Packers vs Vikings Game Online TV Coverage Info

FLEMINGSBURG Only fitting that a day a full moon settles in provides a wild football game.

That was the case Friday night in Flemingsburg.

Rowan County stopped a Fleming County two-point conversion with under a minute to play and escaped with a 21-20 victory.

The Vikings can point to special teams for the victory — blocking two punts, returning a long kickoff to Panther territory, hitting a 28-yard field goal and then the two-point stop to win it.

“We had to be good in all three phases in the game. We were pretty good at two of them and then finally our offense kicked in and gave us a chance,” Vikings coach Kelly Ford said. “Special teams were immaculate tonight. Going into the game, we felt like we could win that aspect of the game.”

Early on, it looked as if the Panthers were going to run away with it. Rowan County did nothing offensively in the game’s first 24 minutes, extending its touchdown-less quarter streak to 10 as Fleming County took a 14-0 lead into halftime.

An Austin Trent 4-yard run got Fleming County on the board in the first. Nate Ruark hit Landon Johnson for a 77-yard strike and score in what has become a weekly occurrence to make it 14-0 on the first play from scrimmage in the second.

The Vikings had negative-6 total yards at the break, with quarterback Zach Menard sacked seven times.

“Give credit to coach Ford and his guys, but we felt like we should have won the ball game. We felt like we didn’t finish some things that we needed to finish. At halftime, we should have had a bigger lead than 14-0,” Panthers coach Bill Spencer said.

Rowan County regrouped. It started with a Braden Birchfield long kickoff return to open the second half, and then two plays later, Menard hit Louis Hayes for a 41-yard touchdown pass.

Meanwhile, the Panthers went backwards in the second half, mostly thanks to the yellow flag. Fleming County had 12 penalties for 155 yards.

“We’ve had some games where we had some aggressive style penalties. And those don’t bother you. I mean, people probably don’t like to hear that, but when you’re playing hard and kids are playing aggressive, that’s what you want them to do,” Spencer said. “In football, you want kids to get after it. You can live with some aggressive penalties.

“The penalties that frustrate me are the penalties where you do silly things like the blocks in the back or roughing the passer. We made some of those tonight and it came back to haunt us.”

Another Fleming County miscue got the Vikings within two when Rowan County’s Deshawn Watson intercepted a Ruark pass and returned it for a score on the first play of the fourth.

A blown coverage then gave the Vikings the lead. Menard hit Hayes again, this time for 51 yards on third-and-7 to make it 18-14 Vikings.

“Coach (Samuel) Whitehead made a great call on our fox play, where we do the screen delay, and it was wide open,” Ford said.

Rowan County lived in Panthers territory for pretty much the entire second half. Weston Maxey gave the Vikings a 21-14 lead on a 28-yard field goal with 3:43 to play, thanks to the Vikings’ second blocked punt of the night that had them starting at the Panther 29. Four of the Vikings’ six second-half possessions started on the Panthers side of the field.

The Vikings’ second interception looked like it might have sealed it, but Fleming County remained stout on its defensive front, forcing the Vikings backwards and getting the ball back with 1:17 to play on the Rowan County 39.

Two plays later, Ruark hit Johnson again, this one from 17 yards out to make it 21-20 with 58 seconds remaining.

There was no doubt what the Panthers would do next.

“Even before we got the football back I told (assistant) coach (Jordan) Fritz to get a play in your head you want to run, because we’re going to score and go for the win. It’s one of those things where you score and get it and everyone says it’s a wonderful call. Then if you don’t, everyone asks why you didn’t kick it,” Spencer said. “We’re playing to win and we’re going to give our kids the opportunity to do that, and that’s our mindset.”

But it came up short. Ruark rolled out looking for Caleb Igo, but the Vikings intercepted the attempt to preserve the victory.

The Vikings found a way despite finishing with negative-42 rushing yards. The Menard-to-Hayes connection accounted for 113 of Rowan County’s 146 passing yards.

