Kevin Gehringer was in serious pain.

The Johannesburg-Lewiston senior suffered three Charley horses during Friday's Northern Michigan Football League-Legacy matchup at Harbor Springs.

Fewer than three minutes remained. His team was trailing, 15-13. The Cardinals needed to score to remain in the hunt for a league title.

"I looked over and saw the scoreboard," Gehringer said. "Brett Crandell was to my right. I looked right at him, and he was like, 'Just hide it. Just work hard.'"

Shortly afterward, Gehringer (18 carries, 44 yards) powered in for a 3-yard touchdown with 1:34 left, helping J-L come back and take an 18-15 lead. On the ensuing series, Tanner Shimel pulled down an interception to ensure the win for the Cardinals, who happily knocked off the undefeated Rams.

The win clinched a playoff berth for the fifth-ranked Cardinals (6-1, 4-0 NMFL-Legacy), their second-straight appearance and fifth in six years under coach Joe Smokevitch, and made the Legacy race much more interesting coming down the stretch. If J-L beats both Newberry, which it visits Friday, Oct. 12, and Inland Lakes, it'll win the league title outright. If it splits those games, it'll share the championship with the Rams.

"The biggest thing is we came out tonight and clinched the playoffs," said Smokevitch, whose squad lost to Lincoln Alcona in the Division 8 playoff opener in 2017. "The other big thing is we're one step closer to a league championship, and we've got to be worried about Newberry now.

"With Newberry and Inland Lakes, we're not looking past anybody. Next week we want to clinch the league championship tie, and then we want to hopefully win it outright."

Turnovers in scoring territory marred play for both squads in the first half, which saw J-L and Harbor Springs enter halftime with a 0-0 tie.

With 4:25 remaining in the third, Harbor Springs finally cracked the scoreboard when David Harrell hauled in an 88-yard TD pass from Grant Richardson.

One minute into the ensuing drive, Shimel tossed a 15-yard TD pass to Tyson Claeys. Harbor Springs blocked the extra point attempt, keeping the score at 7-6, but the Cardinals fell on a fumble during Harbor Springs' next possession.

Then Brett Crandell (16 carries, 170 yards) broke off an 81-yard TD run that gave J-L its first lead, 12-7.

"Tyson pretended to go out for a pass, and that let Brett cut inside to make a big run," Smokevitch said. "That's when we started hammering it down the field. We were essentially able to play physical football after that."

The Rams wouldn't go away, though, as Richardson rushed in for a 10-yard TD, and then Harbor Springs added the two-point conversion to regain the lead 15-13 with 5:55 left.

Fortunately, Gehringer had enough left in the tank to push the Cardinals to victory after Richardson's TD run.

"It feels great," Gehringer said. "We know that we can't be stopped. This win is just another step toward the conference championship. We know we just got to keep going."

Offensively, J-L struggled with its rushing early in the night, but assistant Doug Kussrow radioed down from the press box to Smokevitch with a change that ultimately helped the Cardinals' rushers get back on track.

"Doug made the comment of 'Why don't you run a blast to the dive hole and have Brett lead?'" Smokevitch recalled. "I said, 'Hey, that's a good idea. We started doing that.'"

JOHANNESBURG – Tanner Shimel's first pass attempt was nearly intercepted.

Couple that play with the off-and-on rain, and it looked like the No. 7 Johannesburg-Lewiston football team wasn't going to pass much Friday. It's a good thing coach Joe Smokevitch didn't give up on airing it, though.

Shimel and Tyson Claeys connected for three touchdown passes, including two in the second half, and the Cardinals blanked Charlevoix 34-0 during a homecoming matchup.

"No, it didn't go very well on that first play," said Smokevitch, whose team improved to 5-1. "That was kind of the thought process early on, but we thought they (Charlevoix) were weak on pass plays. I thought we'd be able to get the ball into Tyson's hands. So that was huge."

J-L is one win away from clinching its second-straight playoff berth. It visits undefeated Harbor Springs for a Northern Michigan Football League-Legacy game Friday, Oct. 5. That game will likely determine the conference champion as long as the Cardinals take care of business the final two weeks against Newberry and Inland Lakes.

The Cardinals secured the win against Charlevoix with a pair of rushing TDs in the first quarter. First, Brett Crandell (11 carries, 108 yards) escaped a tackle and made it 53 yards up the middle for a touchdown. Then Kevin Gehringer (11 carries, 89 yards) had 24 yards to make it 15-0 entering the second.

Smokevitch revisited the throwing game just before halftime. Shimel lofted a 20-yard pass for Claeys that went for a score, giving J-L a 21-0 advantage entering the halftime locker room.

