TRAVERSE CITY — Traverse City West’s playoff hopes are alive and well.
The Titan defense shut out high-powered Mount Pleasant in the second half and the West offensive line imposed its will on the Oilers in a 30-13 victory in Friday’s Saginaw Valley League-Blue Division football game at Thirlby Field in Traverse City.
“We just reminded ourselves that we were playing for a homecoming game,” said senior lineman and captain Brady Vaughan said, who made his season debut after battling back from a torn ACL. “We’re the main event at the end of the week. We were hungry. We want this. We want to go to playoffs. It was just a stepping stone to go into playoffs.”
The Titans led 18-13 at halftime, then shut down Mount Pleasant (4-3, 3-2), holding the Oilers to two second-half first downs.
Mount Pleasant came into the contest as the SVL-Blue’s top offense in both points and yardage. The Titans, and Midland’s 49-7 win over Bay City Central, may have put an end to that.
The win puts TC West (4-3, 2-2 SVL-Blue) right back into the playoff hunt, ending a three-game losing skid after a 3-0 start. The Titans host Bay City Western (2-5, 0-4) next week and then TC Central (3-4, 2-2) to conclude the regular season.
“Three-game losing streak, we knew we had to respond,” TC West junior defensive back Drew Esper said. “This is a big game for playoff points, but we just have to keep rolling, keep the momentum going.”
Esper may have produced the game’s biggest moment, returning a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown to give West a 12-6 lead.
“It was probably the biggest play of the night, just to spark the fire in our guys, to be able to believe, to be able to right the ship,” Titans second-year head coach James Wagner said. “That ignited our team in a big way, and we needed it. He stepped up huge.”
The score was Esper’s first varsity touchdown at home.
“They came down, scored, and our whole season’s been like that where we just needed to respond,” Esper said. “I’m really proud of the team. Everybody did their job in that play. It’s not just one person; it’s always the whole team. All 10 guys got their blocks. I just did my job.”
The Titans doubled up and scored late in the second quarter, then received the second half’s opening drive and ran eight times in nine plays, finished by senior quarterback Owen Hendrix’s third rushing touchdown of the evening.
“Owen is an amazing quarterback,” Vaughan said. “I wouldn’t have asked for anyone else. He’s smart. He does his job well, he executes it, and then he lifts the O-line up when we make mistakes. He doesn’t blame us, even though he probably could. He still loves us, and we still love him.”
Hendrix finished with 20 carries for 114 yards and three touchdowns, going 8-for-16 passing for 103 yards. Cam Mienk ran seven times for 60 yards, including a late third-quarter touchdown in which he ran over two Oiler defenders to reach the end zone. Charlie Sowers added 33 rush yards.
“He was very poised, and he just managed and controlled the offense the whole entire night,” Wagner said. “Owen was just a stud making plays left and right. I just love that kid. He’s so poised. He’s got moxie, he’s fiery.”
Junior safety Joe Hill led Mount Pleasant with 12 tackles. Cole Phillips ran for 68 yards and a TD, and Brogan Parker had three carries for 25 yards and a TD. Ian Deromedi, who came into the game completing 66.7 percent of his passes, completed 12-of-23 passes for 80 yards and two interceptions. Easton Day caught five passes for 56 yards.
Defensive lineman Jackson Gallagher led West’s defensive effort with seven tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack. Aiden Griffis and Noah Dumon — who was named homecoming king with Maggie Ranger as queen — both intercepted the Oilers to end Mount Pleasant’s final two opportunities. Noah Bennett added two tackles for loss and a sack.
Vaughan started at left guard and played some on the defensive line in his return.
“That kid makes a world of difference for our team,” Wagner said. “He is by far a leader within the locker room. He’s a leader on the field. Kid makes plays. He is a physical player that has been well coached throughout his years.”
Wagner thought Vaughan might not make it back until the TC Patriot Game in Week Nine, but Vaughan was two full weeks ahead of schedule.
“Having a senior captain on the O-line makes it just that much better,” Vaughan said. “We had a good O-line to begin with, but I bring like a new spirit. Sometimes spirits can go low in the middle of the season, and I’m rearing and ready to go.”
West took its opening possession — after a Gallagher sack forced an Oiler punt — marched 54 yards in 10 run plays, pounding the ball on the ground. Owen Hendrix ran it in from a yard out for a 6-0 lead.
Mount Pleasant answered with a 3-yard Brogan Parks TD run, but Esper blocked the extra point to keep it tied 6-6. Esper then returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown and a 12-6 lead.
The Oilers came back with a five-play drive, with Cole Phillips scoring a 38-yard rushing TD and Clay Molyneaux hitting the extra point for Mount Pleasant’s first lead with 1:40 left before halftime, 13-12.
West once again responded with a hurry-up offense that saw Hendrix complete four consecutive passes to three different receivers, then run in the TD from 4 yards out for an 18-13 lead going into halftime.
Hendrix scored his third TD of the night to cap a grinding nine-play drive with a 1-yard keeper.