“They had a great game plan,” Ford said. “They knew we were young in the backfield and everyone is attacking our run game. They’re making us force it and filling up the box. We made some adjustments at halftime, throw some quick stuff to try and lighten it up, and a couple of them broke.”

Ruark threw for 239 yards and two scores, both to Johnson, who finished with six catches for 140 yards. Caleb Igo added six receptions for 53 yards.

The Panthers couldn’t find much room in the rushing department, finishing with 31 rushing yards.

The loss is the Panthers second by one point this season, falling 34-33 to Greenup in the opener.

“We’re a couple points away from being 4-0, but we’re not. We’re not feeling sorry for ourselves because we’re 2-2. We know we’re still a good football team. We’ll put some things together and big things are going to happen and that’s our plan,” Spencer said.

ROWAN COUNTY – 0-0-6-15 — 21

FLEMING COUNTY – 7-7-0-0 — 14

1st Quarter

(FC) Trent 4-yard run (3:24) Sills kick

2nd Quarter

(FC) Ruark 77-yard pass to Johnson (11:49) Sills kick

3rd Quarter

(RC) Menard 41-yard pass to Hayes (10:55) Kick failed

4th Quarter

(RC) Watson 26-yard interception return (11:52) Pass failed

(RC) Menard 51-yard pass to Hayes (7:59) Run failed

(RC) Maxey 28-yard FG (3:43)

(FC) Ruark 17-yard pass to Johnson (:58) Pass failed

Stats

Passing Yards: Rowan 146 (Menard 11/21), Fleming 239 (Ruark 15/31)

Rushing Yards: Rowan -42 (Drake 5-23, Hayes 6-3, Hill 9-(minus) 19, Menard 10-(minus) 49), Fleming 31 (Trent 9-36, Igo 2-(minus) 2, Ruark 7-(minus) 3)

Receiving: Rowan (Hayes 5-113, Smith 1-17, Birchfield 1-9, Kappes 2-8, Lilley 1-2, Hill 1-(minus) 3), Fleming (Johnson 6-140, Igo 6-53, Morgan 1-37, Farrow 1-2)

Penalties: Rowan 7-60, Fleming 12-155

Turnovers: Rowan 2, Fleming 0

Records: Rowan County 2-2, Fleming County 2-2

Vikings’ defense comes up big again in win over Germantown

Published 1:03 am Saturday, September 10, 2022

By Brandon Shields
Special to The Vicksburg Post

MADISON — Warren Central has always been known for being a defensive team.

Friday night was no different.

Treyvion Sanders returned an interception 99 yards for a game-clinching touchdown with 50 seconds remaining, and the Vikings held off Germantown 28-13 on Friday night behind a bend-but-don’t break defense combined with  a consistent running game.

The game was delayed an hour and 45 minutes due to weather and did not end until around 11:30 p.m.

“I thought we came out of the lightning delay focused and re-energized and making some stops early and taking the momentum,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said. “We wanted to do that and made a play at the end to win it and proud to see us pull off a hard fought win.”

Warren Central got a turnover on the third play of the game as Julien Demby recovered a fumble at the Germantown 20-yard line. Six plays later, Trey Hall scored on a 1-yard run to give the Vikings a 6-0 lead with 8:10 left in the first quarter. The PAT was no good.

Germantown responded with a 14-play drive capped off by a Jeremiah Washington 3-yard touchdown run with 2:38 left in the first quarter to give the Mavericks a 7-6 lead.

The lightning delay hit with five seconds left in the first quarter.

After the delay, Warren Central reclaimed a 14-7 lead with 54 seconds left until halftime as Darius Carter scored on a 3-yard run and Hall on a two-point conversion.

Warren Central extended its lead to 21-7 with 6:15 left in the third quarter on Eric Collins’ 56-yard touchdown run.

D.J. Gainwell scored on a 1-yard run for Germantown, and a failed extra point cut the margin to 21-13 with 7:26 left in the fourth quarter.

Germantown got the ball with 5:12 left to try to tie the game and got to the Warren Central 6-yard line. That was when Sanders intercepted a pass and raced 99 yards to the end zone with 50 seconds left to give the Vikings the 28-13 lead and seal the game.

