Football: Turnovers plague Chargers in 28-14 loss

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Bay City Central scored two defensive touchdowns Friday night and held off a late run by Dow High as the Wolves defeated the Chargers 28-14 at Midland Community Stadium.

Central used an interception return in the second quarter and a fumble return in the third to get out to a 28-0 lead. Dow would answer with two touchdowns late, but were unable to do any more damage against a stiff Central defense.

“We were banged up in the running game,” said Dow coach Kurt Faust about his team’s offense. “We didn’t have our running backs that were healthy so we were forced to throw the ball a lot.”

And that throwing led to a big play in the second quarter. After Trenton Robinson scored on a 10-yard touchdown play to make it 7-0, Justin Reed stepped in front of a Kyle Partlo pass and returned it 65 yards for a score. The extra point was good to make it 14-0.

The Wolves later increased that lead to 21-0 when Alex Bush hauled in a 56-yard touchdown pass at the end of the first half.

Things didn’t get much better for Dow in the third quarter as Nick Thompson picked up a Dow fumble and returned it 40 yards to make it 28-0.

Dow’s offense finally showed spark with 3:14 left to play in the game when Partlo completed a pass to Adam Pinney, who ran the ball into the end zone. Alex Faust connected on the extra point to make it 28-7.

The Chargers cut the deficit to 28-14 just about a minute later when Andrew Gaydos picked up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, and Faust hit the PAT.

But Central recovered Dow’s onside kick and ran down the clock and Dow’s chances of an improbable comeback.

“When you go against good football teams, little mistakes become huge mistakes,” Faust said of his team’s turnovers. “Interceptions aren’t just a change of possession, they’re a touchdown.”

After suffering their third loss of the season, the Chargers’ playoff hopes are dwindling and they have yet to face Midland High or Mount Pleasant, who are both 5-1. However, Faust still believes that the Chargers have a strong chance to make the 6-3 record required for the playoffs.

“We have to win three out to make it, but we’ve just got to take it one at a time and try to get better as a team,” he said. “I’m not disappointed with these kids at all. We’ve just got to learn to eliminate the mistakes.”

The Chargers will be in action again next Friday when they face Flushing for homecoming. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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

Photos by Adam Baudoux & Cory Butzin