Bombers use second half fly-over to top Tigers
MACOMB — On paper, it looked like it would be a blowout.
On the field, it was much more competitive.
And that’s the way the Macomb football team seems to like it.
The Bombers (7-0) stayed perfect on the season, topping winless Princeton (0-7), 20-0 on Homecoming night in Macomb.
“Yeah, we don’t score a lot of points, that’s not the type of team we are, but you know what? We don’t give up many either,” Macomb coach Kelly Sears said. “I got on a couple guys at halftime to play as hard on offense as they do on defense, but we’re 7-0 and have a shot at a conference championship next week and there’s a lot of teams that would love to be in our spot.”
The Tigers gave Macomb everything it wanted, holding the Bomber offense at bay for most of the game.
“I couldn’t be prouder of my guys,” Princeton coach Jesse Snyder. “We challenged them to play hard for four quarters and they did. We didn’t have anything to lose and we played like it.”
Points were hard to come by most of the game for Macomb, but the Bombers made it look easy on their first score.
After holding Princeton to a three and out on its first series, Macomb punt returner Jacob Moon would return the Tiger punt all the way to the Princeton one-yard line, setting up a Jarrod Rockhold scoring run to put Macomb ahead.
Moon also had a big 28-yard reception that set up Hunter Mynatt’s third quarter touchdown run that capped Macomb’s scoring.
“That’s what seniors do on Homecoming,” Sears said. “The punt return was a big play he almost got in there, then the catch, he had to go up and get the ball and win it on a tip.”
Macomb’s first score came easy, but offense would not as the Tigers kept the Bombers out of the endzone the remained of the half, including a fourth-and-goal stand on the five-yard line.
“That was big to keep them out,” Snyder said. “Really, just the one big punt return and that’s all we gave up in the first half.”
In the second half, Macomb would score on its first two possessions, one a 34-yard scamper by Eli Cousins and the other, Mynatt’s short run.
Before and after that, it was all Macomb’s defense.
The Bombers kept the Tigers at bay as Princeton couldn’t get much going offensively.
“They threw some things at us that gave us trouble last week,” Sears said. “They ran that quarterback boot that Pittsfield scored a couple touchdowns on us, but you live and you learn.
“Our outside linebacker did a good job staying home there.”
Macomb also was strong up front as middle linebacker Brett Taylor made several big tackles.
“Their middle linebacker, No. 54 (Taylor), he’s a player,” Snyder said. “They’re (Macomb), a physical team, as we saw on tape. “They play hard and hit hard.”
• Notes: The Kittens posted their first win of the season, defeating the Macomb sophomores 19-14. Freshman quarterback passed for a 5-yard touchdown to Camp and ran for a 33-yard run. Jacob Smith scored on a 5-yard run. Zach Friel added a PAT kick. ... PHS will make another road trip to Hamilton West Hancock this week.
