DETROIT (AP) — Dan Campbell has never been the kind of coach who points fingers at his staff or players.

On Sunday, he took full responsibility for a second-quarter disaster that cost the Lions in a 20-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I asked our team to improve from last week and we did improve,” Campbell said. “And then their coach costs them with a critical error. That’s 100 percent on me, and I told them that.”

With 18 seconds left in the first half and the Lions out of timeouts, Jared Goff completed an 8-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the middle of the field. St. Brown was tackled at the Tampa Bay 9 and the clock kept running.

As Goff signaled for the offense to get lined up for a spike, Detroit’s field-goal unit raced onto the field, only to stop, start again and then race back to the sidelines.

By that point, Goff had taken the snap and spiked the ball with four seconds left, but flags immediately flew for what referee Clay Martin kindly called “12 men on the field at the snap” — it had been at least 20. Since the clock was running in the last two minutes of the half, the Lions were assessed a 5-yard penalty and a 10-second runoff, ending the second quarter.

If the Lions had kicked a field goal, they would have been down by four points at halftime instead of seven. If the second half had played out the same way, they might have been down 20-19 in the last minute with a chance to kick a winning field goal.

Instead, needing a touchdown, they turned the ball over on downs with 53 seconds left. The defense held, but a second drive ended when Goff threw three straight incomplete passes from the Buccaneers 26.

Mayfield runs for a TD and throws a TD pass, lifting Bucs to 20-16 win over Lions in playoff rematch

On fourth-and-10 with six seconds left, Goff bounced a short pass to Tom Kennedy, ending Detroit’s hopes of a hook-and-lateral play with time expiring.

“We had something set up for that play,” Goff said. “I just made a crap throw.”

Goff didn’t think the play at the end of the first half caused the loss, but he appreciated Campbell’s gesture.

“He’s at the top of the pyramid here, and when the guy at the top takes accountability — like he’s done throughout his career — it makes it easier for everyone else to do it,” Goff said. “But we had plenty of opportunities to overcome that and win the game.

Takeaways from Lions’ 20-16 loss: Buccaneers spoil Aidan Hutchinson’s heroic day

“We know he’s going to be hard on himself, but we, as players. have to be better.”

Goff was 34 for 55 for 307 yards with two interceptions. He only averaged 9.0 yards per completion, as opposed to Baker Mayfield’s 15.4, and many of those short completions came as the Lions went 1 for 7 in the red zone.

“I thought we were moving the ball really well, but they got really stingy in the red zone,” Goff said. “If we get a couple touchdowns down there, we probably win the game.”

— DAVE HOGG, Associated Press

Photo gallery from Lions’ 20-16 home loss to Tampa Bay

DETROIT (AP) — Baker Mayfield took one step back, planted his left foot and took off for a zig-zagging, 11-yard touchdown run that gave Tampa Bay the lead for good in a playoff rematch.

Mayfield had an 11-yard TD on a designed run one snap after converting a third down with another 11-yard run late in the third quarter, and the Buccaneers beat the Lions 20-16 on Sunday in a playoff rematch.

“I wasn’t expecting to get to the end zone from that far out, but I made a couple guys miss,” Mayfield said after the longest touchdown run of his career.

Tampa Bay (2-0) fell behind only once in the closely contested game, and it stopped Detroit (1-1) when it had two chances to drive for a go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes.

The Lions turned it over on downs at the Bucs 6 with 53 seconds left and again at their 26 with 2 seconds left.

Lions coach Dan Campbell lamented a mistake he made in the first half, causing confusion for his offense and special teams that had both units on the field. That drew a flag that ran off the clock and took away an opportunity to kick a short field goal and pull within four points.

“I asked this team to improve and they improved, but the coach cost them the game,” Campbell said. “It is a massive error on my part. I messed up.”

If Detroit made that field goal, it potentially would’ve been a kick away from winning the game in the fourth quarter.

