Dan St. Onge St. Ignace Charlevoix tied the score at 14 with 22 seconds left in the first half, jump starting the Rayders’ offense to two second-half touchdowns while the defense held St. Ignace scoreless en-route to a 28- 14 non-conference decision over the Saints Friday, August 28.

In the season opener at Saints Field honoring the parents of the varsity players and cheerleaders, the big plays by the Rayders and the second half defensive effort were the keys for the Charlevoix victory.

The Rayders reached the end zone first on a 61-yard touchdown run by Jake McLean for a 6-0 lead at 5:21 of the first quarter

The Saints answered as Caleb Litzner returned the Charlevoix punt 30 yards to the Rayders 35- yard line. On the first play of the second quarter, Gerrit Mortensen and Austin St. Louis combined on a 14-yard scoring pass to tie the score at 6.

St. Ignace took a 14-6 lead at 6:43 of the second quarter as Mortensen and Litzner hooked up on a nineyard touchdown pass and Cole Christiansen scored the two-point conversion.

Caleb Litzner (30) sprints around the left end while Lou Radecki (61) blocks for the senior running back. Other offensive linemen include Luke Thurston (67) and Jayson Fenlon (50). Charlevoix took possession with 3:36 left in the first half. Eight plays later, with 22 seconds on the clock, McLean scored from three yards out and JT Lawrence added the two-point conversion to send the game into halftime tied at 22.

The Rayders received the second half kickoff and took the lead for good at 9:24 on a scoring pass from Clayton Mitchell to Lawrence from 53 yards out. Mitchell recorded the two-point conversion for a 22-14 lead and in the closing 36 seconds of the game Charlevoix closed out the scoring as McLean scored his third touchdown on a 10-yard run to secure the 14-point win.

The Saints offensive set, led by senior quarterback Gerrit Mortensen (3). Saints offensive statistics: Gerrit Mortensen, 12 of 22 passing for 123 yards; Austin St. Louis, seven receptions for 96 yards, three carries for 30 yards; Evan Everson, nine carries for 50 yards; Caleb Litzner, 11 carries for 25 yards.

Saints defensive statistics: Austin St. Louis, 12 tackles; Dan St. Onge and Jake Gustafson, 10 tackles; John Evashevski, Caleb Litzner, Joey Ostman, seven tackles; Grant Simmons, six tackles; Mike Barthelemy and Nate Montie, four tackles; Cole Christiansen, Cody Swagger, and Lucas Thurston, two tackles

Charlevoix offensive statistics: Clayton Mitchell, seven of 13 passing for 127 yards, eight carries for 33 yards; Jake McLean, nine carries for 103 yards, and Isaac Hosper, 13 carries for 48 yards.

The Saints will travel to East Jordan Thursday, September 3, to battle the Red Devils, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

The Saints junior varsity game will be played at home Wednesday, September 2 at 6 p.m.