PARMA, MI (WTVB) – The Coldwater Cardinals punched their ticket to the 2019 MHSAA Football Playoffs in dramatic fashion, with a 14-13 overtime win at Parma Western. The battle between the two teams tied for second place in the Interstate 8 heading in was played in rainy, muddy conditions at Western’s Baker Memorial Field. The Cardinals opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run by Matt Gipple. The Panthers would answer early in the second on a 94-yard TD pass from CMU-bound quarterback Tyler Pape to Mason Gillespie. There would be no further scoring through the end of regulation. Western would score first in overtime on a 4th-and-1 run, but the PAT kick was no good. Freshman Cam Torres scored on Coldwater’s first play in OT, and Angel Sereno’s successful PAT kick secured the victory.
Cam Torres, our McDonald’s Player of the Game, finished with 82 yards on 13 carries and the game-winning score, while Matt Gipple had 15 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown. Austin Santure had 8 tackles to lead the defense; Krishten Brouse, Zach Tong, and Dylan Targgart had 7 apiece as the Cardinals improve to 6-1 overall, 5-1 in the Interstate 8. Coldwater finishes the regular season with home games against Harper Creek this coming Friday and Temperance Bedford in two weeks.
The playoff chances of the Quincy Orioles took a big hit with a 12-10 loss at Springport. Chandler Locke had a 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, sandwiched between two Springport scores. The score would remain 12-8 until the Orioles forced a Spartan safety late in the fourth quarter, but Quincy could not score on the ensuing possession. Locke finished with 114 yards on 24 carries, while Evan Coon had 18 carries for 97 yards. Coon also led the defense with 9 tackles, while Dalton Messenger and Kyler Economou had 5 apiece. With the loss, Quincy drops to 3-4 overall, 3-3 in the Big 8.
Homer shut out Bronson 28-0 at Charles Hilton Field, while in 8-player football, Tekonsha lost at Burr Oak 33-18.
The big matchup for first place in the Big 8 between Reading and Jonesville turned out to be one-sided, as the Rangers prevailed 50-0.
OTHER SCORES
INTERSTATE 8
- Lumen Christi 27, (at) Harper Creek 0
- Marshall 49, (at) Northwest 0
- Hastings 36, (at) Pennfield 28