“I saw the tight end slip out and just read it well and saw the pass and caught it and scored,” Sanders said. “Defense is what we’re known for, being a defensive team, and we were prepared and came away with the win.”

Morgan was pleased with his defense for the most part. Warren Central only allowed 291 yards. It was also the second week in row that the unit came up with a game-clinching stop in the final minute. The Vikings stopped Vicksburg’s game-tying two-point conversion try with 29 seconds left in last week’s 20-18 win.

“We talked about bringing some pressure to the quarterback and trying to get them to throw the ball in a hurry,” Morgan said. “Trey made a beat on the ball and made a play and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Collins had 75 rushing yards for Warren Central, nearly half of the 148 they had as a team.

Warren Central (3-0) won its ninth consecutive non-region game, a streak that started in 2020. It has an open date next week, and then travels to Oak Grove on Sept. 23 for its MHSAA Region 3-6A opener.

“We ran the ball well, but missed on some, but we will get better,” Morgan said. “We’re sitting in a good spot heading into district play and we’ve got to keep this momentum.”

Quarterback Drew McCluskey had 70 yards rushing and 91 passing to lead Germantown. The Mavericks (2-1) were held to just 106 rushing yards.

“I was proud of the kids to keep on fighting and we’re not settling for moral victories around here. I’ve got to do a better job of getting the team ready,” Germantown coach Russell Mitchell said. “Had a chance there at the end and thought we were, but they made more plays than us.”

WHITEFISH — Fynn Ridgeway ran for three touchdowns, Ty Schwaiger added two more and the Whitefish Bulldogs ground down Butte Central 34-20 in Western A football action Friday.

Schwaiger sparked a 21-point first quarter with a 2-yard TD run, and he added a 3-yarder in the fourth quarter that put away the stubborn Maroons.

Ridgeway scored with runs of 1 and 13 yards in the first quarter, then added a 33-yard burst in the third after Butte Central cut the gap to 21-13 at half.

Ridgeway finished with 114 yards on 13 carries; Schwaiger checked in with 69 yards on 12 totes. Ridgeway was 7 of 12 passing for 82 yards and one interception. Clayton Godsey grabbed three passes for 60 yards for the Bulldogs.

Jack Keeley threw two scoring passes for Butte Central (1-2), and threw two interceptions: Mason Kelch and Dane Hunt had the picks for Whitefish (2-1).

Whitefish 21 0 6 7 – 34

Butte Cent. 0 13 0 7 – 20

W — Ty Schwaiger 2 run (Ryder Barinowski kick)

W — Fynn Ridgeway 13 run (Barinowski kick)

W — Ridgeway 1 run (Barinowski kick)

BC — Kyle Holter 1 run (kick failed)

BC — Eric Loos 8 pass from Jack Keeley (Tony Stajcar kick)

W — Ridgeway 33 run (kick failed)

BC — Holter 6 pass from Keeley (Stajcar kick)

W — Schwaiger 3 run (Barinowski kick)

ELSEWHERE

Columbia Falls 44, Ronan 16

COLUMBIA FALLS — Cody Schweikert threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more Friday, leading Columbia Falls over Ronan in Western A football.

Schweikert was 9 of 27 passing for 139 yards, with scoring passes covering 29 and 32 yards to Reggie Sapa, 36 yards to Jace Hill and 1 yard to Justin Windauer.

With Sapa rushing for 106 yards on 13 carries, the Wildcats (3-0) won the yardage battle 321-201 over the Chiefs.

Caleb Cheff threw for 141 yards and one touchdown for Ronan. He completed 17 of 41 passes and was intercepted twice.

Schweikert’s two short scoring runs came early as Columbia Falls rolled to a 28-0 halftime lead.

