Tough Opener For the Cranes

Well, the first game did not go quite the way we wanted it to.  The Detroit Loyola Bulldogs was the best JV football team we have ever played in my 10 years at Cranbrook.  They were bigger (7 players over 200 pounds), faster, and stronger than we were.  Their running back was 6' 1", 215 pounds and we had our hands full trying to handle him both on offense and on defense.  Still there were some performances to note.  Captain Ned Rogers played the entire game at center and defensive tackle and did not have a bad snap the whole game.  At the end of the game it was clear that he had given it everything he had.  First time Quarterback Daniel Mogill showed a lot of heart in his effort and he was continually slammed to the turf by the Bulldogs, even after he had clearly delivered the bass.  Running back Troy Talifer kept getting hit hard but after his first carry, he held on to the ball and ran full speed every time.  Dan Handley played his guts out on the offensive and defensive line and despite an aching foot that had kept him out of practice for over a week, Aric Homovec played hard the entire game at right guard.  Mark Wilhelm caught his first pass and Chris Lopez played tough at Middle Linebacker.  The next game is against Clarenceville which should be a lot more competitive.