The Mt Pleasant Oilers and Flint Southwestern Knights battled through the rainiest night of the high school football season. When the final whistle sounded, Mt Pleasant walked away with a slim 14-13 victory.
Both teams went three-and-out to start the game. But the Oilers found the end zone first when Jerry Parra connected with Bailey Mitchell. Flint Southwestern responded in the second quarter with a touchdown of their own. Altraveon Huddleston caught the TD pass from Zamneer Wallace, but the Knights missed a costly extra point opportunity. Mt Pleasant took a 7-6 lead into halftime.
After a halftime downpour, the Knights came out of the gate with a Wallace touchdown run. The Oilers seemed to have no answer offensively. Jason McIntyre even threw the spread offense at Flint Southwestern to help the Oilers in the wet conditions.
Early in the 4th quarter, the Oilers patience finally paid off when Jerry Parra ran into the end zone giving Mt Pleasant a 13-7 lead. The Knights threatened, but the Oiler defense never broke. Thomas Arends caught a Flint Southwestern interception in the end zone in the final seconds to seal the Oiler victory.
Jerry Parra passed for one touchdown and rushed for another accounting for all of Mt Pleasant’s 14 points. For his efforts, he earned our JNR Engraving Player of the Game honors.
Mt Pleasant remains on the outside looking in for a playoff spot with a 2-4 record. With the bottom half of the Saginaw Valley League on their horizon, the Oilers hope to get above .500 on the season. They host Bay City Western next week. Meanwhile Flint Southwestern continues to look for their first win over the season against rival Flint Powers.
Next week, we travel to Roscommon for the battle of the Jack Pine Conference. Clare plays Roscommon, and the winner likely takes home the conference title. The Members First Credit Union pre-game show begins at 6:45. And don’t forget to check here for the latest high school sports scores from other mid-Michigan teams.
