Northville Youth Football Association

The JV Stallions finished the regular season 6-1 by defeating the Livonia Falcons on Oct. 20. The defense locked down to secure JV’s second shut-out of the season, and the offense had some spectacular plays to secure JV’s fifth straight win.

The defense asserted themselves early, forcing a three-and-out. #1 Zane Ader had a tackle for loss, followed by a tackle by #12 Dylan Young. After a holding penalty, the Falcons tried to regain ground with a pass play, but it fell incomplete. They then chose to punt. 

On the Stallions’ first drive, #12 Young took a handoff on second down to the house. #30 Brody Grezak kicked for the extra points, giving the Stallions an 8-0 lead just four minutes into the game.

Back on defense, the Stallions stayed tough. #98 Hunter Stokes and #12 Young had back-to-back tackles for loss. On third down, the Falcons were called for holding, but the Stallions declined the penalty and the Falcons opted to punt. The Stallions forced turnovers on downs on the Falcons’ next two drives as well.

With just 47 second left in the half, the Stallions scored again, increasing the lead to 14-0. An illegal shift penalty put the Stallions behind, but big runs by #25 Austin McGarrow and #98 Stokes gave the Stallions a first down. After a false start penalty, #14 Cooper Derkach threw a great pass to #12 Young for the touchdown. 

The Stallions got the ball to start the second half. They battled past some penalties and other miscues to drive down the field, holding onto the ball for the majority of the third quarter. #14 Derkach passed to #30 Brody Grezak for a first down, then completed a pass to #12 Young for a catch-and-run resulting in another first down. #23 Aiden Kersey completed a pass to #4 Justin Minard for 14 yards on first and 15, then #23 Kersey got the first down on a quarterback keeper. After another penalty forced the Stallions into a second and 15, #12 Young almost got the first down, but the Falcons intercepted a pass on third and three. 

The next Falcons’ drive resulted in a fumble recovered by the Stallions, which they converted to a touchdown with 7:31 left in the game. After short gains on first and second down, #25 McGarrow scored on third and three. Missing the extra point led to the Stallions’ 20-0 edge. 

Although their next drive resulted in a turnover on downs, the Falcons got the ball back with 31 seconds left for one final chance to score. But tackles by #18 Colin Stankovic, #4 Minard, and #27 Ryan Richardson ended the Falcons’ hopes of scoring as time wound down. 

The Orange Crush line also “won,” 7-0. They started the first half development game on defense. On second and 10, #20 Nick Lundberg closed in on a runner to stop a touchdown. Again on second and 10, #6 Andrew Shukeireh had a tackle for no gain. #6 Shukeireh had a huge tackle for loss on third and 10, and #20 Lundberg had a tackle to finish out the half on fourth and 21. 

In the second half development game, the Orange Crush offense was electric. After an initial snafu led to a fumble quickly covered up by #75 Jakob Stuzin, Stuzin ran the ball seven yards, getting back to the original line of scrimmage. On third and 10, #6 Shukeireh pitched the ball to #20 Lundberg, who passed it to #38 Mitchell MacKellar for a big gain and a first down. #11 Koen Raitz then picked up nine yards. After a first down by #19 Colin Kenneally was negated by a penalty, #6 Shukeireh launched a bomb to #22 Evan George, assisted by a key block by #20 Lundberg, setting Orange Crush up with a first and goal. #6 Shukeireh then ran the ball in for the score. #20 Lundberg scored the extra point, after taking another pitch from #6 Shukeireh. 

The JV Stallions will play against the Livonia Eagles in the first round of the playoffs on Oct. 27 at home at Tom Holzer Ford Field. The winner will earn a trip to the Super Bowl at Wayne State University on Nov. 2.