Bay City Western has a history of memorable games with Midland Dow.
But the Warriors would just as soon forget about this one.
The Saginaw Valley League North contest opened on an ominous note for the Warriors – when they fumbled on their first possession – and went downhill from there in a 42-12 setback.
“They came out and punched us in the mouth and we didn’t respond,” Western coach Chris Willertz said. “Then things got worse.”
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Dow (3-1, 1-1) barreled to a 35-0 halftime lead en route to the win, a far cry from its defense-dominated 3-2 victory a year ago.
“At least in the second half we responded,” Willertz said. “We said ‘Let’s play football and not worry about the score.’”
The Warriors (2-2, 0-2) got on the board with a 45-yard pick-six by linebacker Brayden Hitts. A fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Bryce Sarnowski to Brody Andrus completed the Western scoring.
Sarnowski was 9 of 12 passing for 107 yards while Alex Davenport caught four passes for 43 yards. Larry Bowes led the ground game with 76 yards on 10 carries. The Warriors threw three interceptions and saw Dow pass for 307 yards.
“We’ve got to get a whole lot tougher — mentally tougher and physically tougher — and be able to handle adversity if we’re going to be a winning team this season,” Willertz said.
The Warriors host Flint Carman-Ainsworth next Friday on homecoming.
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