Ronan 0 0 8 0 8 – 16

C-Falls 14 14 9 7 – 44

CF — Cody Schweikert 2 run (Kai Golan kick)

CF — Schweikert 1 run (Golan kick)

CF — Jace Hill 36 pass from Schweikert (Golan kick)

CF — Reggie Sapa 29 pass from Schweikert (Golan kick)

CF — Justin Windauer 1 pass from Schweikert (kick failed)

R — Caleb Cheff 9 run (PAT run)

CF — Golan 32 FG

CF — Sapa 32 pass from Schweikert (Golan kick)

R — Robbie McCray 23 pass from Cheff (pass good)

Polson 36, East Helena 13

EAST HELENA — Jarrett Wilson threw five touchdown passes, three to his brother Trent, and Polson ran over East Helena in Western A play Friday.,

Jarrett Wilson also found Keyen Nash for two touchdowns, as Polson (3-0) built a 36-0 lead. The senior QB also lost a fumble at the Vigilantes’ 2-yard line after a long run, and another Pirates’ drive ended on downs inside the East Helena 10.

Landon Shoemake had an interception for Polson, and teammate Trent Dwelle recovered a fumble.

Statistical totals were not available Friday night.

Polson 16 13 7 0 – 36

E. Helena 0 0 0 13 – 13

P — Trent Wilson 45 pass from Jarrett Wilson (Tia Mercer kick)

P — T. Wilson 10 pass from J Wilson (Mercer kick)

P — Safety

P — T Wilson 1 pass from J Wilson (Mercer kick)

P — Keyen Nash 25 pass from J Wilson (kick failed)

P — Nash 15 pass from J Wilson (Mercer kick)

EH — Cole Richmond 1 run (Trevor Held kick)

EH — Slade Olson 15 run (kick failed)

Bigfork 55, Conrad 6

CONRAD — Tristen Herd had two long touchdown runs, threw for two more scores and Bigfork downed Conrad in non-conference Class B football Friday.

Herd had scoring runs covering 70 and 60 yards and added a 55-yard TD pass to Cole Knopik as the Vikings (2-0) took a 34-0 lead after one quarter.

Wyatt Johnson added a 57-yard scoring burst and Isak Epperly scored from 16 yards out.

Herd hooked up with Joseph Farrier for a 65-yard TD pass in the second quarter; the Vikings also got a 38-yard TD run from Jackson Nelson and a pick-6 interception from David Jayne.

In addition to his 130 rushing yards, Herd threw for 160 on 5 of 7 passing. The Vikings outgained the Cowboys 419-162. Asher Knopik had a game-high six tackles to lead the Bigfork defense.

Bigfork 34 14 7 0 – 55

Conrad 0 0 6 0 – 6

B — Tristen Herd 70 run (kick failed)

B — Wyatt Johnson 57 run (Herd kick)

B — Isak Epperly 16 run (Herd kick)

B — Cole Knopik 55 pass from Herd (Herd kick)

B — Herd 60 run (Herd kick)

B — Joseph Farrier 65 pass from Herd (Herd kick)

B — Jackson Nelson 38 run (Herd kick)

B — David Jayne 50 interception return (erd kick)

C — Tommy Hammond 31 run (run failed)

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
Moshannon Valley’s Tanner Kephart scores on a blocked punt against Glendale on Friday night.

FLINTON — It seemed certain Glendale was going to respond to a Moshannon Valley touchdown in the fourth quarter and draw to within two points on Friday night at Dr. Roy F. Baker Field.

But then something memorable happened in the 57th meeting of the backyard rivalry that changed the game between the winless teams.

Mo Valley’s Luke Yarger recovered a fumble at the Black Knights’ 10-yard line. On the next play, with Glendale most likely focusing on Levi Knuth, Tanner Kephart burst through the middle of the line and outran everybody to the other end of the field for a 90-yard touchdown run.

The swing of momentum propelled the Black Knights to their first win, 29-14. It was Mo Valley’s first victory over Glendale since beating the Vikings in 2018, 48-32.

Sequence of the game: Yarger’s fumble recovery was followed by Kephart’s 90-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

First momentum shift: Senior Skylar Williams blocked Zeke Dubler’s punt in the second quarter, and Kephart picked the ball up at the Glendale 5 and scored easily, making the score 16-7.

