Northville Youth Football Association

The Stallions freshman team emerged victorious from their battle with the undefeated Commerce Chargers at Tom Holzer Ford Field on September 16. The Stallions’ stout defense and fast legs were critical to the win.

The Stallions got off to a quick 13-0 lead in the first quarter. The Orange Crush line received the opening kickoff. Despite incurring two penalties, Orange Crush took the ball to the red zone before the Black Line came in. #10 Jurek Nowakowski got a first down, followed by #6 Andrew Shukeireh ripping off a 33-yard run to get the ball to the red zone. After the Black Line took over, #24 Tyler Shelide had a 7-yard touchdown run on third down. #30 Brody Grezak made the extra point to make the score 7-0 Stallions.

The Stallions’ defense smothered the Chargers’ offense on their first offensive possession, with #24 Tyler Shelide and #25 Austin McGarrow getting tackles for loss, followed by #8 Cooper Derkach intercepting the Chargers’ 4th down pass. Back on offense, #8 Derkach got a first down, followed by a #24 Shelide first down. A #24 Shelide touchdown was then negated by a holding penalty, which was followed by a #8 Derkach touchdown pass to #23 Aiden Kersey. A missed extra point left the Stallions up 13-0.

The Chargers offense struggled again on their next possession. The Chargers recovered their own fumble, followed by a tackle for loss, a rush to the original line of scrimmage, and a huge stop by #25 McGarrow to force a turnover on downs with 10:21 left in the half.

Back on offense, #24 Shelide got a first down, followed by a 30-yard gain by #8 Derkach on a QB-keeper that took the Stallions to the 5-yard line. After a false start penalty, #25 McGarrow took over. He got the Stallions back to the five-yard line, then scored a five-yard touchdown and the extra point, giving the Stallions a 20-0 lead.

The Chargers scored on their next possession, making the score 20-7, but #24 Shelide ran in the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, which allowed the Stallions to take a 26-7 lead into halftime.

The Chargers got the ball to start the second half. The Orange Crush defense went to work, with tackles by #22 Brady Sparks and #65 Chase Gilbertson, followed by a fumble recovered by #20 Nick Lundberg. After a false start penalty, #10 Nowakowski ran 23 yards for a first down and then followed that up with a touchdown. #23 Kersey got the extra point, giving the Stallions a 33-7 lead, which ended up being the final score.

Lots of Stallions made big plays on defense to seal the victory, including tackles by #23 Kersey, #8 Derkach, #30 Grezak, #1 Zane Ader, #26 Ty Stankovic, #52 Aiden Hamilton, and #38 Mitchell McKellar. #14 Nic Slagle also had a strip and recovered the fumble.

On the Chargers last offensive possession, the Orange Crush defense went back in. #27 Ryan Richardson had a tackle, followed by a tackle by #22 Sparks and two tackles by #20 Lundberg, including a tackle for loss.