Huron played their fourth game of the season on Friday night, picking up their second straight conference win against Temperance Bedford 30-25 at Riverbank Stadium.  This was arguably a better performance than last weeks’ blowout of Pioneer.  The defense played a phenomenal game and the offense came up with explosive plays when they needed it.  Overall a huge win for this team as they climb out of an early season 0-2 hole.  

-Huron found themselves down 14-0 in the first quarter, but that didn’t last long thanks to stud Sophomore Kameron Flowers

This game had a rocky start to say the least, as after a Kameron Flowers kickoff return for a touchdown was called back because of a penalty, Junior Quarterback Andrew Harding made his first and only mistake of the night, throwing a pick-six straight to a lurking linebacker over the middle to put Bedford up 7-0.  After a three and out on the next series, Bedford and their run-only offense did just that, running for a 32 yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper to double their lead.  It was a flashback to week one’s blowout loss to Lapeer in these first few minutes, but this was immediately wiped away by star wideout Kameron Flowers.  After having his opening kickoff return called back, Flowers did it again, taking the kickoff 85 yards to the house.  This one was not hampered by a penalty, as the Rats’ cut the deficit back to seven.  This was arguably the biggest play of the game for Huron.  The sideline was silent with a deer in the headlights feel, but that touchdown got everyone back into the game quickly and proved to be the jolt Huron needed.  Flowers yet again proved that putting him on kickoffs was one of the best decisions from coach Mack so far this season.  Flowers added two more tallies to his touchdown total, bringing him to seven on the season including two kickoff returns.

-Rats’ defense forces three Bedford turnovers along with a crucial fourth and goal stop that lead to the longest touchdown of the season

After trading field goals, Bedford had a 17-10 lead with five minutes to go in the first half.  Senior defensive lineman Braedon James blitzed unblocked and straight up bullied the Bedford quarterback, taking the ball straight from his hands and returning it 25 yards to give Huron possession in prime position on the Bedford five yard line.  Senior back Donel Green ran it in on the next play to tie the game at 17.  On the following series, the defense got another turnover.  The Bedford QB fumbled the snap, and the Rats fell on it to give the offense the ball on Bedford’s 30 yard line.  Huron ended with a field goal on that possession going up 20-17, but scoring 10 quick points completely swung the momentum in Huron’s favor going into halftime.  After a bad snap gave Bedford a safety to be down only one, Huron recovered another Bedford fumble, this time near midfield.  After another field goal on the following possession, Huron went up 23-19 early in the fourth quarter.  Bedford had a classic ground and pound drive on their next series.  After keeping the Kicking Mules out of the endzone on three straight plays from inside the 10, Huron faced a 4th and goal from the one yard line.  With seven and a half minutes to go in the game, Bedford elected to go for it, and failed.  Senior defensive tackle Camerone Brown  used his huge frame to keep Bedford out of the endzone and keep Huron’s four point lead intact.  This was an absolutely massive play, as not only did Bedford not score, they used close to five minutes of clock on their drive.  What followed on the very next play was an absolutely electric 99 yard Kameron Flowers slant route for a touchdown, which gave Huron a 30-19 lead.  Flowers simply caught it and turned on the jets for Huron’s longest touchdown of the season.  These two plays may have been the two best of the season to this point, and for them to come back to back in the fourth quarter of a close game is a sign that this team has the clutch gene in droves.  These are exactly the types of plays that Huron needs to keep winning games in conference play and make their second straight playoff appearance.

-Despite getting gashed by Bedford’s tough rushing attack, Huron’s defensive line showed a bend-but-don’t-break mentality

Even with Bedford’s confusing running game filled with a combination of jet sweeps, fullback dives up the middle, pitches to a running back and quarterback keepers on top of it all, Huron still managed to stay afloat defending Bedford’s run-exclusive offense.  They gave up multiple 40+ yard runs over the course of the game, but rarely did these drives ever result in points.  Aside from a garbage time touchdown with a minute to go, the Huron defense only allowed 10 points, the other nine coming from of course a pick-six and a safety.  Seniors Bruce Williams and Laith Shamma both had multiple tackles for loss and did a bulk of the dirty work stopping the run game.  Brown and James obviously had huge plays as well.  This defensive line is not only talented, but deep.  Huron has six to seven guys they can rotate in and out if they face another run heavy team like Bedford.  The pass rushing abilities of this d-line is also well documented, and this unit has been Huron’s best through the first four weeks.  The Rats’ defensive line is an absolute non-negotiable unit for the rest of the season.  No matter where they go or who they’re playing, count on the defensive line showing up and having an impact.

Made closer by the late garbage time touchdown, this game was not as close as the scoreboard indicated.  Besides the mistakes that directly resulted in nine Bedford points, Huron played an exceptional game on all three phases for the second straight week.  Simply put, this team is firing on all cylinders right now.  They needed to turn it around quickly, and they’ve done just that.  Huron travels to Monroe next week.  Monroe is also 2-2, with wins over Skyline and Lincoln.  However they’re coming off an absolutely embarrassing 40-0 loss to Saline.  A team of course that Huron played close just two weeks ago.  Look for the Rats to pick up a road win by at least a touchdown next week.