The Cardinals' offense iced the win when Shimel threw TD passes of 24 and 18 yards to Claeys in the third and fourth quarter.

"Just as a team, it feels good to bounce back," said Claeys of the early throwing miscues. "Not just Tanner and I but as a team. We were able to have confidence in ourselves and say, 'Hey, we need to be able to do this and execute right now.' We came back and executed, and it was a pretty big deal."

Smokevitch said he saw opportunities to beat Charlevoix's defense through the air while game planning earlier in the week. Claeys finished with three receptions for 65 yards, while Shimel was 3 of 5 passing.

"It's great, and it (passing) obviously doesn't happen a ton around here," Claeys continued. "I'm very thankful our team was able to pull those out. We played well. Our pass blockers did a solid job. It definitely feels good."

Logan Finnerty added 13 carries for 82 yards, while Brazilian exchange student Gui Lopes booted in his first-career PAT attempt.

Defensively, the Cardinals rose to the challenge when Charlevoix was knocking on the door to score touchdowns. Twice the Rayders made it inside the red zone. And twice the Cardinals shut down Charlevoix on fourth down from the 15-yard line.

The first fourth-down opportunity came in the opening quarter when linebacker Sheldon Huff came up with a sack on fourth and 7.

"It's definitely big," Huff said of the fourth-down stops. "We're well put together, and we all work together as a team. We all called out the guards and who was pulling, and that helped out the team. We all talked and cooperated."

The other big stop came midway through the fourth when Tanner Shimel and a host of defensive backs batted down Charlevoix's pass attempt.

"I got to say, it was a little different of a challenge," Huff added. "But it was sort of a blast doing it (defending the passes). It was a good time."

Crandell and Finnerty each came up with interceptions in the second half, Dan Runyan recorded a pair of sacks, including a strip sack, and Huff finished with a team-high 12 tackles (eight solo). Matthew Davidson also had a sack.

The Cardinals now set their sights on a must-win game against Harbor Springs, which narrowly beat St. Mary 26-13 this week. The Rams (6-0, 5-0 NMFL-Legacy) needed two late TDs to clinch the win.

"The biggest thing is to just go out there and get the win," Smokevitch said. "That's huge for us to go 6-1 and get into the playoffs. We'll think about the league championship down the road. We still have Newberry and Inland Lakes after that. We have a lot of video on them, and we'll spend a lot of time this week breaking them down."

Quick Recap: Rayders shutout against Johannesburg-Lewiston
By Greg Wickliffe - Gaylord Herald Times

JOHANNESBURG — It was another tough night for Charlevoix’s football team as the Rayders fell, 34-0, to Johannesburg-Lewiston Friday.

The Cardinals took control early with a 53-yard rushing touchdown on the third play of the game to take an 8-0 lead.

Charlevoix’s defense continued to struggle as the Cardinals scored on a 24-yard rushing touchdown to end the first quarter ahead, 15-0.

J-L continued to dominate on offense, this time through the air as the Cardinals scored on a 20-yard touchdown pass to take a three-score lead into halftime.

Charlevoix buckled down in the third quarter, but the Rayders couldn’t find any offense throughout the game.

The Cardinals struck fast in the fourth quarter with a 24-yard touchdown pass and added their final score a few minutes later to go up, 34-0, handing the Rayders their second shutout defeat of the season.

At 1-5, Charlevoix is eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight year and is off to its worst start since 2013.

Charlevoix will look to regroup next Friday against Mancelona.

FGC, Inc.: Cardinals' rushing attack all business against rival Snowbirds
By Brandon Folsom - Gaylord Herald Times Sports Editor

Johannesburg-Lewiston football coach Joe Smokevitch apologized to Kevin Gehringer for not getting him many rushing yards during last week's win at East Jordan. The Red Devils' defense game planned for the senior fullback and basically took him out of the game.

Apology accepted.

Gehringer bounced back by rushing 25 times for 200 yards and three touchdowns, including a 46-yarder at 7:25 of the second quarter that sealed the game for the Cardinals. They topped rival St. Mary 43-7 to improve to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the Northern Michigan Football League-Legacy.

J-L, ranked No. 9 in the Week 5 Associated Press' Division 8 poll, hosts Charlevoix for homecoming Friday, Sept. 28.

"It was huge for Kevin, and, again, it's just how the game went," Smokevitch said. "We had a pretty slow start (J-L and St. Mary were scoreless in the first quarter), but we finally started running Kevin, and it was open in the middle all night. We ran the same fullback trap multiple times, and it was great for Kevin. We just rode him all night."

