A snap from senior center J Coe to senior running back JT Hartman (filling in at quarterback) sealed the fate of the Mount Pleasant Oilers in the fourth quarter. Following the snap, Hartman ran into the end zone for a 52-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 38-14.
The Rangers went on to win the district title over Mt. Pleasant, 45-21.
Going into this game, there were many questions at stake; however, one in particular was how senior quarterback Mason McDonald would play with his broken toe injury. Head coach Tim Rogers had a game plan.
“Well, the game plan was to see what Mason McDonald could give us him because he’s hurt,” Rogers said. “We already lost our second-team quarterback with a sprained ankle last week. So [I was] real nervous about what Mason could do today and not hurt himself more. So we had to do some things where he could get the ball out of his hands real quick and protect him, and I think we did a good job of that.”
And that is exactly what the offensive line did—they protected McDonald from the Oilers defense no matter the cost. Hartman knew being physical was a key.
“We knew we had to be physical because they’re a super big and physical team,” Hartman said. “So going in, we just had to win the box up front. And we did that today, and we played well.”
To start off the game, McDonald moved the ball down the field with a few passes and made a pass to Ty Hudkins for an 11-yard touchdown. Moeller made the extra point, putting the Rangers up 7-0 with 8:10 left in the first quarter. The Rangers then made it back into the red zone, but due to a couple of incomplete passes, Moeller kicked a 16-yard field goal to extend FHC’s lead to 10-0 by the end of the first quarter.
The Rangers began the second quarter with a beautiful pass from McDonald to junior wide receiver Brendan Cargill for a 28-yard touchdown to take a 17-0 lead over the Oilers with 10:36 left in the second quarter.
As the quarter progressed, the Oilers moved the ball down to the red zone. Mt. Pleasant then decided to do a back-to-back timeout call with 4:49 left in the second quarter. With the ball on the Rangers’ 9-yard line and three yards to go, there was much pressure on the defense to stop that ball from moving. Once the Oilers’ timeout clock hit zero, FHC called a timeout of its own and followed that up with a great stop in the ball, not allowing Mt. Pleasant to get a first down.
After that turnover, the Rangers took the ball down the field. McDonald threw a pass to Cargill for another touchdown to increase the lead. An extra point by Moeller put the Rangers up 24-0 with 32 seconds left in the second quarter. Mt. Pleasant, however, made two large passes down the field to give its first touchdown of the game. This left the Rangers up 24-7 at the end of the first half.
Early in the second half, senior defensive back Jacob Harleton made an interception on the Oilers 42-yard line, but Mt. Pleasant followed that with an interception of its own to give it back possession of the ball on its own 39-yard line. The Oilers moved the ball down the field and scored another touchdown along with an extra point, cutting the Rangers lead to 24-14 with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
With the ball back in FHC’s hands and some time left in the third quarter, the team made some movement down the field. Hartman took hold of the ball and then ran it down the field for a 43-yard touchdown, extending the Rangers lead 31-14 by the end of the third quarter.
Hartman showed versatility, from filling in as quarterback to playing on defense. He was a vital player during this game. Rogers was happy with how he was able to fill in many open spots.
“We had JT do a lot of things,” Rogers said. “So he played quarterback and halfback. So he’s a good football player.”
Even with the back and forth of many different positions he played, there was different preparation for him to feel ready for this game. With backup quarterback junior Max Holser out, Hartman was prepared.
“Yeah, I’ve been taking some reps in practice,” Hartman said. “Just with Mason being a little hurt, I’ve kind of stepped into the role of playing a little quarterback, so it’s been fun.”
Mt. Pleasant opened up the fourth quarter with possession of the ball but quickly had that taken from them with an interception from senior defensive back Brady Drueke. FHC took possession of the ball on its own 39-yard line with 10:40 left in the game. Hartman’s touchdown call extended the lead over the Oilers 38-14.
Senior defensive line Chase Enbody scored the final touchdown of the game for the Rangers due to a fumble from Mt. Pleasant’s offense. Enbody picked up the rolling ball and ran it in, increasing FHC’s lead once more. The final extra point was good by Moeller, and the Rangers led 45-14 with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter.
Although the Oilers were able to take it all the way into the end zone along with an extra point, it was not enough for them to come back.
FHC is preparing for what needs to be done going into its next game against Gaylord. The Rangers plan on studying how Gaylord plays and preparing while also encompassing what they have to add to their own techniques. Hartman said it’s a work in progress.
“We don’t know much about them right now because we haven’t watched film on them,” Hartman said. “But I know they’re a good team. They are physical, and it will take another great team win to pull it off.”
Rogers has one goal for the next game against Gaylord: the team’s health.
“Get healthy,” Rogers said. “That’s the plan. We’re going to try to spend this week getting healthy, and we’ll figure about X’s and O’s at the end of the week when they roll into town.”
