A combination of bad weather and special teams miscues spelled a bad weekend for the Brandon varsity football team.
In a game which was stopped because of lightning Friday, Sept. 22 and restarted the following day, the Blackhawks lost to the Lapeer West Panthers 40-25, dropping Brandon’s season record to 1-4.
Brandon coach Ron Gill said the game was stopped with 3:58 remaining in the fourth quarter because of lightning, and was resumed the following day. Neither team scored after the game was restarted.
However, the Blackhawks committed several miscues that led to their defeat against the Panthers.
In the first quarter, the Panthers punted the ball toward Brandon returner Quin McNally. The ball would bounce off McNally’s helmet, and although the Blackhawks tried to recover the ball, Lapeer West wound up with the football deep in Brandon territory. The Panthers later scored to take the early lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Blackhawks let the ball bounce without attempting to field it, but the Panthers recovered and scored again to take firm command of the game.
‘The kids out there on the return team made a mistake, and no one felt worse about it than them,? Gill said. ‘It was one of those unfortunate incidents. We love them and we move on. It was the same with the punt that bounced off Quin’s helmet. After he came off the field, I told him you have to forget about it and move on.?
The Blackhawks had another tough foe scheduled for Friday, Sept. 29, as they were slated to take on the Flint Metro League rival Oxford Wildcats. Oxford is currently 3-2 on the season after defeating Fenton 28-7 in a Sept. 22 game.
The Wildcats have been a consistently successful team, having posted a winning record each year since 1982. Gill said despite Oxford’s success, he expects the Blackhawks to win if they stop beating themselves.
‘I felt with each game we’ve lost this year, we’ve made mistakes that have cost us,? he said. ‘Oxford’s a very good team, but if we don’t make those kinds of mistakes, we’ll be victorious.?
After the Oxford game, the Blackhawks are scheduled to return home Friday, Oct. 6 for their Homecoming game against Fenton.