FOOTBALL: Burford, Stoney Creek hold off Chippewa Valley for first playoff win
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ROCHESTER HILLS — Please forgive Camron Burford if he is a little sore come Saturday morning.
Perhaps the Rochester Stoney Creek senior deserves an ice bucket, a reward … a medal?
Behind one of the state’s top offensive lines, the running back produced a workman-like performance Friday night, rushing the ball 46 times for 246 yards and two touchdowns, as the undefeated Cougars toppled visiting Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, 28-21, in a Division 1 district semifinal.
“The adrenaline was working overtime tonight for me, I’m still so amped (up). I feel like I can run another mile,” smiled Burford. “We want to capture this feeling, this kind of effort and keep it rolling. We can do it.
“I just got behind my offensive line (all night), put my hand on their backs and they guided me,” credited Burford of his senior-laden line. “They are so good. I couldn’t do this without them.”
Third-year Stoney Creek coach Nick Merlo was quite ecstatic after the win, which is one of — if not the biggest — victories in the school’s 19-season history.
Burford’s running mate, sophomore Jon Fogler, left with a shoulder injury in the second quarter, which left Burford to shoulder most of the load on the Cougars’ run-oriented offense. Stoney Creek attempted 66 run plays and five pass plays from scrimmage, dominating the game clock.
“Cam’s 5-10, 180 (pounds), but he plays like he’s 6-4, 250,” beamed Merlo. “The kid gives everything he has, every inch of himself, every time he steps on that field. He’s a football player’s football player.”
The win moved Stoney Creek (7-0) to next weekend’s district finals for the first time, and it was the first postseason win for the Cougars. Stoney Creek was previously 0-4 in playoff games.
“This is such an amazing team effort. We couldn’t have done what we’ve done (so far) without every single person contributing. It’s not about me,” continued Merlo. “From the players, the coaches, the (administration), the parents — everybody. We have a great group of players that want to win. I was fortunate enough to have a great bunch of sophomores when I took over that are now seniors to buy in to the program. They have all sacrificed to get us to this point. They make elite choices on and off the field, and now it’s paying off this season.”
The Cougars drew a first-round bye after Utica withdrew from the state tournament and the Cougars’ would-be opponent Macomb L’Anse Creuse North slid up to the No. 7 seed in the district. That left Stoney Creek the open week to await for its first postseason win.
The Cougars previously lost in the pre-district round in 2006, 2007, 2013 and 2019, the latter a 21-14 setback to Lake Orion in a game where Stoney Creek used its ball-control offense to maintain possession for long periods of time only to come up agonizingly short.
Not this time.
Senior quarterback Ryan Eckhout led the Cougars to four touchdown drives and another where they gained four first downs to run out the clock and end the game.
On the go-ahead score, the Cougars got the ball back on their own 20 with 4:48 remaining in the third quarter. Sixteen plays later Burford ran behind his talented line for a 2-yard score with 8:13 remaining in the contest to put Stoney Creek up for good at 28-21.
Stoney Creek forced Chippewa Valley to punt away on its next drive before the Cougars got the ball back and ran out the final 6:23 of clock and gaining four first downs along the way. The Cougars had only seven drives and one ran out the clock to end the first half and the other to end the contest.
“Those first downs were huge,” admitted senior Grant Lowery, one of those talented senior lineman, one the final clock-eating drive. “That’s what we always try to do, and (move the football).”
Overall, Stoney Creek amassed 388 yards of offense, including 303 yards on the ground, picked up 23 first downs, and most importantly held onto the ball for a majority of the game. That effort sends the Cougars into the Sweet 16 for the first time.
Chippewa Valley, the 2018 state champion, showed flashes at times this season of being a really good football team. The Big Reds did that in the second half when they rallied back from a 21-7 deficit to tie the game at 21-21.
Stoney Creek went ahead 21-7 with 8:38 to go in the third quarter on a swift 7-play drive. Burford rushed the ball 24 yards down to the Big Reds 3-yard-line only to see the ball coughed up and senior Grant Lowery scooped the ball up and run it into the end zone.
Chippewa Valley scored on its next two drives to tie the game at 21-21.
Junior quarterback Ryan Schuster hit senior Jaillen Howze with a 53-yard touchdown pass for the first score with 7:08 left in the third quarter. The Big Reds stunned the Cougars and recovered an onside kick on the Stoney Creek 49. Five plays later, senior Darrel Hawkins ran around left for a 9-yard touchdown with 4:49 to play in the period to knot the score.
“We did a nice job coming back on them to tie the game, but Stoney Creek has a great offensive line and they kept the ball for long periods of time. We just couldn’t stop them,” said Chippewa Valley coach Scott Merchant. “We made some big plays, but they were able to keep the ball away from us in the fourth quarter and eat up so much of the clock that it did us in. (Stoney Creek) beat us up front. They played their style of game at the line of scrimmage and we could never get the ball back when we needed to. We couldn’t never get any momentum on them in the first half or when they went up 28-21.”
Stoney Creek led 14-7 at the half, as the the Cougars controlled play with 39 plays from scrimmage against only 11 for Chippewa Valley.
As they have all season, Stoney Creek (7-0) opened the game with a12-play, 80-yard drive that ended when Burford broke three tackles and scored on a 12-yard run with 5:26 left in the first quarter. The drive chewed up 6:34 of clock to set the tone.
Chippewa Valley (4-4) struck right back by scoring on its very first play. From their own 16, Schuster connected with junior Cephus Harris on an 84-yard short catch and run and Harris split defenders and cruised all the way for a paycheck.
After turning the ball over on downs on the Chippewa Valley 14 when the Big Reds stopped the Cougars by a mere inches, Stoney Creek got the ball back with 7:36 left in the half. Another long, 11-play drive over 49 yards ended on a fourth-and-21 call. Eckhout found a wide open junior Eric Boothe along the left side and he hauled in a 28-yard touchdown strike for the 14-7 halftime advantage.
Lance Fogelberg hit all four extra points for Stoney Creek. Bruford also had an interception, while senior Michael Lambert and Lowery recorded sacks and the Cougars defense pressured Schuster on multiple plays whenever the Big Reds had the football.
Stoney Creek will face Romeo, the 2015 Division 1 state champ, at 7 p.m. next Friday to try to win its first district title and advance to the Elite Eight.
Schuster finished 8-for-16 passing for 246 yards and one interception. Harris had five catches for 146 yards and freshman lineman Anthony Wright recorded eight tackles for Chippewa Valley.
The Big Reds only had 25 total plays from scrimmage.
Category: Featured Articles, Football, High School, High School (M-Z), Most Recently Updated Stories, NOS reference, Prep Wraps, Rochester Stoney Creek, Sport, Top Stories, Uncategorized