Player of the game: Knuth ran for 184 yards on 25 carries and scored on runs of 5 and 1 yards. He also had a sack for a 9-yard loss.

Unsung heroes: The Moshannon Valley defense recovered three fumbles.

Most vital statistic: The Vikings ran more plays, 64-43, and had more yards, 361-283, but the turnovers were big.

Moshannon Valley coach Michael Keith on beating Glendale for the first time since 2018: “I said to these guys ‘doesn’t this feel good? Let’s do this more often.’”

Glendale coach Dave “Spank” Trexler on the momentum swing in the fourth quarter: “There were a lot of turning points in the game. But any time a swing of events has points involved, it magnifies it.”

Notable: Mo Valley holds a 35-21-1 edge in the series. … Dubler ran for 117 yards on 18 carries and scored on a 3-yard run. … Glendale’s Jimmy Sutton scored on a 21-yard run. …Viking quarterback Troy Misiura completed 15-of-22 passes for 164 yards.

Next week: Moshannon Valley hosts Northern Bedford. Glendale hosts West Branch.

Records: Moshannon Valley (1-2); Glendale (0-3)

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Moshannon Valley 3 13 0 13 –29

Glendale 7 7 0 0 –14

First Quarter

MV–Collins 27 field goal, 6:23.

G–Dubler 3 run (Beatty kick), :50.6.

Second Quarter

MV–Knuth 5 run (Collins kick), 7:15.

MV–T. Kephart 5 blocked punt return (kick failed), 5:04.

G–Sutton 21 run (Beatty kick), 1:39.

Fourth Quarter

MV–Knuth 1 run (Collins kick), 10:51.

MV–T. Kephart 90 run (pass failed), 8:11.

TEAM STATISTICS MV G

First downs 14 16

Total yards 283 361

Rushes-yards 37-261 42-197

Yards passing 22 164

Passing (comp.-att.-int) 3-6-0 15-22-0

Punts-avg. 3-46 3-14.3

Fumbles-lost 1-1 3-3

Penalties-yards 2-15 6-43

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Moshannon Valley, Knuth 25-184, T. Kephart 6-87, Kurten 6-(-10). Glendale, Dubler 18-117, Sutton 11-62, Potutschnig 8-34, Vereshack 1-1, Misiura 4-(-17).

PASSING–Moshannon Valley, Kurten 3-6-0-22. Glendale, Misiura 15-22-0-164.

RECEIVING–Moshannon Valley, T. Kephart 2-11, Yarger 1-11. Glendale, Cree 6-90, Tarnow 4-42, Dubler 2-21, Potutschnig 2-6, Sutton 1-5.

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Defensive domination: Packers blank Rockets in home opener

Published 10:52 pm Friday, September 9, 2022

The Packers made a gigantic play on offense early on and it let the defense finish the job as they toppled Rochester John Marshall 30-0 in Art Hass Stadium Saturday.

Austin (1-1 overall) was facing a third and 15 amidst heavy runs on its second possession of the game when quarterback Jack Lang dropped back and dropped a rainbow into a bucket when he found Payton Ransom for a 46-yard TD that gave the Packers a 7-0 lead just seven minutes into the game. It was a lead they would keep.

“I had a post route, but the defender cut it off, so I bumped it outside and Jack threw a perfect pass and hit me in stride, right into the end zone,” Ransom said of his TD.

Austin’s Dakota Retterath blocked a punt to set up a Joe Ewing 30-yard field goal near the end of the first quarter and Ransom picked off a pass and ran it back 24 yards for a score to make it 16-0 with 7:17 left in the second quarter.

Austin erased all doubt when Tommy Fritz broke off a 28-yard TD run to put the Packers up 30-0 with 4:02 left in the third.

“We had no mercy. We kept pounding it and doing our job. They kept talking, but once we shut that out and they stopped talking, we knew we had them in the second quarter,” Fritz said. “We had a rough start in practice this week and we talked about getting fired up in practice and transferring over to games.”