Gehringer is just 1/3 of what Smokevitch calls "FGC, Inc.," a moniker the sixth-year coach has given his three-headed monster of a backfield. Each week, at least one of his running backs has popped off for major yards. When Gehringer was struggling to find daylight last week, Logan Finnerty, the "F" in "FGC, Inc." rushed for almost 200 yards. A couple weeks ago, Brett Crandell, the "C," had a similar game and carried the load against Mancelona.

The incorporation proved to be a boon again against the Snowbirds, as Finnerty left the game with concussion-like symptoms. Although Crandell finished with 61 yards on 16 carries, including a 3-yard rush to open the second quarter, Gehringer's workload was needed.

"It feels absolutely awesome to be part of this backfield," Gehringer said. "'FGC, Inc.' is what Smoke calls it, and it's been a joke we've had all season long. And we're not stingy about who gets the carries either. We're happy for whoever does well because that helps us get the wins.

"And it's not just about the guy who gets all the yards. Us other backs have to carry out our fakes. If you carry out a good fake, that's one less defender you have to block, which means you can get even more yards."

Tanner Shimel intercepted St. Mary quarterback Brady Hunter in the first quarter to set up Crandell's opening score in the second. Shortly afterward, Gehringer rushed in the game-clinching TD, and then Shimel called his own number and rushed in a 12-yard score to ensure J-L a 22-7 halftime lead.

Gehringer scored on a 12-yard rush to open the second half, and then he kick started the running-clock rule with a 22-yard TD at 1:43 in the third.

"It's huge having that three-headed monster thing," Smokevitch said.

Also playing well was Austin Carroll, who filled in with Finnerty sidelined. Carroll broke off a 35-yard rush to put the Cardinals in scoring position in the third. One player later, he punched in a 5-yard TD for his first score of the season.

"It was nice to see Austin do well," Smokevitch added. "He carried out his fakes really well, and he had a lot of fakes tonight. He blocked a lot, too. He thought he was in on that 35-yarder, but I'm glad to see him get in the end zone."

Nic Switalski scored St. Mary's lone TD on a pass from Hunter at 4:40 in the second. Hunter rolled to his right and threw across his shoulder to an open Switalski, who managed to get away from J-L's linebackers. St. Mary (1-3, 1-2 NMFL-Legacy) hosts Harbor Springs next week.

Shimel finished with a pair of interceptions for J-L's defense, while Tyson Claeys fell on a fumble and Sheldon Huff pulled down an interception. Huff led with nine tackles (five solo), and Gehringer recorded a sack.

While the Cardinals are in the driver's seat to win the conference title, as they're competing against Harbor Springs and Newberry to win it all, they're not overlooking their non-conference game against Charlevoix next week.

"I think our kids came out with some jitters tonight because it was against a rival like St. Mary," Smokevitch said. "I think our kids will be fine against Charlevoix because that's not a rivalry game. We got to win against Charlevoix because a loss will cost you home-field advantage in the playoffs, and right now, we're competing against St. Ignace, Frankfort and Rogers City for that home-field advantage."

Gehringer agreed, adding: "Right now, we're just looking for playoff points. That's our main goal."

A win over Charlevoix would be huge, Gehringer said, even if his name is missing from the stat sheet afterward.

"I told Smokevitch after (he apologized to me) last week, it doesn't really matter about my yards this year," the senior said. "It's all about getting wins."

Quick recap: No. 9 Cardinals down rival Snowbirds
By Brandon Folsom - Gaylord Herald Times Sports Editor

It took a full quarter for the Johannesburg-Lewiston Football team to get going, but once it did in the second, rival St. Mary couldn’t slow the Cardinals down Friday.

The Cardinals (4-1) beat the Snowbirds 43-7. They host Charlevoix for homecoming Friday, Sept. 28. They remain undefeated in NMFL-Legacy play.

Kevin Gehringer scores three TDs.

Three second-quarter TDs put the game away for the Cardinals. First, Tanner Shimel pulled down an interception that set up a 3-yard TD run by Brett Crandell at 10:21. Then Gehringer broke loose for a 46-yard TD run at 7:25. Shimel capped off the quarter with a QB keeper at 2:19, ensuring J-L a 22-7 halftime lead.

Gehringer opened the second half with a quick score on a fullback trap at 8:07. Then Austin Carroll scored on 1-yard run at 4:56 to give J-L a 36-7 advantage. Shortly afterward, Gehringer scored once more to start the running-clock rule.

St. Mary’s Brady Hunter found Nic Switalski for a TD pass at 4:40 in the second.

Finnerty shakes 'boo-boo kid' moniker, pushes Cardinals to key win
By Brandon Folsom - Gaylord Herald Times Sports Editor

ST. IGNACE – Logan Finnerty has come a long way for the Johannesburg-Lewiston football team.

