Football: JV Chemics get big shutout win over Bay City Western

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Michael Roth had never scored a defensive touchdown before. Thursday night, he picked a good time to get his first.

In a match up of two undefeated teams, Roth returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter, and Midland’s defense smothered the Warriors’ attack as the junior varsity Chemics improved to 6-0 with a 22-0 win over visiting Bay City Western at Midland Community Stadium.

While the Chemics dominated nearly every facet of the game, the outcome was very much in doubt with 5:37 to go in the third and Midland up 6-0. That’s when the 6-foot-3, 310-pound Roth stepped in front of a Western pass and rumbled 50 yards down the field to give the Chemics a 12-0 lead and fire up the home crowd.

“They ran a play that we had seen on film that we had shown them all week that had been a big play for them,” said coach Matt Starling. “Then Michael stepped in front of it. And when your defensive tackle rumbles down the field, that gives everyone a lift no matter what. That was easily the biggest play of the game, no doubt about that.”

As for Roth, he just couldn’t believe what was happening.

“I was stunned,” he said. “I couldn’t figure out how to hold the ball, so I just kept running.”

And what was going through his head as he sprinted down the field?

“Don’t fumble or the coaches will yell at me,” he said with a chuckle.

While Roth’s score padded Midland’s lead, the final score could have been much more lopsided if not for a few runs of bad luck early on for the Chemics.

Midland got on the board quickly as they drove down the field on their first possession and scored from a yard out when Charlie Leffingwell punched it in for six. The 2-point conversion was no good.

After that, though, Midland’s offense was more bark than bite. With 32.2 seconds to go in the first, Midland was threatening again, but a Chemic fumble near the goal line erased a scoring opportunity and gave Western the ball back.

The two teams then traded punts before Taylor Stockton intercepted a deep pass with 1:29 left in the half and Midland took over on their own 15. Quarterback Matt Alcott orchestrated an 84-yard drive, but was stopped about an inch from the goal line as time expired in the first half.

“We kept plugging away no matter what,” Starling said. “We put the ball on the ground a couple times, we were one inch away from scoring at halftime, but we never let their momentum take over.”

The second half was the same story for Midland as a big return by Nathan Leonhardt gave the Chemics the ball on Western’s 35. Midland turned it over on downs, though, and Western got the ball back.

But Midland would increase their lead to 12-0 on Roth’s touchdown and would make it 14-0 in the fourth quarter when Western elected to take a safety rather than try to punt out of their own end zone. Bryan Mazor would eventually add an 11-yard touchdown run and the ensuing 2-point conversion to round out the scoring.

Western would threaten one last time as they marched down field late in the game. But the Chemics’ defense forced a fumble and Midland ran out the clock.

“[Western] made a couple plays and we just kept lining up and playing,” Starling said of his defense. “I thought (assistant coach) Larry Kastl had an outstanding plan and we drilled it to death this week, and they came out and executed it. They did an outstanding job and that’s our first shutout of the year and well deserved.”

The Chemics will be in action again next Thursday when they host Flint Central. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.

For more photos from Thursday’s game, click on “Photo Slideshow” in the top right corner of this article.

Photos by Jason Wolverton