***Article by Josh Longstreth
It wasn’t an ideal week six for Newaygo as they fell to a hot Reed City team, 14-44. After putting together their best performance of the season the previous week, it wasn’t what the Lions expected. This week, they would show that they can put the past behind them in a hurry.
Newaygo came out with some big time urgency early in this one. They would strike first on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Blake Kerr. The Lions would hold an 8-0 lead after a good two-point try. They would get on the board again late in the quarter when sophomore Damone Moore found his way into the endzone from 24-yards away. Not long after that, the Lions would strike again. This time Matthew Miedema added his name to the score book on a 4-yard run. It was all Newaygo after one, 22-0.
Chippewa Hills would swing some momentum back in their direction midway through the second quarter. Jon Koepf would plunge in from 4-yards out. This would make it a 22-6 game to that point. The Lions would add another score deep into the quarter as Kerr found his second passing touchdown of the night. He would connect with Logan Klomp on a 42-yard strike that would make it a 28-6 Lions advantage. The Warriors had some things going offensively in the quarter. They would edge a little closer when Gage Saathoff found another Gage, Gage Perkins, from 56-yards away. Newaygo would still cruise into the half holding a 28-12 lead.
The Lions would feel that same urgency that they did in the first half. Big fullback Aaron Garza would plunge in from 1-yard out to put Newaygo up 36-12 after the two-point try. Chippewa Hills continued to have some success with their offense. Tyler Geer would give some life right back to Chippewa Hills to make it a 36-20 deficit after their first good two-point attempt of the night. This is where things would stand heading into the fourth quarter.
Trying to deliver the final blow early in the quarter, Newaygo would find the endzone again. Garza would find punch one in from 6-yards out to make it a 44-20 game. Chippewa Hills still had some life here. The Warriors would cut the lead back to two scores after a Koepf 6-yard score. Midway through the quarter Chippewa Hills would make things very uneasy for the Lions. Koepf would grab his third touchdown on the night from 1-yard out. This made it a 36-44 ball game. Newaygo would stand tall the rest of the way as they limited the Warriors comeback. The Lions hold on in what turned out to be a barn burner in week seven.
Chippewa Hills will drop to 3-4 on the season. After struggling early in this one, the Warriors will look to see if they can get off to a good start next week as they found themselves in a hole tonight. They’ll have a big opportunity next week when they take on a Tri-County team that is reeling a bit after their first loss in week seven. The Vikings fell to Big Rapids on Friday night.
Newaygo still continues to show signs that they can bounce back after tough losses as they improve to 3-4 on the season. They will take on a Central Montcalm team who picked up a big win over Grant. The Hornets sit at 3-4 on the year.