"On the JV, he was known as the boo-boo kid," coach Joe Smokevitch said.
"He'd get hurt, sit out four or five plays – boom – he'd be fine and go back in."

Finnerty decided to change the perception his coaches have of him over the summer. It's paid off so far this fall.

The junior running back rushed for a career-best 173 yards and two touchdowns, including the winning score on 7-yard run to open the third quarter, to help the Cardinals beat host St. Ignace 34-22 in a Northern Michigan Football League-Legacy game Friday.

J-L (3-1, 2-0 Legacy) hosts rival St. Mary (1-2, 1-1) for another conference game Friday, Sept. 21.

"Over the summer, I started getting in the weight room more, put in more effort and wanted to show the team that I can put my best into this and show them that I'm worth (playing running back)," said Finnerty, who carried 19 times. "Back in freshman and sophomore years, I didn't have the motivation that I have now.

"I just want to show everyone that that's not me anymore. (This season) has really given me confidence, and it helps getting into the weight room and getting all the support from my O-linemen. I've put on 25 pounds and getting bigger has helped. It's all been great since this summer."

The Cardinals nursed a 7-6 halftime advantage until Brett Crandell (17 carries, 87 yards) scored a 4-yard rushing TD at 10:34 in the third.

Shortly afterward, Finnerty broke open a 62-yard score to add to the Cardinals' lead.

"We were able to run the buck sweep with him," Smokevitch said. "We hooked the end, and got around the outside. Finnerty just had a great game.

"We ran the buck sweep, and both guards pinned the inside. Both guards got around the end, and he'd just bust big plays open with his speed."

Kevin Gehringer, J-L's bell-cow rusher, was limited to just 29 yards on 13 carries, as the Saints worked to take him out of the game plan.

Smokevitch said he apologized to Gehringer after the game, but the sixth-year coach said Gehringer responded by saying, "It's not a problem, coach. As long as we get the win, that's all I care about."

That created running lanes for Finnerty, who gave a lot of credit for his success to his offensive line.

"I like to run outside and get behind my blockers," Finnerty said. "Usually I can cut back, but I just pretty much ran hard today. Hard-nosed running. (Today's game) felt great, but I give all the glory to my linemen, honestly.

"I just got out there and had great blocks to run behind."

Tyson Claeys hauled in a 10-yard TD reception to give J-L an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter. The senior also fell on a fumble in the end zone during the first to give the Cardinals their initial 7-6 edge.

Crandell led the defense with 10 tackles (seven solo), while Sheldon Huff, Tanner Shimel and Gehringer recorded eight apiece. Claeys finished with two sacks, Lance Upplegger reeled in an interception and Finnerty recovered a fumble.

The Cardinals are in the driver's seat to compete for a conference title. Now they know they have another running back like Finnerty to rely on as their schedule continues to get tougher.

"I told him the first day of practice, 'You can't be a boo-boo kid here anymore,'" Smokevitch said. "He hasn't disappointed us yet. He's fast. He's one of our fastest kids. He used to (sit out during games) because he was the kind of kid who just wanted that attention.

"He's overcome that and has matured. He's turned into a great athlete."

And Finnerty has helped the Cardinals turn into a great football team with conference-title hopes.

Cardinals' offense opportunistic in 42-0 win over East Jordan
By Brandon Folsom - Gaylord Herald Times Sports Editor

EAST JORDAN – The Johannesburg-Lewiston football team marched down the field on its opening drive and found Tyson Claeys for an easy touchdown catch.

East Jordan used a shorter defensive back on the 6-foot-5 tight end. Claeys reached over the top of the defender and plucked the catch out of the air to give the Cardinals an early 7-0 lead Friday at Boswell Stadium.

After that, the Red Devils (0-3) used their best athlete, Jackson Raymond, to guard Claeys, ultimately taking Raymond away from the ball on most plays. The Cardinals took advantage of it, downing East Jordan 42-0 in their Northern Michigan Football League-Legacy opener.

J-L (2-1) visits St. Ignace (2-1) for another conference game Friday, Sept. 14.

"That No. 18 (Raymond) is a really good athlete, and they have good ballplayers," J-L coach Joe Smokevitch said. "They used him to match Tyson, height-wise, and he could jump. That took away Tyson for us, so we looked at our other players. And they stepped up."

Logan Finnerty (74 yards), Kevin Gehringer (104 yards, two TDs) and Brett Crandell (77) each rushed in touchdowns for the Cardinals, who led 35-0 at halftime to kick start the running-clock rule in the second half.