“It was fortunate for us,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles acknowledged.

Detroit QB Jared Goff threw two interceptions and got a break when defenders dropped two other passes that could have been picked off.

Goff finished 34 of 55 for 307 yards, and the offense he leads was 1 of 7 in the red zone.

“That’s ultimately the difference in the game,” he said. “If we score a couple touchdowns down there, we probably win the game.

“I think that’s a good team and we fought hard, but we made too many mistakes.”

Mayfield, meanwhile, was efficient through the air by completing 12 of 19 passes for 185 yards, including a tiebreaking 41-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin in the second quarter, with an interception. He also ran four times for 35 yards. Godwin had seven catches for 117 yards.

Detroit beat the Bucs 31-23 in the divisional round in January at home after a 20-6 win last October on the road, but couldn’t overcome its miscues and missed opportunities at Ford Field.

Takeaways from Lions’ 20-16 loss: Buccaneers spoil Aidan Hutchinson’s heroic day

"It's so big for everybody on this team to stick together and get a different outcome than the last time we were here," Mayfield said.

Bowles will not be surprised if the teams meet again in the postseason.

"If we can get there in January, I'm sure they'll be there," he said.

The Lions were relegated to field goals until David Montgomery ran for a go-ahead, 1-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.

Detroit's Aidan Hutchinson had three sacks in the first quarter and finished with a career-high 4 1/2 sacks.

"We tried chipping him and tried to do a lot of things," Bowles said. "He made our life miserable."

Amon-Ra St. Brown had 11 receptions for 119 yards for the Lions.

Photo gallery from Lions’ 20-16 home loss to Tampa Bay

INJURIES

Bucs: DT Vita Vea left the game with a knee injury, and Bowles did not have an update on his condition after the game. Three starters — OT Luke Goedeke (concussion), DL Calijah Kancey (calf) and S Antoine Winfield Jr. (foot) — were inactive with injuries.

Lions: LB Alex Anzalone was knocked out of the game with a concussion and starting DE Marcus Davenport (groin) was inactive.

UP NEXT

Bucs: Host Denver on Sunday.

Lions: Play at Arizona on Sunday.

Campbell takes blame for clock-management disaster as Lions lose to Buccaneers, 20-16

The Detroit Lions were seeking to start an NFL season 2-0 for the first time since 2017.

In their way was another previous playoff opponent from last season. While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into the Week 2 contest as a depleted group on defense, their offense found success in their opening victory against the Washington Commanders.

The Detroit Lions were seeking to start an NFL season 2-0 for the first time since 2011.

In their way was another previous playoff opponent from last season. While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into the Week 2 contest as a depleted group on defense, their offense found success in their opening victory against the Washington Commanders.

Here are several takeaways from the Lions’ 20-16 loss to Tampa Bay:

 

KEY DEFENDERS FORCE TB INTO EARLY FG

No doubt, the Buccaneers wanted to target their key offensive weapons early in the contest.

After the Lions won the opening coin toss and deferred, wideout Chris Godwin was targeted early on the Buccaneers opening offensive drive.

Mayfield, who Terrion Arnold called a “risk-taker” earlier this week, quickly looked in the rookie’s direction, firing a deep shot to wideout Trey Palmer. The rookie was flagged for the third time in his young career, setting up Mayfield and his offense in prime field position.

Brian Branch broke up a pass in the end zone and Aidan Hutchinson pressured Mayfield to force the Buccaneers into a field goal try.

Late in the second quarter, Branch was able to pick off a Mayfield pass that was intended for Mike Evans, haulting a drive that could have resulted in Todd Bowles’ squad taking a two-score lead.

OFFICIALS MISS EARLY CALL

After the Buccaneers took an early 3-0 lead, the officials seemed to miss an interference call on wideout Jameson Williams.

Looking to be aggressive early, Goff dropped back to throw on Detroit’s first offensive play of the game. Unfortunately, cornerback Zyon McCollum intercepted the pass, as Williams was apparently interfered with, which disrupted his route.

