OVID-ELSIE — Edsel Ford visited Ovid-Elsie on Friday night, September 23… and got punched right in the mouth.
A stout Marauder defense held its opponent to 79 yards total offense and coach Travis Long’s O-E grinders rushed for four touchdowns and 217 yards, in a 29-0 shellacking of their non-league Dearborn foes. The Thunderbirds fell to 0-5 on the
2022 season, while Ovid-Elsie boosted its record to 3-2 overall with its 2nd-straight victory. Perhaps more importantly were the post-season points Ovid-Elsie amassed by beating the Division 1 T-Birds; the Marauders play in Division 6 in the MHSAA scheme of things. Edsel Ford had problems with ball security all night, and the Marauders took full advantage. Early in the first quarter, O-E defender Beau Price sacked the T-Bird punter at his own five yard line. Perrien Rasch then opened the scoring with a 2- yard TD run at 9:58 of the opening period. Julien Mortier’s PAT kick was good for a 7-0 Ovid-Elsie lead.
Those were all the points Long’s charges would need. Landon Stoneman pounced on a Thunderbird fumble midway through the second stanza, before Logan Thompson said “thank you” a few plays later with a one-yard TD blast. Mortier again booted the PAT and it was 14-0 at halftime.
The blue-and-gold hosts poured it on in the third quarter. Receiving the second-half kick, the Marauders moved smartly down the field in five plays, Jamison Custer culminating the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run. Tryce Tokar tossed to Justin Cole for the 2-point conversion, staking O-E to a dominating 22-0 lead.
Thompson then scored his second TD of the contest with :21 seconds left in the third frame on a 3-yard run to paydirs. Mortier was again perfect with the PAT boot; 29-0 final score.
Ovid-Elsie is starting to open eyebrows with its punishing defense over the past few weeks. The T-Birds managed just 75 yards all night, and had their one big scoring chance taken away on a fumbled snap recovery by O-E at the one yard line to close the first half. Stoneman totaled two solo tackles, six assists and two tackles for loss to spark the Marauder ‘D.’ Clay Wittenberg was in a five stops, Kevin Ley four, Rasch three and Price three; Price led in tackles for loss with a trio. Braxton Stenger, Cohen Brown, Cole Workman, Cohen Tyler, Gage Kvalevog, Custer, Carter Kelley, Thompson, Hayden Pontack, Cole, Isaac Orta, Luke Follett and Dawson Taylor
all recorded tackles in a big, big shutout for the hosts.
Tyler led the Marauder rushing game with 63 yards on 6 carries. Rasch picked up 48 yards on the ground, Custer 42, Kelley 30, Thompson 30 and Orta 15. Tokar tossed O-E’s lone pass completion on the night, six yards to Price. The game was oddly scheduled in the middle of July after Otisville LakeVille left the MMAC football race; a strange hole in the middle-of-the-season lineup. The non-league contest served as a good tune up for O-E’s annual Homecoming Game opposite Chesaning.
