The Mt Pleasant Oilers and Midland Chemics fought until the final second. In the end, a last-second field goal by Gavin Archbold lifted Midland to a 31-28 victory at home.
Mt Pleasant came out of the gate strong. Jerry Parra found Jayden Perry for an 8-yard touchdown pass. Logan Buczkowski, in his first game since week one, punched a 3-yard touchdown into the end zone giving the Oilers a 14-0 lead.
Midland finally found the scoreboard late in the second quarter when Cade Methner found Mitch Reid for an 11-yard touchdown reception. Mt Pleasant led 14-7 at halftime.
The Chemics continued to find life in the second half. Vondre Warren found the end zone on a 6-yard run, tying the game.
Midland found themselves driving once again in the fourth quarter. But a huge turnover gave the Oilers great field position. Darren Bergman punched a 4-yard run in the end zone to retake the lead. Warren and the Chemics responded quickly with an 18-yard touchdown run of their own.
Hunter Buczkowski found the end zone once more with just over a minute remaining. The Oilers took a 28-21 lead, and a likely victory. The Chemics wouldn’t quit, however, as Methner found Ethan Getgood for a 47-yard touchdown pass with only 35 second remaining. Mt Pleasant quarterback Jerry Parra threw a pick with seconds remaining, setting up several Midland first downs, and ultimately the game-winning field goal.
With arguably the biggest play of the night for any of our area teams, Gavin Archbold earned our JNR Engraving Player of the Game honors.
The Mt Pleasant Oilers at 1-3 can’t afford another loss if they hope to return to the playoffs this season. A tough game against conference foe Lapeer next weekend could leave the Oilers on the outside looking in from the playoff hunt. Midland travels to Bay City Central. The Wolves defeated Arthur Hill tonight.
We travel the Evart next Friday to follow the Beal City Aggies in their quest to avenge a shocking loss last season against the Wildcats. Join Chris Spachman and Matt Park starting at 6:45PM on My 1043.
