Football: Chemics battle back for tie against Warriors

Turnovers plagued the Midland freshman football team as they fell behind early before battling back and scoring two late touchdowns to force a 16-16 tie versus visiting Bay City Western Wednesday at Midland Community Stadium.

Three first-half turnovers saw the Warriors take a 8-2 lead into the second half. And a 53-yard touchdown run by Austin Pichiotino gave Western a 16-2 lead in the third following the two-point conversion.

But then Midland battled back behind two touchdown passes from Paul Lynch.

The first occurred midway through the fourth when Lynch found Nik Gensel on a screen pass. Gensel eluded several Warriors and dove the last yard for an 18-yard score on 4th & 14 to make it 16-8. Garrett Wallen added the extra point to make it 16-9.

Lynch’s second touchdown pass came with just over three minutes remaining in the game. The stingy Chemic defense forced Western to turn the ball over on downs, giving Midland possession on its own five. After a penalty gave them some breathing room, Lynch found David Walter down the sideline for a 69 yard score. Wallen added the clutch PAT to knot it up 16-16.

Midland’s record moves to 4-1-1. They return to action Wednesday, October 8 in a rematch versus Mount Pleasant. The Oilers handed Midland its only loss of the season, in the opener, on a touchdown pass in the last minute to prevail 19-14. Game time is 4 p.m. at Mount Pleasant High.