Northville Youth Football Association

The JV Stallions celebrated a big Homecoming win over the Commerce Chargers, 33-12.

#12 Dylan Young had himself a day, scoring four Stallions touchdowns, including a pick-six. On third and six with three minutes left in the first quarter, #14 Cooper Derkach faked a handoff before handing off to #12 Young, who ran it in for the touchdown. The extra point was no good, leaving the score 6-0. 

#12 Young’s next touchdown came just four minutes later. The Stallions had the ball after #24 Tyler Shelide recovered a Chargers’ fumble caused by #21 Ryan Schuckel. On second and two, #24 Shelide ran behind a great blocking effort by #30 Brody Grezak for a 40-yard gain. A roughing the quarterback penalty by the Chargers gave the Stallions another fifteen yards. Then, on second and ten, #12 Young took a handoff, threw a great stiff-arm, and rumbled into the end zone, given the Stallions a 12-6 edge. 

With 4:32 left in the half, #12 Young picked off a Chargers pass in stride and sprinted to the end zone for this third touchdown. #25 Austin McGarrow pounded in for the extra point, giving the Stallions a 19-6 lead.  

#12 Young wasn’t done. On third and twelve, he picked off another Chargers’ pass, returning it for about 24 yards. On first and ten, a fantastic pass from #14 Derkach to #30 Grezak in the end zone was called back on a holding penalty. After a false start penalty, the Stallions were in quite a hole. #14 Derkach then completed a pass to #5 Jaafar for about 17 yards, then handed off to #12 Young who took it in for his fourth touchdown in the half. The extra point was no good, giving the Stallions a 25-6 lead at the half. 

With two minutes left in the third quarter, #24 Shelide took a handoff over sixty yards for a score, increasing the Stallions lead to 31-12. Fans were happy to see Shelide get this second shot after his first-half touchdown was negated by a penalty. 

The Stallions’ final points came from a safety by #18 Colin Stankovic after a Chargers’ mistake, leading to the final score of 33-12. A Charger intercepted a Stallions’ pass, but ran backward into the end zone, giving Stankovic the opportunity to get the safety and the ball back.   

The Stallions were strong on defense most of the day, giving up just one touchdown. The Chargers’ only other points came on a kickoff return for a touchdown. 

On the Chargers’ first offensive drive, they fumbled the ball and #25 McGarrow recovered it. Their last drive of the first half also resulted in a turnover, after #24 Shelide picked off a pass, although the Stallions had no time to move the ball. 

Other big defensive plays in the first half included a five-yard tackle for loss by #98 Hunter Stokes and a nine-yard tackle for loss by #32 Nolan Toomey. The Stallions didn’t let up in the second half. The Stallions recovered another fumble early in the third quarter.  Then in the fourth quarter, #24 Shelide, #1 Zane Ader, #25 McGarrow, and #6 Andrew Shukeireh all had tackles, capped off by a fumble recovery by #8 Anton Hildebrandt to end the game. 

The Orange Crush line also had a dominant day and scored their first touchdown of the season. In the first half development game, a sack by #3 Drew Bandilla and #79 Edward Cho forced a turnover on downs. #20 Nick Lundberg picked up nine yards on second and ten, but the clock ran out before the offense could get another play in. 

In the second half development game, a reverse to #19 Collin Kenneally resulted in an 18-yard gain, followed by a gutsy 20-yard run by #11 Koen Raitz. A pitch to #20 Lundberg resulted in first and goal, and #6 Shukeireh ran it in for the score. He then passed to #22 Evan George for the point-after, giving Orange Crush a 7-0 score. 

The Chargers had another chance but Orange Crush stayed tough. #6 Shukeireh and #79 Cho had tackles after short gains, then #20 Lundberg had a tackle for loss. #22 George ended the drive by batting down a pass on fourth and twelve.  

The Stallions play their next three games on the road at Bentley Field in Livonia. Next up is the Eagles on Sat., Oct. 5.