Gerrit Mortensen (3) in the pocket to throw a scoring pass to Rob Robinson late in the first half, while James Halberg (61) and Mike Barthelemy (75) stand in to block as Trojans' Adam Dingman (52) and Scott McGreevy (86) bear down on the quarterback. In an epic defensive battle between two teams better known for their offenses, the St. Ignace Saints held off the Cedarville Trojans, 18-7, in the first playoff meeting between the two schools during the Division 8, Region 1, District 2 championship in St. Ignace Friday, November 7.

In the showdown between the two offensive powers that, combined, averaged 75 points per game, the defenses dominated play, with only 25 points scored between St. Ignace and Cedarville.

"The team worked hard on defense all week," said Saints Coach Marty Spencer. "We needed to contain C.J. Paquin, be patient, and stay home. I felt we did all three pretty well."

The Trojans struck first as Jordan Huff recovered a Saints fumble, and, only four plays later, the duo of C.J. Paquin and Luke Murray combined on a 40-yard scoring pass. With an Andrew Figures extra point kick, the Trojans were up 7-0 with 5:53 to go in the first quarter.

C.J. Paquin (22) pitches the ball to Zach McFarlane (36) in the first half for Cedarville. Both defenses held each other's offenses in check until inside the two-minute mark of the second quarter, when Gerrit Mortensen intercepted a Trojans pass and, on the first play from scrimmage, Mortensen, the Saints quarterback on offense, hit Rob Robinson on a 46-touchdown pass.

Robinson caught the pass at the 36-yard line, then swerved his way, avoiding eight defenders to reach the end zone. Mortensen's extra point kick tied the game at 7- 7 with 1:41 remaining in the first half.

After the touchback on the ensuing kickoff, Mortensen intercepted his second pass on the Trojans' sixth play, and the junior returned the ball to the Cedarville 29-yard line.

St. Ignace faced third down with 10 yards to go for a first down after two incomplete passes with 12 seconds left in the half. Robinson then rambled 21 yards to the eight-yard line and stopped the clock with one second remaining in the first half. Mortensen kicked a 23-yard field goal, his seventh field goal of the season, to send the Saints into halftime with a 10-7 advantage.

Rob Robinson (30) led St. Ignace with 101 yards rushing and caught two passes for 111 yards in the Saints' win over the Trojans. Robinson, who rushed for 101 yards and caught two passes for 111 yards, credits the offensive line for their blocking.

"When the line opens the holes, it makes our job much easier," he said. "We meshed together on offense and defense."

"The game can change in a matter of minutes," added Coach Spencer. "We were down by seven inside the two-minute mark and the defense changed the whole aspect of the game."

The third quarter was a defensive struggle that included a Saints' fourth down stop on Cedarville's offense on the final play of the quarter.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Mortensen and Robinson combined on a 55-yard scoring pass and Anthony Lester and Tyler Mapes hooked up for the twopoint conversion to extend the lead 18-7, completing the game's scoring.

Luke Murray (33), the Trojans' leading receiver this season, hauls in a pass as Gerrit Mortensen attempts to prevent him from catching it. "There was plenty of time left and, with the Trojans offense, this game was far from being over with," said Coach Spencer.

St. Ignace held Cedarville on downs during two offensive possessions and, with 1:26 showing on the clock, Austin St. Louis ended any thoughts of a Trojans comeback, intercepting a pass and reclaiming ball control for the Saints.

"We had high expectations coming into this game and came to St. Ignace to win," said Trojans Coach Scott Barr. "This team left nothing on the field and I am proud of their effort."

For the Trojans, their season ends with a 10-1 overall record. The team returned home to look forward to next year's football action.

For the Saints, they return to where they began the football season, to Marquette and Northern Michigan University's Superior Dome. The Saints will battle another Trojans team, Crystal Falls-Forest Park (11-0), in the regional finals at the Superior Dome Saturday, November 15. Kick off is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Cedarville Trojans captains (from left) James Mitchell, C.J. Paquin, Wade Autore, and Jordan Huff. "We are going home," said Saints Coach Marty Spencer, in reference to the Superior Dome, where St. Ignace opened the first four days of preseason training in August, a tradition that has been ongoing for the team for the past 10 years.

The Saints are familiar with the turf field.

Crystal Falls-Forest Park, this year's Great Western Conference champion, is the defending Division 8 champion. The Crystal Falls-Forest Park Trojans defeated Lake Linden-Hubbell 6-0 last week to advance to the Division 8 Region 1 championship game.

Cedarville Trojans Note

Cedarville and DeTour participate in a co-op program, and seniors playing football for the final time from Cedarville were James Mitchell, Paul Eberts, C.J. Paquin, Taylor Smith, Alex McMaken, Clayton Meyers, Jordan Huff, Wade Autore, Adam Dingman, Luke Murray, Peter Duman, Austin Bright, Scott McGreevy, and Andrew Figures, while Josh Wilson, Kaleb Barbeaux, and Tyler Anderson are the seniors from DeTour.

Above: The Saints' Anthony Lester (7) gains positive yards, pursued by the Trojans' Luke Murray (33) and Zach McFarlane (36). "This was a great group of players to work with," added Coach Barr. "This is a tough defeat to swallow, especially for the seniors. The teams played with passion and enthusiasm and were proud to represent the school and community."

Saints offensive statistics: Gerrit Mortensen, 8-of-20 passes for 125 yards, two touchdowns, five carries for 16 yards; Rob Robinson, 14 carries for 101 yards, two pass receptions for 101 yards, two touchdowns; Anthony Lester, five carries for 37 yards; Austin St. Louis, three receptions for 12 yards, three carries for 11 yards; Caleb Litzner, two carries for seven yards, one reception for five yards; Tyler Oja, one reception for seven yards, one carry for 28 yards.

Saints defensive statistics: James Halberg, 12 tackles, two quarterback sacks; Stefan Saffian and Gunnar Zipp, 12 tackles, one sack; Tyler Oja, 10 tackles; Lance DeKeyser, seven tackles; Billy Grogan, five tackles, one sack; Tyler Mapes, Anthony Lester, John Evashevski, and Austin St. Louis, five tackles; Gerrit Mortensen, two tackles; Ronnie France, Rob Robinson, one tackle.

Christy (nee Mapes) Schlegel and her four-year-old daughter, Mira, from Seattle, Washington, in front of a Saints sign that has the number of Tyler Mapes' Saints jersey. They are his niece and sister. The mother and daughter surprised the St. Ignace family with their trip home for the playoffs. Trojans offensive statistics: C.J. Paquin, 13-of-34 passing for 177 yards, one touchdown; Luke Murray, six receptions for 88 yards; Zach McFarlane, 11 carries for 71 yards, one reception for five yards; Tyler Anderson, three receptions for 49 yards, three carries for seven yards; Taylor Smith, three receptions for 35 yards.

Trojans defensive statistics: James Mitchell, Luke Murray, 11 tackles; Tyler Anderson, eight tackles; Zach McFarlane seven tackles; Adam Dingman, six tackles, one quarterback sack; Wade Autore, six tackles; Jordan Huff, five tackles, one fumble recovery; Josh Wilson, four tackles, one fumble recovery; C.J. Paquin, four tackles.

Father Allen Mott rings his bell to cheer on the Saints.