Almont tops Imlay City, stays unbeaten
IMLAY CITY — In a battle of undefeated teams, Almont (No. 2 in Division 6) handed host Imlay City a 37-20 setback in a Blue Water Area Conference varsity football showdown on Friday, Sept. 25.
With the outcome, Almont goes to 5-0 and 4-0. Imlay City slips to 4-1 and 3-1.
“This was a good test for us,” Almont Coach James Leusby said. “Give Imlay City credit, they came to play tonight.”
On the opposite sideline, Imlay City Coach Dave Brown reflected on the outcome.
“Both teams played hard,” Brown said. “Almont is a very good team and played better than we did in the second half to come back and get the win.”
In Friday’s showdown, Imlay City jumped out to a 7-0 advantage after one quarter was over. The next quarter would see Almont collect eight points and Imlay City generate six, closing the gap to 13-8 at halftime.
When the action resumed, Almont struck with an 8-0 third quarter advantage. That staked the Raiders to a 16-13 edge with 36 minutes gone. Almont then outscored Imlay City 21-7 from that point on, assuring themselves of a 37-20 victory.
The winning Almont side generated their 37-point output aided by a Colten Karbel three-yard touchdown run (followed by a Karbel PAT tote); a Blake Lane to Brody Corneau 10-yard touchdown pass (followed by a Karbel PAT tote); a Lane 12-yard touchdown run (followed by a successful extra point kick courtesy of Rian O’Neil); an Ethan McConnell three-yard touchdown run (followed by an accurate extra point boot by O’Neil); and a Nicholas Bresinski six-yard touchdown run (followed by a successful extra point kick courtesy of O’Neil).
Imlay City managed its 20-point total, thanks to a one-yard touchdown run by Brett Lestage (followed by a successful extra point kick courtesy of Max Galeana); an eight-yard touchdown run by Lestage; and a four-yard touchdown run by Bryce Homer (followed by an accurate extra point boot by Galeana).
For the night, Lane completed one of two pass plays for 10 yards as Almont’s quarterback. He threw zero interceptions along the way. His successful toss was distributed to Corneau.
The Almont ground attack amassed 220 yards on 35 totes. Individually, Lane (six rushes for 62 yards), Corneau (60 yards on eight totes) and Bresinski (five rushes for 43 yards) proved Almont’s toughest players to stop.
The remaining 15 totes netted a combined 55-yard gain. Logan Schapman (12 assists), Karbel (two solos and eight assists) and Ayden Battani (two solos and seven assists) supplied the highest Almont tackle outputs. Brendan Schocke (one solo and seven assists), Shepherd Moussiaux (eight assists), Brock Murphy (one solo and six assists) and Max Glavich (one solo and five assists) made their presence felt as well.
The Almont defense also registered one takeaway on a Battani fumble recovery. Cash Young wound up two for five for 45 yards as Imlay City’s quarterback, with no interceptions. His completions went to two different targets, Trystan Whiting (one catch for 38 yards) and Noah Beebe (one reception for seven yards) Brett Lestage was the other Imlay City player who opted to air out the football but his lone attempt fell incomplete.
The Imlay City ground attack managed 226 yards on 45 totes.
Individually, Lestage (19 rushes for 103 yards) and Rojas (96 yards on 17 totes) headlined for Imlay City. The remaining nine Spartan rushes netted a combined 27-yard gain. Whiting (eight) posted the highest Imlay City tackle total. He was backed by Brady Homer, Bryce Homer and Lestage (four stops each).
Almont will look to keep their perfect record intact this Friday when they host North Branch, while Imlay City hopes to bounce back with a road trip to Armada. Both BWAC clashes are slated to get underway at 7 p.m.
