BOYNE CITY — Not many would say Boyne City’s football team followed the script this season.
After the way the Ramblers started this fall, only a storyteller could have envisioned the season they’ve enjoyed.
Boyne City started with just 17 varsity players in August. After moving up some from the JV squad and losing their opener to Standish-Sterling 33-14, the Ramblers picked up a couple of wins. They then fell in Week 4 to Kingsley, last year’s Division 6 champion, 26-20.
But that’s where the losses stopped. Boyne City is on an eight-game winning streak, which included a 21-15 victory over Kingsley in the district final two weeks ago.
And when the Ramblers found themselves down 14-0 to Reed City midway through the second quarter last week in their Division 6 regional final, nobody would have blamed them for abandoning the script.
But there was still more story to tell, and junior Owen Hewitt’s number was called for the next chapter.
Hewitt took over against the Coyotes, scoring four touchdowns to lead Boyne to a 34-21 win that advanced the Ramblers to Saturday’s state semifinal against Lansing Catholic.
“It wasn’t a dire situation,” Boyne City coach Dave Suttle said. “Our quarterback, Drew Neer, all year long has run our offense very well; and when we need a big play, he’s always there. We threw a little curl, dig route over the middle to Owen, and he went 63 yards for the score and kind of rejuvenated our team.”
Neer, also a junior, has connected with Hewitt and senior Jaden Alger the most this season. Hewitt’s first TD came with 1:22 left in the first half. Hewitt’s second was Boyne’s first offensive play of the second half and tied the game at 14-14.
It may have been Suttle scripting Hewitt’s performance.
Suttle expected Reed City to focus on stopping senior running back Ryan Spate, who has nearly 1,800 yards on the ground this season.
“Owen looked too good in practice last week, and we knew Owen was going to have a game,” Suttle said. “They were keying so hard on Ryan. We figured this was going to be the week, and we put some things in the game plan for him.”
Hewitt was extremely fired up coming out of halftime break, the sixth-year coach noted.
“Owen’s been our big-play guy all year,” said Suttle. “He’s got probably 600 yards receiving, and I think he’s scored 15 touchdowns between receiving and rushing. He’s been there but hadn’t had that ‘wow’ game yet — that ‘Hey, who is this kid?’ And that was his game.”
The tough times this season from the small numbers to early losses united the team and created success, their coach proudly noted.
“We have made lifelong friends,” Suttle said. “We’ve learned how to help other people and depend on each other. The boys keep throwing out there that they truly feel like they are all one family now. There’s all kinds of kids in this group. They have each other’s back. They’re not looking to blame anybody or point fingers. They’re just a solid group of gritty kids.”
Defensively, the Ramblers also have been led by Spate. He’s been involved in nearly 100 tackles. Sophomore Hyker McKinney has been involved in more than 70 tackles, and Alger, junior Thomas Ager, senior Ryan Chapp, Hewitt and sophomore Ben Stanek are right behind them in solo tackles and assists.
Chapp and senior Leon Xiong have anchored the defensive line for the third straight year, Suttle pointed out.
“They’ve really stepped up this year, and they have pretty good stats,” Suttle said. “They are big-time leaders.”
The offensive line, in particular seniors Wiley Belcher and Zach Herrick, also continues to impress.
“They keep getting better every week and just keep pushing on,” Suttle said.
Win or lose this week or next, this team’s legacy already is solidified.
“I want this group to be remembered as the group that may have been counted out by a lot of other people or may have been overlooked,” Shuttle indicated. “We have a pretty good tradition of having a winning program, and we’ll make the playoffs and things like this, but this team sticks together and gets through the rough times and just never gives up.”
Saturday’s D6 state championship semifinal against Lansing Catholic is set to kick off at 1 p.m. at the Brookwood Athletic Complex in Clare.