out of it,” Sweeney said. “Our offensive linemen do it for the fun of it.
“I think they get the biggest kick out of being able to pound on somebody for 48 minutes. That’s what we try to take pride in, out-hitting and out-blocking. These kids take it to the top degree.”
Defensively last week Ubly had its way with Dryden, holding the team to a season-low for points and under 200 total yards.
For the season, the Bearcats are giving up under 10 points per game and have one shutout.
“They just get so overshadowed by the offense, and we’ve been so far ahead of teams, that you’re going to have a natural letdown mentally,” Sweeney said. “I think that’s been our downfall defensively.
“I hope we haven’t seen their best effort because they’re totally capable of playing defense.”

It was a regional double dip for our coverage area as Deckerville and Owendale-Gagetown were in action tonight.
Unfortunately, both teams saw their seasons come to an end in the Class D regional semifinals.
The Eagles fell to Bay City All Saints (25-23, 21-25, 16-25, 22-25).
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs lost to Genesee Christian (19-25, 16-25, 14-25).
The Tribune will have a full report for Wednesday’s paper. Until then, here are some photos.