After several Fridays of cleanly executed football with few mistakes, the Blissfield Royals came into their homecoming bout as a favorite over Hillsdale. Even with two key players – Josh Eisenmann and Nathan Chappuies – sitting out with injuries, buzz was the Royal team had the weapons to wage a successful battle.
“I feel like we have individuals that can step up in the absence of those two,” said Coach Ryan Love. “Our game change was changed slightly, however a few missed opportunities proves to be costly.”
Very costly, in fact, resulting in a 28-20 Royals loss to the Hornets and putting the home team in a must-win situation for the last two games of the regular season if they are to earn a playoff berth.
The game started off tight in scoring, but fraught with interceptions and fumbles from the opening plays plaguing both teams on a field damp from a steamy day of rain. And Blissfield was further hampered by a spate of penalties as it tried to pass its way to a win with quarterback Gavin Ganun launching 37 passes and connecting on 16 of them for 221 yards.
For a complete rundown of the game as well as a photos from homecoming, please pick up the Oct. 11, 2017, edition of The ADVANCE.
While Blissfield battled for a comeback in the final quarter, two third-quarter mistakes which had put the Hornets in the Royal red zone twice and led to two touchdowns and extra points was just too much to overcome.