The Packer defense and special teams were dominant from wire-to-wire as they forced five turnovers and scored two TDs.

JM (0-2 overall)had just 137 yards of offense.

“I think our new brand of defense is working well and we made good adjustments to widen our linebackers outside against their run game,” Austin head coach Ed Schmitt said. “That’s a credit to the kids and our coaches. It’s nice to get those turnovers. Our defense played great, and our special teams played pretty good, especially against their speed. To see the smiles on their faces after the game and to see that the hard work paid off, that’s the best thing as a coach. All of the credit goes to the kids.”

SCORING SUMMARY

JM 0  0  0 0  –  0

Austin 10 13 7 0  – 30

First quarter

(A) Peyton Ransom 46 pass from Jack Lang (Ewing kick) (7 plays, 76 yards) 7:40

(A) Joe Ewing 30 field goal (4 plays, -12 yards) 1:46

Second quarter

(A) Ransom 24 interception (kick failed) (1 play, 24 yards) 1:17

(A) Dakota Retterath 0 fumble recovery (Ewing kick) (1 play, 0 yards) 2:18

Third quarter

(A) Tommy Fritz 28 run (Ewing kick) (9 plays, 40 yards) 4:02

Fourth quarter

No scoring

AUSTIN STATS

Rushing: Tommy Fritz, 13-for-82, TD; Jeremiha Landry, 9-for-48

Passing: Lang, 3-for-10, 47, TD

Receiving: Peyton Ransom, 1-for-46, TD; Fritz, 1-for-2

Defense: Retterath, punt block, fumble recovery; Landry, 1 interception; Sam Winkels, 1 interception; Ransom, 1 interception; Toby Holtz, 1 sack

Penalties: 8-for-78

JM STATS

Rushing: 107

Passing: 37

Penalties: 12-for-105

The Nashoba Tech Vikings set the tone with a pair of short touchdown runs by junior Anthony Panetta in the first quarter and never looked back in taking their season opener with a 28-6 victory over South Shore before their home fans in Westford on Friday night.

Panetta scored on a 4-yard run and the 2-point conversion rush made it 8-0. He wasn’t done, again finding the end zone, this time on a 3-yard plunge, to hand the Vikings a 14-0 lead after the opening quarter.

Nashoba Tech made it 22-0 when junior quarterback Murphy Senecal tossed a 20-yard TD strike to sophomore Zane Beausoleil with 5:14 left in the second quarter. South Shore finally got on the board with 37 seconds left in the first half.

Following a defensive third quarter which saw both offenses stall, the Vikings made it 28-6 thanks to Connor Buchman, who scored on a 5-yard run early in the fourth.

Non-league

Springfield Cent. 38, Central Cath. 0 >> In a battle of perennial heavyweight powers, Central Catholic was no match for the Springfield squad.

Springfield Central scored six points in the first quarter and then took off to lead 22-0 at halftime. Touchdowns and two-point conversions in the third and fourth quarters accounted for the final score in the season-opener for both squads.

William Watson scored on 51 and 23-yard runs for the winners. The schools have staged some epic duels in the last couple of years.

Maynard 20, Chelmsford 17 >> The Lions were upended in their season opener during a non-league clash that may surprise many.

Quarterback Kyle Wilder struck for a pair of touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough for the Lions.

The quarterback found Dan Craig early in the first quarter on a 23-yard TD reception. Wilder went 9-for-31, throwing for 97 yards. He also factored in on the run, rushing for 70 yards, including an 18-yard strike in the third quarter.

Kicker Mike Bierwirth rounded out the Lions’ scoring, booting a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter, cutting the Maynard lead to 14-10. Chelmsford’s Kai Everett also played well, earning 96 yards on 14 attempts.

Westford 44, Dracut 6 >>  Jake Cullen threw for a pair of touchdowns, and rushed for a third, as Westford downed Dracut.

The Ghosts’ quarterback was in fine form, going 5-for-6  for 88 yards, and two TDs, including a 46-yard heave to Matt Higgins to open the game.

