Wyandotte Football Overwhelmed by Woodhaven 64-36

Wyandotte Roosevelt suffered its worst Downriver League defeat in nearly three years Friday night, losing at Woodhaven 64-36. The last time the Bears were beaten by more than three points in league play was a 35-0 loss to Melvindale on Oct. 16, 2009.

Woodhaven’s (5-1) rushing attack was too much for Roosevelt (5-1), which now falls into a first-place tie in the Downriver League with the Warriors and Taylor Truman.

The Bears gave up nearly 800 yards of total offense, most of which came courtesy of a rushing attack that looked unstoppable all night. Woodhaven's Mickey Sutton rushed for five touchdowns and gained 274 yards in the contest.

Wyandotte defensive lineman Hunter Schmittou said his team’s struggles were not the result of lackluster play or poor preparation, but rather an opponent that had the upper hand.

“It wasn’t a lack of effort, it wasn’t bad coaching, it was none of that,” Schmittou said. “They performed well, there was nothing we could really do.”

Roosevelt will recover from the defeat, he said.

“It’s going to be alright, we’re going to bounce back,” Schmittou said. “We’re just going to go 10 times harder next week. We’ll be okay.”

The Bears (5-1) were down 20 points in the second quarter, but battled back and stayed within striking distance until early in the third quarter.

Wyandotte’s first score was a 10-yard touchdown reception by Aaron O’Meara, cutting the deficit to 20-7 with about four minutes left in the second quarter.

About three minutes later quarterback Kevin Matejko tossed a 44-yard bomb to Brandon Sowards in the end zone, slicing Woodhaven’s lead to six points.

With a few seconds left in the half, the Warriors added a field goal, leaving the Bears down 23-14 going to the locker room.

Helping to set up that quick field goal was a personal foul penalty against the Bears, which was something that plagued the team Friday night, including a penalty resulting in the ejection of linebacker Damon Singleton.

The Warriors scored first in the second half, going up 30-14 early in the third quarter. Only one minute later, however, Aaron Robison ran in a touchdown for the Bears, and following a successful 2-point conversion, brought the visitors to within eight points.

It was the closest the Bears would get, as the Warriors pulled away with two long rushing touchdowns, scored only a few seconds apart. Woodhaven accomplished it by recovering a kickoff after the first touchdown, then scoring again on the first play from scrimmage to go up 44-22.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors added three more touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving. Wyandotte’s Devan Stewart and David Skarzynski each had a touchdown catch in the quarter, but ultimately added points that were of little consequence to the outcome.

Following the game, Roosevelt head coach Ron Adams said the team’s failure to recover from its early struggles is what led to the lopsided loss.

“When we got down early, we did not respond very well,” Adams said. “Instead of playing together as a team, we played as individuals and made a lot of poor decisions and you can’t do that, not against a team like Woodhaven.” 

Game Leaders

Kevin Matejko completed 21 passes, throwing for 358 yards and four touchdowns. Stewart finished the night with nine catches for 158 yards and a touchdown. Sowards caught six passes for 118 yards and one touchdown.

A Look Ahead

The Bears take on Gibraltar Carlson next Friday, which will be homecoming night in Wyandotte. The Marauders (4-2) lost 23-22 Friday against Allen Park, leaving them tied for second place in the league with the Jaguars (4-2).