HI HO, HI HO, OFF TO THE PLAYOFFS THE BIG REDS GO!
On a night that the Port Huron High Big Reds had to win…THEY DID. The weather was lowsy again (GO FIGURE) but the results certainly weren’t. The stage was set and the bottom line was more then clear going into this one. Win and the Big Reds would improve to 6-3 after their 9 game regular season and make the MHSAA Playoffs for the 3rd straight year. Lose and they’d fall to 5-4 and could only get in with help. Controlling your own destiny is certainly easier then having someone else deciding your fate. The Big Reds no longer have to worry about that now though as PH is back in the playoffs where they belong. The Warren Woods Tower Titans (3-6) clearly were no match for the Big Reds who did what they wanted when they wanted to in a 46-16 route. In the MHSAA, a 6 win season or better automatically guarantees you a spot in the 256 team playoffs. Any team with a 5-4 record can still get in only if there aren’t enough 6 win teams to go around. Total points amongst the 5-4 teams would then settle it. Again, after a great Week 9 the only thing the Big Reds now have to worry about is… …what talented team they’ll face this Friday Night in the playoffs. Usually 6 wins won’t get you a home playoff game but stranger things have happened.
The Big Reds had a 46-0 halftime lead on this night and that was more then enough to beat a struggling last place MAC GOLD team that came into this game having lost their last 3. In my opinion, Warren Woods Tower had no business even playing this game. They were clearly outmatched everywhere and on paper, everything that happened on Friday Night was supposed to happen. Knowing it was a last place team in a division under the MAC BLUE, you had to like the Big Reds chances going in and with good reason. Four first half rushing touchdowns, 1 on the pass, and interception and a safety was how PH scored in the first half. They didn’t score again in the game but at that point they really didn’t have to. As always, Big Red Head Coach – Ryan Mullins was very happy with how his defense played on the whole. With a halftime shutout, why wouldn’t he?
This was the best that Big Red RB – Marc Titus (117 rushing yards and 2 TD’s) has run the ball since Week 3, while back-up/starting Big Red QB – Jarrett Chapman (113 yards and a score) was the other huge rusher for PH who really needed to run the ball like this considering the brutal weather took away many long pass opportunities with Foster that they would normally have. In fact, Foster didn’t even record a catch in the game but he didn’t need to. The biggest news about this game was the return of Big Red starting QB – Justin Black who saw his first action since going down in Week 3 with a knee injury. Getting him reps and preparing for next week was absolutely crucial and despite limited playing time, Black still delivered with a first quarter passing TD. The weather was very similar to the Oct. 9th game where Sterling Heights came to Memorial Stadium in another horrible, rainy evening where The Big Reds could do very little offensively. The difference was 1 kickoff return from Foster. Of course, that was Sterling Heights. Against Mac Blue calibre talent you would expect the Big Reds to have to use Foster in some capacity. Against Warren Woods Tower, it clearly didn’t matter. Port Huron clearly won this game behind its rushing attack. At 398 rushing yards to just 123, its obvious where the greatest mismatch was. Chapman was clearly the difference and the Big Reds were certainly lucky to have a back-up QB with so much great rushing ability in Black’s absence. It was nice to see back-up and senior RB – Damaine Jackson get some playing time. Jackson went 6 for 54 and had both a TD and 2-point conversion on the same drive. It was a judgement call by Mullins on how long he would leave his starters in during this blowout and due to a lot of Big Red scoring, Jackson finally got the playing time he deserved and made the most of it. Big Red WR – Steve Sawher should also be mentioned. Number 18 had 2 catches for 51 yards. It’s pretty easy to forget Sawher when you have a guy like a David Foster but it’s not due to lack of talent from Sawher, that’s for sure.
Tonight, during the MHSAA football pairing show, The Big Reds will find out who their next week opponent will be and where they will likely have to travel to. Like last season against Warren De La Salle, it’s going to be a very tough matchup no matter what. The main thing is, Port Huron is back in the playoffs for yet another season. It’s a tribute to Coach Ryan Mullins for continuously having his kids ready game after game, year after year but mainly all of the Big Red players should be pleased with themselves. With Black going down for most of the season, this was perhaps the most impressive Big Red team yet because they overcame huge injuries and still got to the playoffs. Way to go guys and as always, congratulations to the great Big Red seniors and best of luck to you all wherever your future takes you.
All pictures in this article are property of the Port Huron Times Herald. From top to bottom, left to right and front to back…Big Red Head Coach – Ryan Mullins, Big Red defenders, Dominic Schultz and Ron Monzo attempting to tackle Titan WR – Rayshawn Nance and finally, one of the players of the game – Jarrett Chapman.
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Looking forward to the Big Reds this year.This team is loaded with juniors with talent.