Westford built a 21-0 cushion in the first quarter, with Cullen sending in Luke Fremault from 32 yards, before charging in on a 30-yard scamper to end the stanza.

Running back Anthony Rudimen was tough to catch, breaking 82 yards on six carries, and scoring a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter, giving his team the commanding 37-0 edge at halftime. Kicker Peter Burden made six PATs to expand the lead.

NHIAA Division 2

Pelham 41, St. Thomas 0 >> Two-time defending state champion Pelham moved up a division prior to the season and so far it hasn’t made a difference.

The Pythons are still dominating. They improved to 2-0 with an easy win under the lights at home against their visitors from Dover.

The well-oiled machine led the Saints at halftime 28-0 and then 41-0 after three quarters. Jake Travis set the tone by scoring on a 2-yard run and then a 21-yard run in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Jake Cawthron caught a 57-yard scoring pass from Travis and then Travis sprinted 44 yards to paydirt to make it 28-0 at halftime. In the fourth quarter, Alex Carroll scored on a 8-yard run and Jake Cuilla’s 15-yard capped the scoring.

Travis rushed six times for 119 yards, while Carroll also went over 100 yards on the ground, finishing with 107 on nine carries. Ethan Demmons piled up 53 yards on seven carries.

In the passing department, Travis threw for 69 yards on three completions. St. Thomas did not complete a pass.

Pelham head coach Tom Babaian said,  “We were able to establish the ground game and early, and it set the tone for the rest of the game. We played tough and we made some plays in the passing game, and our defense was able to make key stops throughout the game. We need to address our turnovers, mistakes, and penalties, so we need to get back to work and continue to improve.”

Central Mass.

Worcester Tech 22, Ayer Shirley 20 >> The Panthers lost in overtime in heartbreaking fashion.

Cam Marshall scored off a fourth down double deflection, but the conversion failed, giving Worcester Tech the golden opportunity they were searching for from the 10 after the teams were tied 14-14 after regulation.

Ayer Shirley scored with 2:49 left in the half, knotting the game at 14. The Panthers led 8-6 at halftime, with Worcester Tech holding the 14-8 lead late in the third quarter. The teams went back and forth all night in Worcester.

Mike Greenberg tried his damnedest. He lead questions as best he could, but none of the panelists would bite.

On Friday mornings edition of Get Up on ESPN, the host went around the room trying to get one of his guests to react to Aaron Rodgers NFC North Rivals comments.

Despite his efforts to have his guests take on a “Vikings will win the North” narrative, every single one of them strongly emphasized Rodgers abilities and resume, as well as the Packers chances to once again win the division.

Ryan Clark
Every year we come in here and we say, oh this team could be really good and oh this team could be really good. Then they play the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers does Aaron Rodgers things. And even this year without Davante Adams and without feeling like you have the skill players on the outside, there’s a great defense in Green Bay, there’s an excellent Run game in Green Bay, and there’s still number 12.

Sam Acho
Man, wait till we get Bakhtiari back. Wait till we get Watson to play how we want him to play. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t really concern himself with things outside of his building and his people. He’s not concerned about the Bears or the Lions or the Vikings, he knows who he is and what he’s capable of and I think he’s going to win the division again.

Dan Graziano
The Vikings look good, but they’re learning a new offense, they’re learning a new defense. Kevin O’Connell might be a fantastic head coach we just don’t know, what we do know Is the Green Bay Packers head coach has set a record for victories in his first three years by an NFL head coach. The Packers still have some advantages and oh by the way Aaron Rodgers.

For a network that is happy to drum up any number 12 related controversy it can, it was nice to see a panel full of guests finally get it right on the back to back MVP and his team. Here’s to hoping he goes out and proves them right in 2022.

The Green Bay Packers may have something of a locker room problem on their hands regarding one of their most prominent players.

The Packers named their six team captains on Friday, September 9, as voted on by the players. None of those captains were named Jaire Alexander, however, who served in the role last season.

