×

LL-H upsets Newberry 34-20 in front of LL-H alumni

Paul Peterson photo Carter Crouch of Lake Linden-Hubbell scrambles for yardage in Saturday's game versus Newberry at Warner Field in Lake Linden. The Lakes scored a 34-20 win.

LAKE LINDEN — On a day when great Lake Linden-Hubbell High athletes of the past were recognized, the current football team decided it was going to write a chapter of its own.

On an oppressively hot and humid day, the Lakes recorded their first win of the season with a 34-20 decision over the Newberry Indians.

“We always talk about tradition and how important the community is to our program. The festivities (first LL-H Hall of Fame class and 1992 state championship team) today showed that,” Lakes’ coach Andy Crouch said.

“I think it was a great day in Lake Linden, seeing all these ‘old guys’ from the 1992 team and the hall of famers supporting our team.”

Carter Crouch started the contest at Ron Warner Field off with a bang when he returned the Indians opening kickoff 87 yards for a score.

“Any time you can get out in front of a talented team like Newberry, it gives the whole team confidence,” coach Crouch said. “Maybe the Football Gods were smiling down on us.”

Whatever the case, the eastern U.P. team never did quite recover.

Newberry, falling to 3-2 on the season, couldn’t get its potent offense untracked.

Its vaunted running game sputtered and only quarterback George Sevarns (73 yards on nine carries) was effective at all.

In the meantime, the Lakes ground out 264 yards rushing, led by senior fullback James Tuovila’s 145 yards.

“We’ve really struggled running the ball inside this year,” Crouch noted. “In the past two games, we’ve put a major emphasis on improving it. The inside running game (by Tuovila) was crucial to our success.”

LL-Hubbell scored again before the end of the opening quarter when the hard-running Tuovila tallied from seven yards out for a 12-0 count.

But the Indians countered early in the second period when Sevarns hit Jeff Rahilly over the middle with a 78-yard scoring pass to slice it to 12-6.

The Lakes upped the count to 18-6 later in the quarter on a 6-yard touchdown run by Tuovila, but again failed on the 2-point try.

A 3-yard run by Rahilly just before the end of the half cut the deficit to 18-12.

But the Lakes had an answer when Crouch found a wide-open Cole Gregoire with a 40-yard pass to the Indians 6-yard line. The sophomore QB scored from 3 yards away two plays later, and when Kellen Klein added the 2-point conversion, it was a 26-12.

Newberry narrowed it to 26-20 early in the fourth frame when Sevarns tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to Ethan Edwards. The 2-point try was good.

The Lakes showed their resilience by scoring after that, Tuovila going in from 3yards away. Crouch added the conversion with a run.

Gregoire and Crouch had interceptions on the day.

There was a scary moment in the second quarter when senior Aaron Hainault of the Lakes had to be taken off the field by ambulance. Crouch said preliminary indications indicate there is no concussion.

The Lakes, now 1-3, travel to Bark River-Harris on Saturday.

Newberry 6 12 0 8 – 20

LL-Hubbell 12 6 8 8 – 36

First quarter

LL – Carter Crouch 87 kickoff ret. (run failed)

LL – James Tuovila 7 run (run failed)

Second quarter

NE – Jeff Rahilly 78 pass from George Sevarns (kick failed)

LL – Tuovila 6 run (run failed)

NE – Rahilly 3 run (pass failed)

Third quarter

LL – Crouch 3 run (Kellen Klein run)

Fourth quarter

NE – Ethan Edwards 10 pass from Sevarns (James pass from Savarns)

LL – Tuovila 3 run (Crouch run)

Game stats

First downs: NE 11; LL 19; Rushing: NE 20-94; LL 50-264; Passing: NE 8-18-2-181; LL 1-3-0-40

Ind. rushing: NE Sevarns 9-73; Rahilly 6-9; LL Tuovila 15-145; Crouch 10-31; Hainault 9-29; Hill 8-25, Klein 5-22. Receiving: NE Edwards 3-72; Rahilly 2-76, Wendt 2-32. LL Gregoire 1-40.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today