The Goodrich football team tried their hardest to hang tough with the defending Division 5 state champion Montrose Rams.
However, the visiting Rams capitalized on four Martian turnovers and defeated Goodrich 28-7 in their Sept. 19 contest.
Sophomore quarterback Dominic Rivera started the game for the Martians in place of senior Matt Hill. Hill entered the game at the start of the second quarter, but Rivera would resurface during the game.
The two squads battled to a scoreless draw in the first quarter. The Rams scored first with 7:57 left in the second quarter when junior quarterback Tim Burnison found junior flanker Antraz Burton in the left-hand corner of the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
Less than a minute later, Montrose senior wide receiver/defensive back Joe Fondren picked off a Hill pass and returned it for a touchdown to give the Rams a 14-0 lead.
The Martians had a chance to score before the end of the first half, but senior running back Kirk Elsworth was stopped on fourth down inside Montrose territory, ending that threat.
Elsworth tried to spark the Martians again at the start of the second half, when he returned the opening kickoff 38 yards to the Montrose 41. However, Fondren picked off Elsworth’s halfback option pass on the next play.
Montrose would seal the game with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Burton picked off a Rivera pass, and senior running back Joshua Cross then scored on a 15-yard touchdown run to put Montrose up 21-0 with 8:19 left in the fourth.
The Rams would apply the final nail in the coffin less than a minute later when senior linebacker Dustin Hodge recovered a Goodrich fumble at the Martians’ 27-yard-line. Burnison hit Fondren for the touchdown with 7:36 left in the quarter.
Goodrich avoided the shutout when Elsworth scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 3:20 left. For the game, Elsworth ran 32 times for 145 yards, while as a team, the Martians ran 52 times for 243 yards.
Goodrich took on Lake Fenton Sept. 26 in their Homecoming contest. The Martians’ next game is Oct. 3 when they travel to Mt. Morris for a 7 p.m. contest.
The Panthers return an experienced squad from the team that went 7-3 last year and 3-2 in their inagurual season in the Genesee Area Conference Red Division.
On Sept. 19, the Panthers routed Byron 48-9 to improve to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Genesee Area Conference Red Division.
Mt. Morris returns six starters on offense and seven on defense from last year’s squad. Key returnees are running back-linebacker Cody Marty, guard-nose guard Josh Cunningham and quarterback-kicker Scott Roy.