It was homecoming at Middleville Thornapple High School Friday evening and guest Wayland came to the stadium bearing gifts.
The Wildcats, winless in five gridiron contests this season held host TK scoreless for the first 20 minutes of the ballgame and appeared to be on track for a shot at breaking their 14-game losing streak, but they eventually fell short 32-7.
Too many mistakes and gifts to the home team, coupled with inability to take advantage of Trojan mistakes, eventually sank coach Mike Doupe’s efforts in securing his first varsity football coaching victory.
What made the final score seem puzzling was that neither team scored until there was 3:25 showing on the clock until halftime. Furthermore, Wildcat defenders picked off Middleville quarterback Gabe Kruizenga in his first three passing attempts. Kyle Jansen intercepted two and Eric Villareal one, all in the first period.
Yet Wayland failed to capitalize on all three breaks.
The first failure was heart-breaking, as Jansen picked off a pass at the Trojans’ 25-yard line and returned it 17 yards to the 8, first and goal.
Three offensive plays netted only four yards and then a 21-yard field goal attempt was missed.
TK mounted a drive to the Wildcats’ 32, but Villareal came up with a pick and took the football to midfield. Quarterback Tanner Van Dyke on the next play hooked up with end Dakota Johnson on a 13-yard pass play to the TK 38, but the ‘Cats coughed up the football with a fumble on the next play.
Middleville’s Ike Possett got loose on a reverse, running the football 51 yards down to the Wildcats’ 7. But then Jansen made a diving catch near the goal line for the third interception of the first quarter.
That’s when Van Dyle and the Wayland aerial attack showed one of its flashes of brilliance. On a desperate third down and 11 and his own 1, Van Dyke fired a clutch strike to Gage Stancell at the 15. Then he hit Jake Omness at midfield and Michael Kelly at the 31, Now it looked like Wayland was going to get on the scoreboard first.
However, with a fourth down and 11 at the TK 18, Van Dyle was picked in the end zone.
Aided by a key defensive stop on third down by Lee Misak, the ‘Cats regained possession, but stalled at midfield.
Kruisenga, much maligned for three interceptions in the first perid, was undaunted in a huge 53-yard pass play to Austin Alward, that not only got the home team out of a hole, but also put it just 36 yards away from the end zone.
This time the mistake-plagued Trojans righted the ship and Gordie Hayward’s big run to the one after a huge sack by Jacob Henderson and Justin Kiry pulled them through. Kruisenga sneaked it over the goal line on the next play.
That last three minutes and 25 seconds may live in infamy for Wayland.
The ‘Cats were forced to punt and a high snap forced Logan Sevigny to run for a first down — unsuccessfully, at the 17.
The stout Wildcat defense held on three plays, but kicker Max Brummel managed to boot the ball barely over the crossbar to make it 10-0 with just 47 seconds left before homecoming halftime festivities.
Wayland came out throwing in a desperate attempt to get on the scoreboard, but linebacker Nate Raymond intercepted and ran the ball all the way into the end zone from 44 yards with no time showing on the clock. Rubbing salt into the wound was a two-point conversion pass from Kruisenga to Marcus Dugan.
A scoreless tie with less than four minutes left until halftime quickly had become an 18-0 cushion for Middleville at intermission.
Buoyed by a 15-yard roughing the passer call, the Wildcats opened the third quarter with a drive to the TK 32, where Kruisenga came up with his team’s third interception of the evening. Then he scrambled on a play he looked like he was going to be sacked and tossed a 39-yard TD strike to Alward.
Reversals of fortune.
TK scored its last touchdown on the evening late in the third quarter and Wayland scored its only six-pointer in the last stanza on a pass from Van Dyke to Stancell.
PHOTOS: Dakota Johnson (81) Gage Stancell (12) (Photos courtesy of Terry Ellis)