Northville Youth Football Association

The Stallions freshman team defeated the Livonia Falcons, 19-0, at Bentley Field on August 27. A strong offensive showing by the Orange Crush line, led by #6 Andrew Shukeireh, and impressive defense from each line were crucial to the win.

Shukeireh tried to set the tone early, taking the opening kick-off more than 50 yards for a touchdown. #10 Jurek Nowakowski tacked on the extra point.

The Falcons offense couldn’t get much steam on its opening drive, and #20 Nick Lundberg and #27 Colin Richardson had a big stop on 4th down, forcing a turnover on downs as the Black line was coming in.

Both defenses put on a show for the rest of the half, with countless tackles for loss and a couple of forced fumbles. #8 Cooper Derkach had a tackle for a five-yard loss, followed by a tackle forcing a long 4th down, prompting the Falcons to punt. A couple of drives later, #5 Ryan Jaafar sacked the Falcons quarterback on 4th down, causing another turnover on downs. On 2nd down, Derkach took the snap out of the shotgun and handed off to #24 Tyler Shelide, who ran the ball all the way down to the 30. A couple of plays later, #23 Aiden Kersey had a beautiful catch to get the Stallions back in the red zone, but the drive was stopped by a Falcons interception. At halftime, the Stallions were still up 7-0.

The Falcons had the ball to start the second half. On fourth down with 16 yards to go, #27 Ryan Richardson had a huge tackle to get the ball back for the Orange Crush offense. On 1st down, Shukeireh went to work again, scoring a long touchdown on a quarterback keeper. After a penalty negated another Nowakowski extra point, the Stallions were unable to convert on the second try, leaving the score 13-0 as Orange Crush left the field.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Stallions recovered the ball after the Falcons touched it but couldn’t secure it. On first down, #24 Tyler Shelide shot down the field for what would be the game’s last touchdown, a 45-yard run. The Stallions didn’t get the extra point, leaving the score 19-0.

The Stallions had some big defensive plays in the second half to secure the shut-out. #32 Nolan Toomey had a critical tackle for loss, followed by the Stallions recovering a Falcons fumble. #25 Austin McGarrow, #23 Aiden Kersey, and #21 Ryan Schuckel also had big tackles, with Schuckel forcing a 4th and 25 after sacking the quarterback. #5 Ryan Jaafar also almost intercepted the Falcons, lying flat-out mid-air in his effort to grab the ball.

With under six minutes to go, the Falcons got the ball back. After stalling the Falcons offense, a Stallions face masking penalty put the Falcons in the red zone. But #30 Brody Grezak had a huge tackle to stop the drive on 4th and 1, forcing another turnover on downs. The Stallions then ran out the clock and took a knee to end the game.

The Stallions freshman will look to continue their winning streak when they return to Bentley Field on September 10 to take on the Livonia Blue Jays.