Napoleon, MI. – The 8-0 Addison Panthers traveled to 8-0 Napoleon to take on the Pirates in a high noon showdown in the Cascades Conference championship on a cold rainy Saturday. In a big battle of the unbeaten, it was the Panthers who came away with a 24-0 victory, in spite of having the highest-scoring offense in the state of Michigan, they won with the defense holding the Pirates to only five offensive possessions. .
Addison started with the ball and drove down the field to the Pirates 35 quickly but the Pirates defense held strong and forced a turnover on downs after a 4th and 7 pass was broken up by Holden Van Poppel. The Pirates moved the ball down the field and they failed on a 4th down conversion also.
Both teams remained scoreless until Addison scored on its second drive, going 77 yards in 13 plays ending with senior Spencer Brown rushing the ball in on a one-yard score. Byron Creech added the two-point conversion.
The Pirates kept battling back but were limited by penalties that came at the worst possible times stalling their drives. The Panthers took an 8-0 lead into the half.
The Pirates started the second half with the ball but their drive was stopped. Both teams battled throughout the third but in the fourth quarter, Addison used several long drives of 7:37 and 6:37 to score. The first went 80 yards in 14 plays with Brown scoring on an 11-yard run, taking a pitch to the right and finding enough space to get to the pylon. The next began after a Napoleon turnover on downs, going 45 yards in 13 plays with Brown again scoring, this time from three yards out.
The Pirates drove downfield with just a few minutes to go in the game and had the ball at the Panthers 11 but had three passes fall incomplete and Pirate’s quarterback Grant Bradley was sacked on fourth down ending the Pirates drive.
It is the first 9-0 regular season for Addison since 2006 when they reached the Division 6 district final which they lost to Olivet. The championship is also Addison’s fourth in five years.
Napoleon, last year’s Cascades Conference champions, finished the regular season at 8-1 and will wait to see who they take on in the playoffs as they will be announced on Sunday, October 22.
The Panthers were 9-of-14 on third-down conversions and 4-of-5 on fourth down in the game. Brown finished with 22 carries for 97 yards and three touchdowns. Byron Creech had 19 carries for 106 yards and took the ball in three times on two-point conversions.
