Northville Youth Football Association

With another dominating defensive performance, the freshman Stallions earned their fourth shutout of the season Oct. 13 at the Battle for the Shoe at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, beating the Northville Colts 25-0.

#8 Anton Hildebrandt, #10 Jurek Nowakowski, #21 Ryan Schuckel, and #33 Leo Link led the defensive effort, with numerous tackles for loss and big-time stops.

Nowakowski had two touchdown-saving tackles on the only Colts drive where the Colts made it to the red zone. Nowakowski tackled the Colts runner at the two-yard line. Despite being first-and-goal at the two, the Stallions kept the Colts from scoring, with Schuckel getting a tackle for loss on fourth down.

The Stallions racked up numerous sacks, including sacks by Schuckel, Hildebrandt, #22 Brayden Sparks, Link, #75 Jakob Stuzin, and #77 Drew Meussner.

The defense also scored, with #23 Aiden Kersey scooping up a Colts fumble for a seven-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

On offense, the Stallions had a slow start. On their first drive, the Stallions fumbled but recovered, followed by a long first-down run by Kersey complete with spin moves and broken tackles. #6 Andrew Shukeireh then ran the ball to the 10-yard line, followed by a touchdown by Schuckel and a beautiful pass from Kersey to Slagle for the point after.

On the next drive, Kersey had a reception that he took down to the 10-yard line. #20 Nick Lundberg ran the ball to the two-yard line on first down, followed by a touchdown run by Kersey. The point-after was no good, leaving the score 13-0 Stallions.

On the next offensive drive, Nowakowski had a 40-yard touchdown run on first down. The point-after was no good, leaving the score 19-0. After Kersey’s defensive touchdown, the Stallions had another chance to score. Lundberg had a big 16-yard run for a first down, with a key block by Slagle. But the Stallions fumbled before they could score and the Colts recovered.

On the final drive of the game for the Colts, Stuzin and Meussner combined for a sack and #38 Mitchell MacKellar had a tackle for loss, preserving the shut-out.  

The Orange Crush line started the Stallions off strong, beating the Colts 6-0 in the development game. The Colts started the first half on offense, but the Orange Crush defense stopped them. When the Stallions got the ball, #28 Evan George handed off to #16 Brody Domeracki for a 50-yard touchdown. 

#25 Colin Richardson, Domeracki, George, #30 Logan Toomey, and #19 Collin Kenneally all had tackles to stop the Colts from putting together a scoring drive. Richardson had a touchdown-saving tackle when a Colts runner got out in front and also broke up a touchdown pass.

Winning the Battle for the Shoe gave the freshman Stallions a second straight undefeated season, finishing 7-0. This record earned the team a first-round bye in the playoffs. They will play the winner of the Chargers v Falcons first-round playoff game in the second round of the playoffs on Oct. 27.