"They took away Gehringer a bit in the first quarter, so we had to do things to make adjustments," \Smokevitch said. "We made adjustments at the line on the fly instead of waiting for halftime, which is something we haven't done since (2015)."

Another chief beneficiary of Raymond being distracted with Claeys was quarterback Tanner Shimel, who put together the best passing performance by a Cardinals player since Smokevitch became head coach six years ago. Shimel was 6 of 8 passing for 157 yards and threw TD passes to both Claeys and Finnerty.

Finnerty led with three catches for 68 yards receiving. The Cardinals finished with 492 yards of total offense.

"We still have some work to do (passing), though," Smokevitch said. "We had Tanner open up the wrong way on one pass play, and I messed the thing up with some poor play calling that got us into a bad situation once. We checked the wrong way. But he (Shimel) looked good, and I was really happy with how we looked throwing the ball."

Patrick Kennedy and Shimel each came up with an interception on defense, while Claeys recorded one sack. Sheldon Huff head a team-high seven tackles (three solo).

Senior stepping up: Crandell taking the game serious for Cardinals
By Brandon Folsom - Gaylord Herald Times Sports Editor

JOHANNESBURG – Last week, Brett Crandell texted Johannesburg-Lewiston defensive coordinator Cody Proctor and asked for permission to miss the football team's breakfast Friday morning.

Crandell had to pick up his truck from the mechanic during that time. While Crandell asking for permission doesn't sound newsworthy, it actually shows just how far the senior has come since last season.

"In the past, that would have been something he would have just blown off, so it's huge," coach Joe Smokevitch said. "Total attitude adjustment. Total leader on the team this year. It's been great. He's taken on a huge role this year."

Crandell showed glimpses of being a stellar running back for the Cardinals last season. But he was too unreliable. He'd loaf in practice at times, miss weight room lifting sessions or not make it to practice altogether.

A switch flipped during the off-season, motivating him to become a leader on the team. And so far this season, the Cardinals have benefited from his improved effort.

Crandell scored two touchdowns during J-L's 35-6 route of Mancelona in the home opener Friday.

"It's senior year. I decided to get serious about things," Crandell said. "I decided to show the team what I can do."

Kevin Gehringer (16 carries, 145 yards) remained the bell-cow for the Cardinals, but Crandell (39 yards) joins Gehringer and Logan Finnerty (69) in becoming the team's first three-headed monster rushing attack since 2015.

"He's become a big leader," said captain Tyler Madej of Crandell. "He showed a lot of improvement tonight. He's one of my best friends, and he came up big for us this week and last week. I think it's just his last year, so he wants to come in, be strong and make a difference."

Added Smokevitch: "He (Crandell) has gotten a lot bigger, he's gotten a lot faster. He likes to hit. He's a great lead blocker for us when we have to use him for that. It's been a great total turnaround for him. It's been nice. I wish he would've been that way last year."

Against Mancelona, the Cardinals trailed only momentarily. Tanner Shimel escaped pressure and hit Lance Upplegger with a 45-yard TD pass to knot the score 6-6 late in the first.

Crandell scored the next two TDs on runs of 3 and 8 yards, respectively, in the second to ensure J-L a 20-6 halftime lead.

Crandell, whose goal is to rush for 1,000 yards this season, said this game gave him confidence. It'll motivate his play going forward.

"Oh yeah, for sure," he said. "Not having any success (at the end of last season) actually motivated me even more. That's why I got into lifting this summer. We were lifting three days a week, and then conditioning started, and that was five days a week (to get me prepared)."

Finnerty opened the second half by getting around the edge for a 7-yard TD in the third.

In the fourth, a 62-yard run by Gehringer set up Shimel with a 1-yard QB keeper at 8:39.

"Kevin was able to break some runs," Smokevitch said. "They (Mancelona) started doing a little bit of an adjustment, so we moved some guys around, and that helped us out, too, obviously. It allowed us to throw the ball and get the quick pitch working."

The starting line of Madej, Garrett May, Tommy Runyan, Dan Runyan and Matthew Davidson appreciated how successful the running backs were.

"It's huge," Madej said. "We've worked a lot in practice and hit the sled. We worked on moving our feet and holding our blocks, and it worked out great for us this week."

Mancelona scored an easy TD in the first. A botched punt attempt allowed the Ironmen to quickly tackle Upplegger, the punter, at the 20-yard line. Moments later, Devan Letts plunged in for a 2-yard score to give his team a 6-0 advantage.

Madej led J-L's defense with 13 tackles (nine solo), while Sheldon Huff had 12 (nine).

Cardinals want to beat East Jordan for 3rd-straight year

• The Cardinals (1-1) visit East Jordan to open NMFL-Legacy action Friday, Sept. 7.

