Cedarville Drops Disappointing 21-20 Decision to Central Lake in Districts
By David Latva

The Cedarville shotgun offense is orchestrated by junior quarterback C.J. Paquin during the playoff game at Central Lake Friday, November 2.

The Cedarville Trojans, 10-1 on the season, dropped a disappointing 21-20 decision to the Central Lake Trojans in the Division 8 district championship game at Central Lake Friday, November 2.

"This was a tough defeat to swallow," said Cedarville Head Coach Randy Schaedig. "We totaled more yards, but the little penalties did hurt us."

Cedarville tallied 334 yards, 215 passing and 119 on the ground, while the Central Lake Trojans gained 272 total yards, 167 rushing and 101 passing.

Cedarville was flagged seven times for 40 yards, while Central Lake collected four penalties for 20 yards.

The teams exchanged possessions to begin the game before C.J. Paquin and Jason Duncan hooked up on a 61-yard scoring pass for a 6-0 lead at the 6:09 mark of the first quarter.

The score stood until Central Lake took advantage of a short field possession. Late in the first quarter, the home team took possession at its own 48-yard line and, 11 plays later, scored on a six-yard scoring pass from Ryan Crawley to Nathan Peterson. Jared Danbert's extra-point kick gave Central Lake a 7-6 scoring edge.

The Trojans Zach McFarlane (36) breaks up a Central Lake pass intended for Jason Barnett.

Cedarville took over at its own 39-yard line and marched the ball to Central Lake's six-yard line, however, a pass interception ended the scoring opportunity.

Controversy set in after Cedarville's Sheldon Tassier recovered a fumble on Central Lake's second offensive play, initially giving Cedarville possession of the ball on the 15-yard line. The chains were moved and Cedarville was lined up to run the offensive play, however, play was stopped after the Central Lake coach came out on the field (no timeout) to protest the call. The referees huddled for more than five minutes before reversing their call, giving possession of the ball back to Central Lake.

Coach Schaedig had to use a timeout to talk to the officials and receive an answer as to why the call was reversed.

"Apparently, there was an inadvertent whistle," said Schaedig.

Once play resumed, defensive back Jason Duncan picked off a Central Lake pass and returned the football 20 yards to the end zone for a Cedarville touchdown with 3:13 left in the first half. The senior kicked the extra point for a 13- 7 halftime advantage for Cedarville.

Central Lake took the second half kickoff and, after three offensive plays faced a fourth-and-three situation. Cedarville's defense, however, was flagged for an offside penalty that kept the Central Lake drive going.

Central Lake took advantage and drove 56 yards on six plays as Travis Rogers scored from three yards out for a 14-13 lead, after Danbert kicked the extra point at the 7:26 mark.

Cedarville answered two minutes later on a run-and-pass combination as Paquin and Duncan combined on a 36-yard pass completion, Tassier rushed for 23 yards, and Zach McFarlane gained 10 yards, that included the final nine yards for the touchdown. Duncan added the extra point for a 20-14 Cedarville lead.

Possession of the ball flipflopped on turnovers, as Paquin intercepted a Central Lake pass during the closing two minutes of the third quarter, although Central Lake's Jason Barnett returned the favor, picking off the Cedarville pass in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Central Lake took possession at its 47-yard line and, following a 42-yard pass completion from Crawley to Danbert, Rogers scored on a seven-yard run. Danbert converted the go-ahead extra-point kick for a 21-20 lead with 9:50 left in the game.

Cedarville's defense gave its team new life as Paquin ripped the ball from Danbert after a 25-yard run and Duncan picked off the ball in mid-air and returned the ball 27 yards to the Central Lake 48-yard line, with eight minutes on the clock.

Paquin completed a 27-yard pass play to Luke Murray and the Cedarville quarterback gained nine yards, threatening on the Central Lake 12-yard line, however, on a fourth-and-one situation, Central Lake stuffed Cedarville's offensive play and the home team ran out the clock to secure a tough district win.

"I thought about the play, but feel I would make the same call," said Coach Schaedig after the game. "We were well prepared for this game and the team played very hard and gave it their all. We are proud of the season and have nothing to be ashamed of."

Central Lake will travel to Marquette to face Crystal Falls- Forest Park at Northern Michigan University's Superior Dome.

Cedarville seniors playing for the final time were Devon Wilson, Jake Wellnitz, Sheldon Tassier, Cody Thompson, Darrell Plont, Ryan Pollard, Kevin Thompson, and Jason Duncan.

"This is group of hard working players that will be missed. They had a special season," said Coach Schaedig.

Cedarville offensive stats: C.J. Paquin, 12-of-23 passing for 215 yards, 14 carries for 21 yards; Jason Duncan, four receptions for 108 yards; Sheldon Tassier, five carries for 51 yards, four receptions for 39 yards; Zach McFarlane, nine carries for 47 yards; Tyler Anderson, two receptions for 31 yards; Luke Murray, one reception for 27 yards.

Cedarville defensive stats: Devon Wilson, 18 tackles; James Mitchell, 13 tackles; Sheldon Tassier, 10 tackles; Ryan Pollard, nine tackles; Zach McFarlane, eight tackles; C.J. Paquin, four tackles; Josh Wilson, Kevin Thompson, Jason Duncan, three tackles; Jordan Huff, Paul Eberts, two tackles; Alex McMaken, Taylor Smith, Harry Reinfelder, Adam Dingman, one tackle.

Central Lake offensive stats: Ryan Crawley, completed 9-of-17 passing for 101 yards; Travis Rogers, 13 carries for 85 yards; Jared Danbert, 10 carries for 62 yards, two receptions for 49 yards; Nolan Howes, 10 carries for 10 yards; Landon Waller, two carries for five yards; Nathan Peterson, three receptions for 29 yards; Jarrod Steenwyk, two receptions for 16 yards; Jason Barnett, one reception for one yard.

Trojans Success on Gridiron

The Cedarville Trojans have qualified for the playoffs in six seasons with Coach Randy Schaedig at the helm.

The Trojans made the tourney in 1993, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 and have compiled a 40- 13 overall record during the playoff run that includes a 28-4 record during the last three years.

In the last three years, Cedarville completed the 2007 regular season with a perfect 9-0 record and won the Mid-Eastern Football League (MEFL) championship with a 8-0 mark, went 8-2 overall in 2006 and 7-1 in the MEFL, and, in 2005, the Trojans completed the season with a 10-1 record and won the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference title in the last season of the league with a 4-0 mark.

"This has been a very special time, the playoff run, but without all the hard work of the players and coaching staff, this would not be possible," said Coach Schaedig.