Football: Junior Chargers light up second half to pick up 20-10 win over Chemics

by Cory Butzin

Two undefeated titans met on the gridiron, with barely a whisker’s difference between them.

On Thursday that little difference sided with Dow.

The junior varsity Chargers fell in an early hole against their cross-town rival, but fought back in the second half to score 20 unanswered points and come away with a 20-10 win over Midland and cap a perfect 9-0 season.

“I knew right from the get-go that things were going to happen tonight at some point,” said Dow coach Charlie Stinson. “We kind of looked like a deer in headlights when we came out here because it’s such a huge game with the crowds on both sides and both of us undefeated. We knew the kids were going to possibly have a little trouble to start and that’s just one of those things we had to overcome.”

And boy did they overcome it.

Kaleb Kiper busted through the Chemic defense four minutes into the second half for a 64-yard score, and Tom Skoczylas, subbing for an injured Tim Davies, scored on two long runs of his own which propelled the Chargers to the win.

“I want to congratulate Charlie and his staff and the kids on a 9-0 year,” said Midland coach Matt Starling. “They earned it, they were the better team tonight, no doubt.”

The game really was a tale of two halves as Midland controlled the tempo in the opening minutes.

The Chemics moved the ball through the air against the Chargers defense on their opening possession, before kicking it away. But a pin-point accurate punt pinned Dow deep inside its own one. After the Chargers went three and out, Chris Schreiber returned the punt down to the Chargers 25 and Matt Frazier turned that into three points with a 19-yard field at 2:20 of the first to give Midland a 3-0 lead.

Dow took possession on the kick, but a suffocating defense forced them to turn the ball over on downs and Alex Rapanos made them pay on the first play of the second quarter when he plunged in from 11 yards out to make it 10-0 Midland following the PAT.

Defense set the tone for both teams from there, as Skoczylas picked off a Rapanos pass on the Chemics’ next possession and Midland returned the favor by stuffing Dow on another 4th and one attempt before the half.

Despite a rather uninspiring half by the Chargers, Stinson never lost faith.

“I told them that we were going to shut them out the second half and we were going to score 21 points,” he continued. “And they believed me. I said we can shut them down. They score nothing in the second half and we need to score at least three touchdowns. And they said ‘absolutely’.”

And with that the Chargers set out to prove their coach right.

At 8:28, Peter Crampton took the snap and handed off to Kiper who bobbed and weaved through Chemic defense, cutting back against the grain to daylight racing 64 yards for the score. Sean Landes converted the PAT to make it 10-7.

Davies, Dow’s starting tailback, was forced from the game early in the third, which left the Chargers in the more-than-capable hands, or rather feet, of Skoczylas.

With only a couple minutes remaining in the third, Dow took possession after a Midland punt, and on the first play from scrimmage Crampton took a quarterback keeper and broke around the outside racing 43 yards down the sideline to bring the Chargers into Chemic territory. That’s where Skoczylas broke through the line and followed a stampeding hoard of Dow offensive linemen down the sidelines for a 42 yard score to give the Chargers a 13-0 lead following a blocked PAT attempt.

He provided an encore on the first play of the fourth, this one from 20 yards out to make it 20-10.

“Our team doesn’t quit,” Skoczylas said. “That’s one thing we haven’t done all year is quit. No matter how hard it is, you do your best to rise above or the moment will pass you by.”

And slowly father time began to work against the Chemics.

With eight minutes remaining, Alex Albrecht fielded a punt for Midland and returned it 50 yards, deep into Dow territory. But Conner Bruns killed the drive with his second interception of the night giving the Chargers possession on their own six.

Midland needed a stop. And that’s just what they got.

With 4:21 remaining, the Chargers tried to go for it on 4th down. And for the third time, the Chemics stuffed them.

“Our defense was incredible,” Starling said. “They were just out there way too much and that’s the bottom line.”

Midland was unable to make any headway offensively as they turned the ball over on downs and watched Dow kill the clock to pick up the victory.

“They’re a great group of kids and I have the utmost faith in them,” Stinson said. “But they’ve got to work hard in the offseason. They can’t just sit back and wait and watch other kids get better. They’ve got to work hard… and they’ve got to get ready to play football and I think they will be.”

The Chemics complete their season with an 8-1 record, while the Chargers finish a perfect 9-0. The varsity squads meet Friday at Midland Community. Game time is 7 p.m.

Photos by Cory Butzin & Jason Wolverton