Alma Football hits the road and defeats host Kalamazoo 33-23 to spoil the Hornets' Homecoming
The Alma Football team continued the 2009 MIAA portion of their schedule on Saturday afternoon when traveled to Kalamazoo to take on the Hornets on a cool Michigan fall day.
The Scots spoiled Homecoming festivities with a hard-earned 33-23 victory that saw the two teams rack up 949 yards of offense between them. Alma is now 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA, while the Hornets fell to 4-3 in 2009 and 1-2 in league play.
Alma racked up 544 yards of total offense on 105 plays, the third-most in school history and recorded the win despite committing five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles). Kalamazoo finished with 405 total yards, but had just 67 yards on the ground.
The Scots had 35 first downs on the afternoon, the fourth-best in school history - Alma had 36 in a game at Wisconsin-River Falls earlier this season. In addition, the Alma offense, known as the Scot Gun, was also impressive on the ground as the team rushed for 210 yards on 51 attempts. It was the most yards on the ground for Alma since last year's contest against the Hornets, when the Scots amassed 298 yards on 40 rushes.
QB Mackenzie McGrady had a part of 444 of the 544 offensive yards
The afternoon got started with a bang for the Scots as KR Andrew Schaar (DeWitt, MI/Dewitt) returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 Alma lead. The Hornets answered right away as they drove 53 yards on five plays and tied the score at 7-7, when QB Brandon Luczak connected with Dimeko Price on a five-yard touchdown throw.
The Scots then responded and the game had the look of a shootout. Alma drove 63 yards on 14 plays, taking 5:20 off of the clock and regained the lead at 14-7, when QB Mackenzie McGrady (Portland, MI/Portland) plunged one yard for a score.
Things settled down a bit though after the Alma score as Kalamazoo was stopped by the Scots defense on their next possession and then McGrady was intercepted three plays into Alma's next offensive series, sending the game into the second quarter.
After another stalled drive, Alma drove 64 yards on ten plays and scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass from McGrady to RB Tyler Periard (Birch Run, MI/Birch Run) and after a failed extra point, the lead was 20-7. The final scoring in the first half came with 2:34 remaining, when Luczak hit Cory McCain on a five yard touchdown strike to make the score 20-14 heading into the locker rooms.
The score stayed that way until 4:57 remained in the third quarter, when Alma extended their lead to 26-14 (two-point conversion failed) on another seven-yard touchdown connection between McGrady at Periard that completed a 12-play, 71-yard drive that encompassed 4:53 off of the clock.
RB Tyler Periard scored two touchdowns against Kalamazoo
The Hornets struck right back as they drove 54 yards on 13 plays, culminating with a 27-yard field goal from Travis Braun with 2:24 left in the third quarter, cutting Alma's lead to 26-17. The conclusion of the quarter saw the Scots on the Kalamazoo 11-yard line as time ran out.
However, Alma's drive ended when McGrady was sacked and fumbled, recovered by Kalamazoo's Mike Page at the Hornets 16-yard line. Kalamazoo could not take advantage and had to punt on their next possession. After McGrady's second interception, this time at the Kzoo 24-yard line, the Hornets made the game interesting.
The home team drove the length of the field and capped a 76-yard, 11-play drive with another Luczak to McCain scoring connection, this time from 15 yards out. The score cut the Alma lead to 26-23 with 10:13 remaining in the contest.
The visiting Scots were not to be denied however on this afternoon, as they stepped up to the challenge and drove 60 yards on 12 plays, taking 5:13 off of the play clock. They finished the day's scoring when McGrady hit Jr. RB Jon Reed (Stanton, MI/Central Montcalm) on a 11-yard touchdown pass to put Alma up 33-23 with 5:00 remaining in the contest.
After two Kalamazoo first downs on their next possession, the Alma defense rose up and stymied the hosts on fourth down and three from the Scots' 34-yard line with 3:07 left in the game. The win was then sealed by Alma as they recorded three consecutive first downs and were able to run out the clock, preserving the ten-point win.
Individually, Alma was led by McGrady, who had a hand in 444 yards of the 544 total for the team, with 334 yards passing as he completed 33 of 54 passes and three touchdowns. The senior was also the leading rusher with 110 yards on 26 carries and a score.
Other leading rushers included Reed with 52 yards on 13 carries and Periard, who finished the day with 50 yards on 11 attempts. Alma had a very balanced attack in terms of receiving, as McGrady hit nine different players during the game. The leading member of that group was Sr. WR Tyler Wise (Lansing, MI/Lansing Waverly), who finished with seven catches for 72 yards. Three other Scots players ended the day with five receptions.
On defense, Sr. DB Bart Blystone (Mt. Pleasant, MI/Mt. Pleasant) led the way with 8.5 tackles and two passes broken up. So. LB Conrad Bovee (Ithaca, MI/Ithaca) was next with 7.5 tackles and also had one tackle for a loss and one interception. Defensive linemen Jr. Brian Shagena (Deckerville, MI/Deckerville) and Sr. Cody Stripling (Haslett, MI/Haslett) each had a sack for the Scots.
DL Conrad Bovee had a productive day against the Hornets
Next up for Alma is a home date with MIAA rival Olivet College next Saturday afternoon. Kickoff at Bahlke Field is slated for 1:00 p.m.
Posted: Sat, October 17th, 2009 at 4:18PM
