By Jeff Patrus
Sports Writer
In a back-and-forth contest, it was the Richmond Blue Devils that had enough firepower to defeat the Goodrich varsity football team.
The Blue Devils scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and added a safety to earn a come-from-behind 29-28 victory against the host Martians in the season-opening game for both teams Aug. 25.
Richmond quarterback Jacob Stark and wide receiver Corey Brohl connected for two touchdown passes in the period, one from 17 yards and the other from 42 yards. The two also connected on a 60-yard scoring strike in the third quarter.
‘I give credit to Richmond for hanging in there,? Goodrich coach Tom Alward said. ‘We didn’t make the plays we needed to make to get the win. We just have to continue to get better. You feel bad for our kids for losing the game.?
Alward said the Martians will have to work on their pass defense in order to prevent the long touchdown passes that led to their defeat.
‘We just didn’t cover very well,? he said. ‘We didn’t get much pressure on the quarterback. It’s not like it was a secret ? everyone knew it was coming.?
Both teams had their chances to score in the first quarter, but failed to capitalize. Goodrich drove to the Richmond 11-yard line, but could not convert on fourth down. The Blue Devils then marched down the field, but senior linebacker Bennett Gillam recovered a Richmond fumble at the Blue Devils? 36-yard line with 2:11 left in the first quarter.
The Blue Devils scored the game’s first points when Richmond quarterback Jacob Stark cashed in on a 32-yard touchdown run, and the successful point-after attempt put the Blue Devils up 7-0. The touchdown was set up by a 44-yard pass from Stark to wide receiver Corey Brohl.
Goodrich answered on their next drive, as Grant Overcashier’s 37-yard run landed the Martians at the Richmond 30-yard line with 9:39 left in the second. Quarterback Tyler Moncrieff then scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 7:29 left in the quarter, but the Martians missed on the point-after attempt, and Richmond retained a 7-6 lead.
The Martians took the lead just before the half, as Moncrieff hit running back Jake Bourassa on a 34-yard touchdown pass with 39 seconds left. Moncrieff then connected on a two-point conversion pass to Matt Van Sumeren to put Goodrich up 14-7.
However, Goodrich’s lead would not last long. At the start of the third quarter, Stark and Brohl connected on However, Goodrich’s lead would not last long. At the start of the third quarter, Stark and Brohl connected on their first of three touchdown passes to tie the contest at 14. The Martians? Paul Burt then put Goodrich back up with a six-yard touchdown run with 5:35 left in the third. An unsuccessful two-point conversion left the Martians with a 20-14 lead.
Bourassa then increased the Martians? lead with a 32-yard touchdown run later in the third, and then caught a two-point conversion pass from Moncrieff to put Goodrich up 28-14 as the third quarter came to a close.
‘We moved the ball consistently throughout the game,? Alward said. ‘Defensively, we played extremely well. Outside their quarterback, I don’t think their team ran for 20 yards. What we lacked was in defending the pass and protecting our quarterback when we wanted to pass. That’s what we have to focus on.?
After a scheduled Sept. 1 game at Bay City John Glenn, the Martians? next scheduled game is Friday, Sept. 8, when the Martians host Genesee Area Conference rival Durand.
The Railroaders lost 26-15 to Chesaning in their opening game of the 2006 season Aug. 25. In their first season in the GAC last year, Durand went 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the league.
Goodrich earned a 31-22 win against the Railroaders last season.