Rob Demovsky of ESPN asked the former Pro Bowl cornerback if he was offended by his exclusion from the honor, to which Alexander offered a candid response.

“Jaire Alexander, who was a team captain last year, on if he took it personal that he wasn’t voted as one of the six captains this year: ‘Yeah, I did,’” Demovsky tweeted. “He didn’t elaborate on why but added: ‘Happy for the guys who were (voted captains), and I’ll keep doing what I’m doing.’”

Among those Packers players who were included as captains are quarterback Aaron Rodgers, running back Aaron Jones, tight end Marcedes Lewis, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, defensive lineman Kenny Clark and safety Adrian Amos.

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Alexander Signed Massive Extension After Injury-Plagued Season

The details behind Alexander’s locker room demotion remain unclear and will likely never be known to the public, much the same as the player vote count that kept him from earning the moniker. However, the cornerback’s tumultuous 2021 season may have played some kind of role.

Alexander was coming off a Pro Bowl campaign in 2020, during which he amassed 51 tackles, including two tackles for loss, 13 defensed passes, one interception, one forced fumble, one sack and one safety across 15 starts, per Pro Football Reference.

Alexander was off to another great start last season, before he sustained a shoulder injury in Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He rejoined the roster in late December, though he never played another snap in 2021 — regular season or postseason.

Despite his injury issues, Alexander inked a massive contract extension with the Packers during the offseason, signing for four more years at a total price tag of $84 million.

A collection of NFL players, coaches and executives polled by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler in July voted Alexander, now 25 years old, as the third-best cornerback in the league behind only Jalen Ramsey of the Los Angeles Rams and Marshon Lattimore of the New Orleans Saints.

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Packers’ Defense Will be Called Upon to Carry Team This Season

Whatever ill will Alexander holds for his teammates following the captains vote, and whatever ill will may have been behind the locker room’s decision to look elsewhere for a captain, must be resolved before the season begins.

The defense was already going to be relied upon to carry a heavier burden in 2022, after Green Bay traded All Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. Beyond that, new No. 1 wideout Allen Lazard is doubtful for Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, while offensive tackles David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins are both questionable heading into the weekend.

If the defense can’t rise to the occasion, the Packers will be in danger of failing to win the NFC North Division for the first time in four seasons, even despite running out the two-time defending MVP under center in Rodgers.

Bears

Bears GM Ryan Poles had high praise for the leadership HC Matt Eberflus is providing.

“I love that dude,” Poles said, via Adam Jahns of The Athletic. “When he approaches the team meeting and gets in front of the guys, he’s got juice. But it’s not fluff. It’s not fake. It’s real. And you can feel that energy that he has. The guys love it. I love it. I’m so pumped about his leadership and how he’s going to lead this team.”

Eberflus mentioned that he quickly built a close relationship with Poles.

“We just hit it off right away,” Eberflus said. “When we start talking about, ‘Hey, what do you want your team to look like? What do you want your players to look like? What do you want your coaching staff to be like?’ And it just was in line … and you have to be in line with what you want your vision of the football team to look like.”

Eberflus added that he’s “in line” with Poles about the type of players they wanted to sign this offseason.

“That’s how we fell in line together, and why we were so attracted to each other as partners to run an organization because of that vision of the effort, the intensity of which you play, the tempo, the speed, the long athletic players that we want to acquire,” Eberflus said. “We’re right in line with that.”

• Bears HC Matt Eberflus said WR Velus Jones Jr.‘s hamstring injury is the same which affected him this preseason but is almost ready to play: “We’re close. [He’ll be] ready soon.” (Courtney Cronin)

Lions

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is focused on being consistent on a weekly basis as he enters his second season, following a standout campaign as a rookie.

“For me, it’s doing everything right and making plays and doing it over again,” St. Brown said, via DetroitLions.com. “Whether that’s blocking in the run game, catching the ball, scoring touchdowns. Whatever you are doing, being consistent at it and doing it week in and week out.”

Lions HC Dan Campbell feels that St. Brown is focused on the right issues and believes he will have another productive season of football.