The Allen Park Jaguars opened up their first foray into the Division Two playoffs with a blowout loss to the Dexter Dreadnaughts 47-9.
Allen Park
Personally Killing Themselves
The Allen Park Jaguars had four personal fouls that cost them 60 yards in this one. The Jaguars let Dexter get under their skin with the big runs and big plays that the defense let up. Not only did the Jaguars let the personal fouls add up, but they made bad reads and bad decisions in the game that allowed Dexter to keep adding on in the game.
Big Cat Small Jungle
The Allen Park Jaguars might be a big cat in a small jungle in the Downriver League. The only competition that the Jaguars had this season was against the Carlson Marauders, who the Jaguars lost to in week eight by a final of 20-18. In division three, the Jaguars would be able to run through the downriver teams, but when they got to a school like Detroit King, Divine Child, or even Chelsea, a team with depth, the Jaguars had issues. They ran into those issues earlier this year as Dexter was able to run out lines that were strictly for offense and defense that were able to keep them rested, while the Jaguars had players playing on both sides, which caused them to get gassed quicker.
Dexter
Running Ronny
Ronny Johnson was on fire in the pre-district win over the Jaguars. Johnson made the Jaguars defense look like a block of Swiss cheese as he ran for 187 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries. His longest run of the night was a 55-yard touchdown run down the sideline in the first half. Ronny looked like he was putting out no effort as he ran all over the Jaguars.
Holden Was the Call
Freshman Holden Niemi, if you didn’t know the name before today, you should learn it now. Niemi only had three catches for 93 yards, but he made all of them count, as two went for touchdowns. One of his touchdowns came on a 27-yard screen pass in the second quarter to give the Dreadnaughts a 19-6 lead. His second touchdown was a 33-yard score with 11 minutes left in the game that put them up 47-9, which was the final score of the game. After the game, Niemi said that it was great but also overwhelming to think about his performance in his first playoff game as a freshman.
Young Core
After losing in the semifinals a year ago, the Dreadnaughts also said goodbye to a star-studded senior class that included Cole Cabana and Micha Davis, who are at Michigan, and Brennan Paracheck, who’s at Michigan State. This season started on a rocky note as they started the season 0-2, but the young Dreadnaughts were able to right the ship behind Junior Running Back Ronny Johnson, who finished the season with over 1300 yards and 23 touchdowns. Sophomore Quarterback Cooper Arnedt green into his own, as well as a budding star in Freshman Holden Niemi, made Dexter a team to watch. With only four Senior starters for the Dreadnaughts, it’s not a watch out. It’s a we’re here to the SEC and the State of Michigan.