- Michigan
DIVISION 8: Reading seniors leave a legacy, running over Beal City to repeat as champions
DETROIT — After winning it all for the first time a year ago, the Reading Rangers wanted to prove it wasn’t a one-year aberration.
And the Rangers seniors wanted to prove they were as much a part of the legacy as last year’s graduating class.
They did both in Friday’s Division 8 championship game at Ford Field, repeating as champs.
Reading (12-1) rolled up 260 yards rushing, and scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to pull away from Beal City (12-2) for a 33-6 win.
Reading jumped in front early, converting a Beal City fumble into points, as Porter Mauk hit Jayson Scoville with an 18-yard scoring pass, then connected with Hunter Midtgard for the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0 Rangers with 3:21 left first quarter.
Beal got on the board five plays into the second quarter, as Jack Shafer hit T.J. Maxon with a 56-yard bomb, but the 2-point attempt failed, leaving it 8-6 Reading.
The Rangers extended their lead with 29 seconds left in the first half, as Mauk hit Midtgard with a 40-yard pass down the seam to make it 14-6 Rangers headed into halftime.
Elijah Strine made it a two-score game with a 9-yard touchdown run with 5:05 left in the third quarter, and four minutes later, Midtgard put the dagger in with a 28-yard run to make it 26-6.
Backup Matthew Stewart ran it in from 12 yards out with 13 seconds left to finish out the scoring.