The Red Devils (0-2) are coming off their third-worst loss in school history, as they fell to Elk Rapids 62-0 last week. But they narrowly lost to Harbor Springs, which is 2-0 to start the year, in the season opener.

They last gave up 62 points in a game in 2014.

“We came out flat, and we couldn’t recover from it,” East Jordan coach Greg Kitson told the Petoskey News-Review this week. “That’s the kind of practice we had this week. The urgency wasn’t there. We have a lot of soul-searching to do.

“They can be as good as they want, but it’s not going to change without work. You can’t play flat. Football is an emotional game.”

The Cardinals haven't lost to East Jordan since the two joined the same conference three seasons ago.

They'll have to focus on stopping East Jordan's star player Jackson Raymond, who came up with a pair of interceptions against Harbor Springs and also hauled in four receptions as a receiver. Receiver Chandler Bartig is also another playmaker J-L's defense must slow down.

East Jordan at a glance

2017 Record: 1-8 (0-5 NMFL-Legacy)

2017 Finish: Missed D7 postseason.

2018 Record: 0-2.

Key Players: DB Jackson Raymond, WR Chandler Bartig, QB Cooper Stevenson

Worth Noting: J-L hasn't lost to East Jordan since the two joined the same conference three years ago.

Cardinals beat Mancelona in home opener
By Brandon Folsom - Gaylord Herald Times Sports Editor

Mancelona struck first, but the Johannesburg-Lewiston football team struck often.

Brett Crandell scored twice, and the Cardinals downed the visiting Ironmen 35-6 in their home opener Friday.

J-L (1-1) visits East Jordan to open NMFL-Legacy play Friday, Sept. 7.

The Cardinals trailed only momentarily. Tanner Shimel escaped pressure and hit Lance Upplegger with a 45-yard TD pass to knot the score 6-6 late in the first.

Crandell scored the next two TDs on runs of 3 and 8 yards, respectively, in the second to ensure J-L a 20-6 halftime lead.

Logan Finnerty opened the second half by getting around the edge for a 7-yard TD in the third.

In the fourth, a 62-yard run by Kevin Gehringer set up Shimel with a 1-yard QB keeper at 8:39.

Mancelona scored an easy TD in the first. Miscommunication along the line allowed the Ironmen to quickly tackle Upplegger, the punter, at the 20-yard line. Moments later, Devan Letts plunged in for a 2-yard score to give his team a 6-0 advantage.

Power outage, fumbles plague Cardinals in season opener
By Brandon Folsom - Gaylord Herald Times Sports Editor

Back to Top

Brief recap: Cardinals can't stave off late Manton comeback
By Brandon Folsom - Gaylord Herald Times Sports Editor

MANTON – When Manton's football stadium lost power for 30 minutes, Johannesburg-Lewiston lost its momentum.

Gavin Somers rushed in the winning touchdown late in the fourth, helping the Rangers earn a 29-22 comeback win over J-L in the season opener.

Three separate outages delayed play in the third. The Cardinals' offense couldn't regain their mojo when the game resumed, even fumbling once in the end zone and allowing a safety.

"It was poor offensive coaching on my part," coach Joe Smokevitch said. "When we fumbled, that safety gave them a huge momentum. We put the ball on the ground way more than we normally do. We had fumbles all over the place."

Logan Finnerty intercepted two passes, returning one 75 yards to set up a Tanner Shimel rushing TD, and made two touchdown-saving tackles.

"I thought the defense played great," Smokevitch said. "They played hard. They stepped up and did a good job shutting them down."

Kevin Gehringer rushed for a 27-yard TD on J-L's second possession. Brett Crandell punched in the 2-point conversion on Shimel's TD to ensure the Cardinals a 16-14 halftime lead.

Shimel left the game briefly with cramps. Patrick Kennedy stepped in at quarterback and rushed for a 15-yard score in the third.

The Cardinals host Mancelona (1-0) for a non-conference game Friday, Aug. 31.

Cardinals hoping to snap losing streak to Manton in season opener
By Brandon Folsom - Gaylord Herald Times Sports Editor

JOHANNESBURG – The Johannesburg-Lewiston football team's two-game losing streak against Manton could come to an end this week.

The Cardinals visit the Rangers to open the season Friday, Aug. 24. Manton returns just five starters – three on offense and two on defense. It also has a new coach in Chris Salani, who wants to open up the offense and play a 4-3 defense.

"They back to the offense they ran the first time we played them, the spread," said J-L coach Joe Smokevitch, referencing his team's 35-32 win over the Rangers in 2015. "They got athletic ability, but they don't have the quality of linemen they've had in the past.

