Mario Calcaterra gains eight yards on this run in the Saints football opener against Charlevoix. The junior led the St. Ignace ground attack with 63 yards on 10 carries.

The 2005 match-up between St. Ignace and Charlevoix was the 11th time the Saints and Rayders have battled on the gridiron. St. Ignace had won the previous 10 contests dating back to 1995, but Charlevoix snapped the losing streak with a 35-0 win Friday, August 26.

"We are young and inexperienced and made some mistakes," said Saints Coach Marty Spencer. "We did some positive things, but we need to continue to work hard to cut down our mistakes."

St. Ignace punter Derrick Clark tallied 226 yards on six punts for a 37.6 average in the season opener. After a scoreless first quarter, Matt Kautz, who passed for 121 yards and rushed for 107 yards, scored at 9:54 of the second period and Russell Williams kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

Two Saints mistakes led the Rayders to a 21-0 halftime lead as a bad snap from center on a punt formation led to a partially blocked punt and an easy score, and on ensuing kickoff St. Ignace fumbled and Charlevoix recovered and scored just before the half.

Charlevoix scored two third-quarter touchdowns that forced a running clock for the remainder of the game.

St. Ignace threatened to score twice in the fourth quarter, but ran out of downs on both attempts.

Derrick Clark punted very well for the Saints, with six attempts for 226 yards for a 37.6 average. The junior had punts of 50, 49, 40, 38, 30, and 19.

Zach Pierson (sack) and Nick Montie led the defense with 12 tackles each. Derrick Clark and Kyle Smock added 11, Jake Smith chipped in 10 with one sack and one fumble recovery, James Sayles tallied eight stops, Paul Davis, Corey Garlock, and Wade McKenzie notched six, Rob Sayles (fumble recovery) and James Peterson charted five, Sam Fitzpatrick and Garrett Becker marked four, and Lee Kelso and Ben Matelski counted one.

Mario Calcaterra rushed for 63 yards on 10 carries, Paul Davis gained 17 yards, Garrett Becker chipped in 15 yards, Kyle Smock tallied four yards, and Kyle Spencer completed two of 10 passes for 24 yards, as Zach Pierson caught one pass for 19 yards and Mario Calcaterra one reception for five yards.

St. Ignace will entertain Maple City-Glen Lakes Thursday, September 1, with the junior varsity game set for 3:30 p.m. and the varsity game to follow.

Saints JV Falls to Rayders

The St. Ignace junior varsity fell to Charlevoix 41-14 in the season opener Thursday, August 25.

The Saints’ two touchdowns came on fourth quarter pass completions, from Anthony Lester to Shawn Cowell for 33 yards and to Derek Marshall for one yard.

Cowell rushed for 85 yards, Jesse Becker added 66 yards, Shane McDonald chipped in 52 yards, and Nate Thompson tallied 15 yards.

McDonald led the defense with nine tackles and one pass interception, Andy Tamlyn and Marshall added seven, Tyler Oja chipped in six with one pass interception, Stephen Bielat tallied five, James Halberg, Thompson, and Cowell charted four each, Alec Fitzgerald and Stefan Saffian marked three, Shane Spring and Becker counted two, and Rob Robinson, Cody Canell, Lance DeKeyser, Frank Beaudoin, and Eric Hinsman recorded one apiece.