Joe Currie Cedarville

Defense plus offense equals victory and in the case of Cedarville the 30-0 shutout win over Pickford clinches a share of the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference (EUPC) championship, and qualifies the Trojans for the playoffs with their sixth consecutive win Friday, September 30.

Before a packed house at Trojans Field, Cedarville took advantage of Pickford turnovers (seven) and used a balanced offense (running and passing), and defensive pressure to post the win.

"This was the largest crowd that I’ve ever seen," said Trojans Coach Randy Schaedig. "I was pleased with our defense and we executed our offense, and we contained Caleb Rader and didn't let him beat us."

Clayton Peffers Pickford On offense, the Trojans, 2-0 in the league, were led by Peter Treleaven with three of 10 passes for 72 yards. Cory Wellnitz caught the three passes for 72 yards, Justin Baker rushed for 65 yards on 14 carries, Gary Kott gained 45 yards on 13 rushing attempts, and Alex Smith tallied 28 yards on six carries.

Joe Currie and Smith lifted the defense with 10 tackles each. Kott added eight and one fumble recovery. Matt Manley chipped in seven with one fumble recovery. Matt Hansen, Aaron Bright, and Devon Wilson notched six. Wellnitz tallied four with one sack, one fumble recovery, and one interception. Keith Foster had three, Jordan Sweeney and Lucas Izzard marked two with one fumble recovery, Kevin Leach recorded one with one fumble recovery, and Baker counted one stop.

Cory Wellnitz Cedarville The Panthers, 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the EUPC, were led by Caleb Rader, who rushed for 79 yards on 21 attempts, and Toby Kibble gained six. On defense, Jason King led the way with 15 tackles; Rader added seven; Joe Jenkins chipped in six; Jon Snider, Clayton Peffers (one fumble recovery), Jordan Hatfield (one fumble recovery), and Richie Boal (one fumble recovery) notched four each; Alan Orr and Jordan Potter tallied two, and Nate Rader charted one.

The teams battled to a scoreless tie after the first 12 minutes before Wellnitz recovered the Pickford fumble. Kott scored from seven yards out and the senior from DeTour added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead at 6:33 of the second quarter.

Late in the first half (45 seconds left), Wellnitz blocked the Panthers punt and Treleaven and Wellnitz hooked up for a 27-yard scoring pass for a 14-0 halftime advantage.

The Trojans second blocked punt, this one by Hansen, was after a 29-yard pass from Treleaven to Wellnitz. Kott plunged over from the two-yard line and Baker chipped in the two-point conversion to increase the lead to 22-0 with 2:56 remaining in the third quarter.

Cedarville scored its final touchdown with 2:35 left in the game as Smith rambled 19 yards and Baker notched the two-point conversion.

Cedarville could win the league outright with a road win over Brimley Friday, October 7.

Trojans JV Down Panthers

Six players scored touchdowns for Cedarville as the Trojans defeated Pickford 41-16 in a junior varsity game Thursday, September 29.

Jordan Duncan completed touchdown passes to Jason Duncan, Clayton Meyers, and Jake Wellnitz. C.J. Paquin and Sheldon Tassier scored rushing touchdowns, Adam Dingman recovered the Pickford fumble in the endzone for a score, and Jason Duncan completed the scoring with five extra-point kicks.

Jordan Duncan completed five of eight passes for 75 yards and rushed for eight yards. Jason Duncan caught one pass for 27 yards, Tassier rushed for 122 yards, Wellnitz gained 63 yards, C.J. Paquin added 38 yards, Fernando Ruiz tallied 14 yards, and Kevin Thompson notched seven.

Wellnitz led the defense with 11 tackles. Tassier added nine, Ryan Pollard and Dingman chipped in six, Jordan Huff notched four, James Mitchell, Jason Duncan, and Kevin Thompson tallied three, Cody Thompson charted two, and C.J. Paquin, Wade Autore, Jordan Duncan, and Paul Eberts marked one each.