TRAVERSE CITY — An official threw a penalty on Traverse City West for having 12 players on the field when the Titans really only had 11.
It just seemed that way all night at Thirlby Field.
West’s defense dominated Bay City Western in a 35-0 Saginaw Valley League-Blue Division football victory Friday.
The flag for 12 players on the field was picked up, but it sure looked like West’s defense had more on the field than Western.
“Zero on the scoreboard is huge,” West quarterback Owen Hendrix said. “Defense played great, got us the ball back, and the offense does our thing. They’re big up front, and if they can’t run the ball, that team really can’t move the ball. We stopped the run, and forced them to pass the ball, and our DBs made some plays.”
West took the run game away from a running team, and Titans’ defensive backs took the ball away when Bay City tried to throw, coming up with three interceptions in addition to Cameron Mienk’s fumble recovery.
“Our guys up front, the D-line, they’re so fast and so quick,” West head coach James Wagner said. “Noah Bennett, Jackson Gallagher and Roman Leask, they’re just tough to block.”
Gallagher made three stops (one for loss) and had three quarterback hits. Bennett made six stops, with one QB hit and four tackles for loss. Carson Toothman made eight tackles, including four for loss, with Brayden Popa adding nine tackles.
West’s “Bleacher Creatures” student section jumped up and down in unison so emphatically while chanting “I believe that we have won!” in the late fourth quarter that it shook the press box floor.
“The team today was phenomenal right out of the gates,” Titans senior center Bode Tokie said. “We just were dominating up front, and we just led the way. Our defensive line is insane. They’re a really talented group of individuals.”
TC West’s defense controlled the line of scrimmage and hit Bay City for 10 negative yardage plays, not counting penalties.
Western’s record isn’t great, but the team hadn’t been shut out until Friday night.
Bay City Western (2-6, 0-5 SVL-Blue) previously scored 91 total points in seven games. BCW came into Friday’s contest leading the SVL-Blue in rushing yardage (1,270 yards to second-place TCW’s 1,195), but second to last in passing at only 506 yards.
TC West entered the game allowing the fewest rush yards (410) and total yards (1,212) in the entire SVL.
The Titans ran for only 73 yards in the game but stopped the Western run game in its tracks. West threw for 272 yards, with Hendrix going 8-for-11 for 238 yards and a pair of TDs. Junior Jacob Banish came on in the second half to complete one of two passes for 7 yards and Esper threw for 33 yards.
TC West (5-3, 3-2 SVL-Blue) closes out the regular season against Traverse City Central (4-4, 3-2 SVL-Blue) next Friday in the TC Patriot Game. A West win there would all but guarantee a playoff appearance.
“We want to win next week,” Wagner said. “Obviously, it’s more than just a game. It’s a rivalry game. It’s this town, this community, and giving these kids a memory they can hold on to for a lifetime. It’s an important week. It’s the biggest week of the year.”
Drew Esper caught a screen pass and turned that into an 80-yard touchdown late in the first quarter, one play after Bay City Western barely missed a 23-yard field goal attempt.
Western changed quarterbacks early in the second quarter, and Esper intercepted a pass on the next play, setting up the Titans at the 20. Mienk scored from 4 yards out three plays later.
A Dylan Dunklow interception set up an 18-yard TD run by Charlie Sowers in which he bounced off two would-be tacklers on his way to paydirt. Trapper Holmes kicked the extra point.
Aiden Griffis was on both ends of another West scoring drive, setting up the possession with an interception that led to a Hendrix 30-yard strike on a crossing route to Griffis, keyed by an Alex Scholl block, for a 28-0 lead after Holmes’ PAT 1:23 before halftime.
“It was great coverage by Kolton Core,” Griffis said of the interception. “I saw the ball in the air. I also play wide receiver, so I tracked it down and made a play on it.”
On that drive, Hendrix floated a perfect pass over the middle to Esper for a 48-yard gain.
“Drew’s a playmaker,” Hendrix said. “I threw the ball up, and he made a play. I had a guy wide open on the sideline that I could have got it to, but Drew made a play, thankfully. He saved me a little bit.”
Griffis missed the season’s first two games recovering from a broken fibula sustained over the summer.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Griffis said. “I’m with my boys, senior year. One more, and we’re in the playoffs.”
Noah Dumon blocked a Western punt just before halftime, with the Titans going into the intermission with a 250-44 advantage in total yardage.
West enacted the running clock with 7:17 left in the third quarter when Esper hit Kolton Core on a 33-yard reverse option, going up 35-0.
“Hopefully we can do it again next week, but we have some stuff to work on and some stuff to clean up, like a few penalties,” Tokie said. “We have to be physical up front again.”
Esper caught four passes for 136 yards and a touchdown, while Griffis added three receptions for 80 yards and a TD. Core had three grabs for 55 yards and a score. Sowers led the ground game with 33 yards on six carries.