Bears Blow Past Southgate to Win District Title

With a 28-21 win against Southgate Anderson on Friday night, captured the district title and will advance to the regional final next week.

Not only did the Bears (10-1) move on, they also avenged , a game that resulted in Roosevelt’s first regular season loss in two years.

With each squad’s season on the line this time, however, Wyandotte came out on top and the Titans can now only look to next year.

Coming into the game Friday, another tough battle between the two teams was expected. And that’s exactly what the fans in attendance got.

The game was a stalemate early on as both teams remained scoreless in the first quarter.

Each squad, however, put up points within the first minute of the second quarter.

Southgate’s Caleb Wilson scored on a 31-yard touchdown run at the 11:18 mark, putting the Bears down 7-0.

On Roosevelt’s ensuing possession, senior running back Tyler Dunn tied the game on the first play from scrimmage, rushing 51 yards to the end zone. 

A poor Anderson punt late in the second quarter set up Wyandotte deep in Titans’ territory. After a few short runs by Dunn, junior quarterback Kevin Matejko hit junior receiver Devan Stewart with a 10-yard touchdown pass, giving Roosevelt a 14-7 lead going into the half.

To start the second half, Southgate’s Devon Bronson immediately tied the game, running in a 67-yard touchdown on the second play of the third quarter.

With the ball then in Roosevelt’s hands, senior running back Hunter Matt helped lead the team down the field for a 61-yard scoring drive. Matt rushed for two key first downs, then powered in from two yards out for a score, giving the Bears a 21-14 advantage.

Wyandotte head coach Ron Adams said the scoring drive was a testament to his team’s resiliency.

“The Bronson run put us on our heels a little bit,” Adams said. “I was kind of curious to see how we were going to respond, but we came back and put together a nice, long drive.”

Late in the third quarter, Dunn came up big again, this time both on offense and defense.

First, he picked off a pass deep in the Titans’ territory, then cashed in on the ensuing possession, scoring from 5 yards out to put his team up by two touchdowns. 

Southgate was able to cut the deficit to 28-21 in the middle of the fourth quarter, but in the process ate up about seven minutes of the clock during the drive.

Using so much time was costly for Anderson, as it only got one more opportunity on offense, a possession that lead to a turnover on downs.  

With about 1:30 left in the game, Southgate had a shot to get the ball if they could stop the Wyandotte offense on fourth down. Instead, the Titans were flagged with a penalty that gave Roosevelt a first down, allowing the Bears to run out the clock and walk off with the district title.

“It feels awesome,” said senior offensive lineman Timmy Veenstra. “Especially after we lost two weeks ago. It feels amazing, especially being district champs.”

On Thursday night, about 24 hours before kickoff,. The men, who were invited by Adams, were a positive influence and motivating factor for the team's win against rival Southgate, Adams said.

“The alumni guys did a great job of really communicating the right message to our players in terms of what Wyandotte football is all about,” he said. “Obviously there were some inspirational things that carried over to tonight’s game.”

Game Leaders

Dunn rushed for 142 yards on 24 carries and scored two touchdowns. Stewart had four catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. Matejko was 5-11 for 67 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore kicker Jacob Simpson was a perfect 4-4 on extra point attempts.

A Look Ahead

Wyandotte will take on Detroit Martin Luther King at home next week in the regional final of the state playoffs. The team crushed Allen Park 41-0 on Friday night, paving their way to a regional matchup against Wyandotte at 7 p.m. Friday.

State Champs! High School Sports Show was on hand Friday night at Roosevelt. Highlights of the game will be shown at 11:30 a.m. Sunday on CW50.