HOLTON – Sitting around during “Selection Sunday” can be very nerve-wracking, particularly for teams that are on the bubble of making the playoffs.
Holton entered the final weekend of the regular season needing a win to help solidify a playoff berth, since they had only four wins in the first seven week, but did earn a forfeit win in week 8.
But the Red Devils failed to get that victory on Friday, falling to a one-win Newaygo squad 43-30 at Red Devils Stadium.
The Red Devils are now 5-4 on the season, and will wait and see if they will sneak into the Division 8 state playoffs, which begin next week.
“It’s never a good feeling when you’re on the bubble and that it’s going to go down to a playoff point,” said Holton coach Alex Smith. “I thought we had a great week of practice, but we just weren’t able to finish. We can’t win games giving up big plays and 43 points.”
[1]Despite the loss, senior quarterback Austin Fowler had another monstrous game, throwing for 257 yards on 26-for-37 passing with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Fowler finished the season with 1,835 yards passing with 28 touchdowns.
“He is the leader of our team,” Smith said. “We go as he goes, and it’s been a blessing to coach that kid.”
Newaygo took an odd 2-0 lead after Holton had a bad snap on a punt attempt in the end zone that resulted in a safety with 5:52 left in the first quarter.
The Lions added a touchdown four plays later with a 15-yard scoring pass from quarterback Grant Harkness to Dylan Bazzett with 4:58 left in the opening quarter.
Newaygo led 9-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Red Devils drove the ball inside the Newaygo 20-yard line on their next possession, but fumbled and lost the ball on the first play of the second quarter.
[2]Holton forced the Lions to punt on their next possession, then drove the ball 43 yards on seven plays to get on the board. The drive ended when Fowler threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Brett Hosmer with 6:51 left in the second quarter to cut Holton’s deficit to 9-6.
The Red Devils forced a turnover on downs on their next defensive possession at their own 37-yard line, but turned the ball over again on their first offensive play on an interception.
The Lions responded by scoring on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Harkness to Josiah Long.
Newaygo led 16-6 with 2:18 left in the first half.
The Lions recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, then closed out the first half scoring on a two-yard touchdown pass from Harkness to Remy Wells with 13 seconds remaining.
Newaygo had a commanding 23-6 lead at halftime.
The Red Devils stopped Newaygo on its first offensive possession of the second half by forcing a punt.
[3]Holton then scored on its second possession of the third quarter after a 69-yard, seven play drive that was capped off with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Fowler to Kevin Erickson.
Fowler converted on the two-point conversion with a pass to Rice Robins to cut the Red Devils’ deficit to 23-14.
The Lions opened the fourth quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by Harkness to take a 30-14 lead with 9:48 remaining in the game.
Newaygo got the ball back with another interception. Jayden Joseph scored on a five-yard run with 3:04 left in the contest to give the Lions a 37-14 lead.
Holton fought back with a 27-yard touchdown completion from Fowler to Erickson with 1:49 remaining to cut the deficit to 37-22.
The Red Devils then failed to stop Newaygo on its last possession, allowing a 40-yard touchdown run by Joseph with 1:22 remaining to give the Lions a 43-22 advantage.
Holton then closed out the scoring with a 15-yard pass from Fowler to Robins with three seconds remaining.
Erickson led the Red Devils with nine receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns, Kaleb Nichols caught seven passes for 50 yards, Robins had six receptions for 50 yards with a touchdown and Hosmer had three catches for 57 yards and a score.
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