"But they do have some athletes, so a big thing will be limiting their big plays."

Fortunately for the Cardinals, Manton graduated most of the players that have burned them in the past. Gone are Jaden Perry, Hunter Ruell and Ethan Ancick, who helped their school finish 4-5 a year ago.

The players who are carrying the load this year are unproven.

"We are behind the eight-ball as far as talent this year, but we've got some kids coming up," Salani told the Cadillac Evening News during the summer. "We've just got to be disciplined in what we do and be ready every game."

From an offensive standpoint, Smokevitch says J-L will have opportunities to break open big plays.

"During their scrimmage last week, their defense lined up as a 6-1, but it's more of a 4-3 that looks like a 6-1," he said. "They (Manton's opponents) just pounded it on them. The other teams they played ran the spread, but they were able to run the ball between the tackles.

"That'll be our biggest thing, is to run the tackle holes and open things up for our fullback. Teams also had success throwing the ball against them in the scrimmage, too."

J-L returns a wealth of talent this season.

Tanner Shimel is back as a second-year starter at quarterback, while Patrick Kennedy will be his backup.

The Cardinals will have a host of running backs, but they should get plenty of mileage out of Kevin Gehringer, Brett Crandell and Kennedy. Crandell had one of the best offseason's on the team, Smokevitch said.

"He's huge now, and he's gotten a lot better," Smokevitch said. "He's got a great attitude now. It's noticeable. Last year, his attitude wasn't great, but this year it's been fabulous. You never knew if he was going to be at practice or if he was going to give you a good effort.

"It's been a total 180 this year. He's leading drills, and it's a total turnaround. He'll be in the mix at the running back spots as one of our top kids coming back. He's gotten really good at blocking, too."

Tyson Claeys and Sheldon Huff will play tight end. Claeys is already being recruited by Division I schools to play in college.

The most underrated position group on the team is the offensive line. Tyler Madej and Garrett May will be the veterans along the line, but Tommy Runyan, Dan Runyan and Matthew Davidson will step in to bolster it. Other guys like Gabe Law and Ryne Bennett should rotate in as well.

"We're not going to be the biggest on the line, but we'll be nasty," Smokevitch said. "Losing guys like Noah Vermilya, Leland Stephens and Devin Koscielniak kind of hurt us, and we don't have those kinds of bigger kids this year.

"So we're going to have to throw the ball more and do things to get teams out of the box. With the groups we've had in the past, we did a lot more jet (sweep) stuff. We weren't huge also, but we were pretty big and we had physically strong kids. We'll see what we have this year."

Defensively, the Cardinals should be sound with Claeys returning to play defensive end, Gehringer and Crandell playing outside linebacker, Shimel playing safety and Madej and Huff playing inside linebacker.

"Every other job is up for grabs," defensive coordinator Cody Proctor said.

Proctor must replace Koscielniak at nose tackle, who had a great career with the Cardinals before graduating last school year. Tommy Runyan, Dan Runyan, May, Law and Justin Polzin will try to replicate his play on the line.

Kennedy, Logan Finnerty and Lance Upplegger will play defensive back alongside Shimel.

The Cardinals finished 6-4 last year after losing to Lincoln Alcona in the Division 8 postseason. They're not using that loss as fuel this fall, per se, but they do want to make sure they put in the work to make a return trip to the playoffs.

"We haven't talked about the playoffs yet," Smokevitch said. "The biggest thing is you're one of 11 on this team. If you do 1/11th of the work, good things will happen. If you don't do your 1/11th, you'll let everyone down and hurt your team.

"We've had kids in the weight room like crazy. But we've also had kids who haven't done anything, and that shows. That hurts themselves and will hurt us down the road. But the kids are excited about playing football, and no matter what happens, the kids are going are going to be excited to be here."

Manton at a glance

2017 Record: 4-5 (1-4 Highland)

2017 Finish: Missed D7 postseason.

Key Players: RB Grant Bunge, DE Gavin Somers, RB Casey Shively, WR Cole Regnerus

Quick Fact: New coach Eric Salani played football at Central Michigan from 1997-2000.

2018 Season Outlook

2017 Record: 6-4 (4-1 NMFL-Legacy)

2017 Finish: Lost to Lincoln Alcona 28-12 in D8 pre-district

Key Losses: DB Kyle May, DT Devin Koscielniak, LB Jacob Marsh

Key Returners: TE Tyson Claeys, QB Tanner Shimel, LB Sheldon Huff

Roster:

No. - Name - Grade - Pos. - Height - Weight

1 - Sheldon Huff - 10th - TE/ILB - 5-10 - 185

6 - Patrick Kennedy - 12th - RB/DB - 5-8 - 155

7 - Tyson Claeys (Captain) - 12th - TE/DE - 6-4 - 230

9 - Brett Crandell - 12th - RB/OLB - 5-9 - 155

12 - Tanner Shimel (Captain) - 12th - QB/S - 5-11 - 155

17 - Hayden Claeys - 10th - TE/DE - 6-2 -180

20 - Anthony Gentz - 11th - RB/DB - 5-6 - 140

32 - Kevin Gehringer (Captain) - 12th - RB/OLB - 5-6 - 150

34 - Lance Upplegger - 12th - TE/DB - 6-0 - 140

36 - Logan Finnerty - 11th - RB/DB - 5-11 - 175

40 - Austin Carroll - 11th - RB/DB - 5-9 - 150

50 - Ryne Bennett - 11th - DE/DT - 5-10 - 170

54 - Gabe Law - 12th - OT/NG - 5-11 - 240

59 - Dan Runyan - 11th - OG/DT - 6-10 - 170

60 - Tyler Madej (Captain) - 12th - OG/ILB - 6-1 - 215

66 - Garrett May - 11th - OG/OLB - 5-10 - 165

67 - Matthew Davidson - 11th - OT/DT - 6-0 - 205

73 - Justin Polzin - 11th - OT/DT - 5-10 - 270

74 - Ethan Neal - 11th - OG/DT - 5-9 - 190

76 - Tommy Runyan - 10th - OC/DT - 5-8 - 230

Cardinals' Shimel finding confidence following travel baseball season
By Brandon Folsom - Gaylord Herald Times Sports Editor

Back to Top

JOHANNESBURG – Tyson Claeys is putting the recruiting trail behind him.

The high school football season is here. He's made his college visits. He has his offers (Cornell University and Michigan Tech).

Now it's time to go win games with his Johannesburg-Lewiston teammates and put enough film together to reel in some more offers in the fall.

The Cardinals, who were 6-4 but lost to Lincoln Alcona in the Division 8 playoff opener last fall, open the season Friday, Aug. 24, at Manton.

"I really just want to win games," said Claeys, who is being recruited by Division I and II schools as both a tight end and defensive lineman. "I don't care how we do it, where we do it and when we do it. I just want to win all the games we can.

"I want to see our guys have as much fun as we can this year. We enjoy having fun, and that's what it takes to win games, too."

Claeys visited several Ivy League schools on the east coast this summer. While Cornell has already offered, a few more want to see some of his senior highlights before they pull the trigger on the 6-foot-4 senior.

"They've all expressed a lot of interest and say that I could fit in on their rosters," Claeys said. "It's just a waiting game right now, especially with the other Ivy schools. You got to wait for some of the admission stuffs to take care of itself. They're all high-academic schools. It's just a waiting game now."

Claeys has put a full-court press on football since the basketball season ended in March. He's been to camps and 7-on-7s. He's even been helping some of his Cardinals teammates in Johannesburg. He's adding to the abilities that he already has and working on his weaknesses.

"(A lot of the colleges) like that I'm as big as I am, but I can also move well, too," he said. "I'm not overly fast, but I'd like to think that I play faster than I show at camp or at a combine or in a drill. I just work really, really hard on the field, and they can see that on the tape."

That extra training has paid off, too, and several people have taken notice of it.

During a 7-on-7 against Mio, the team kept calling him "high school Gronk" after New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.

"He's got that big body and when he gets it into space, he runs people over," J-L coach Joe Smokevitch said. "We need to run him outside more and get fade passes to him. That's what they did in that 7-on-7 league in Saginaw, and we need to do that, too.

"He'll be a mismatch nightmare. We're looking to get him free and clean down the field. We're going to work on stuff within our passing game to get him open."

While Smokevitch didn't reveal any secrets, he's going to make alterations to the passing attack with quarterback Tanner Shimel.

"The normal stuff we used to do was just predictable with our pass routes," he said. "We want to switch it up so the same guys aren't always running the same routes all the time. We need to get our QB to look for (Claeys) a lot. He's 6-4, for God's sake."

Claeys doesn't have a timeline for when he'll pick his college. But, for right now, he's hitting pause on all the recruiting talk.

It's time to have fun with his friends.

Back to Top

JOHANNESBURG-LEWISTON VARSITY FOOTBALL ARCHIVES

VARSITY FOOTBALL 2017
VARSITY FOOTBALL 2016
VARSITY FOOTBALL 2015
VARSITY FOOTBALL 2014
VARSITY FOOTBALL 2013
VARSITY FOOTBALL 2012
VARSITY FOOTBALL 2011
VARSITY FOOTBALL 2010
VARSITY FOOTBALL 2009