The Buccaneers were able to extend their early lead to 6-0 on a 55-yard made field goal by Chase McLaughlin.

Mayfield runs for a TD and throws a TD pass, lifting Bucs to 20-16 win over Lions in playoff rematch

JAMESON WILLIAMS SPARKS OFFENSE

Entering Week 2, the discussion surrounding the former first-round pick was consistency, as the speedy wideout does not just want to have sporadic performances.

After the early turnover, Goff tested the Buccaneers secondary, successfully connecting on a 50-yard pass to Williams, who had gained clear separation from Jamel Dean.

The Buccaneers defense thwarted the efforts of the Lions their first occasion into the red zone, forcing Bates to make a 22-yard-field goal.

HUTCHINSON RECORDS SACKS IN BUNCHES

Aidan Hutchinson was a constant force in the backfield for the Lions, particularly with three sacks in the first quarter. He nearly derailed the Buccaneers' first drive, as he strip-sacked Mayfield to force a field goal try.

Hutchinson had sacks on each of Tampa Bay's first three drives. It was the third time in his career he has had three sacks or more in a game, and he became the fourth player since 1994 to have three sacks in the first quarter of a game.

The Michigan product has 10.5 sacks in his last four regular season games, which is the most by a Lions player over a four-game span in franchise history. He recorded another early in the second half and finished with 4.5 on the afternoon, a sack shy of a franchise record.

The former first round pick has become the first Lions player with four or more sacks in a game since Keith Ferguson did it back in 1986.

Photo gallery from Lions’ 20-16 home loss to Tampa Bay

SECONDARY BLUNDER ON TB'S FIRST TD

After Arnold missed time in the first half with a finger injury, the Buccaneers scored their first touchdown when the rookie returned.

Kindle Vildor had replaced the No. 24 overall pick for a series.

Mayfield was able to take advantage of miscommunication in the secondary, as Godwin was able to find himself completely wide open on a fake screen.

Amik Robertson fell victim to a fake screen and their appeared to be miscommunication regarding coverage on the back end.

Uncharacteristically, Detroit could not capitalize late in the second half, as several offensive players ran on the field prior to Goff spiking the football, resulting in a 10-second runoff and the half ending before a field goal try could be attempted.

At halftime, Campbell told the television broadcast, "I totally screwed my team."

AGGRESSIVENESS IN 2ND QUARTER IN DEFENSIVE BATTLE

After the Buccaneers first touchdown, Campbell dialed up the aggressiveness on Detroit's next offensive drive.

Seemingly stuffed, Detroit dialed up a fake punt from their own 20-yard line. Rookie Sione Vaki was on the receiving end of a 17-yard reception from punter Jack Fox, who has a solid passing track record on fake punts.

Later in the same drive, David Montgomery successfully ran on 4th-and-2 to move the chains.

Unfortunately, the drive stalled midway through the second quarter.

Campbell takes blame for clock-management disaster as Lions lose to Buccaneers, 20-16

OFFENSE GETS INTO RHYTHM IN 3RD, FAILS TO RECORD TDS

Detroit's first touchdown of the afternoon came towards the tail end of the third quarter.

Goff and the offense were able to convert on three third downs en route to a 12-play, 68-yard scoring drive that ate up 6:00 on the clock.

David Montgomery scored Detroit's first touchdown on a 1-yard scamper, and gave his team the lead,16-13, with a little over 3:00 remaining in the quarter.

The Buccaneers answered right away, as Mayfield drove his team 70 yards in six plays that only took a little over 2:00 off the clock. The veteran signal-caller showcased his scrambling abilities throughout the drive, and scored on an 11-yard run. It gave the Buccaneers a 20-16 lead.

Jahmyr Gibbs helped spark a scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter. A 22-yard scamper helped put Detroit in a position for the go-ahead touchdown.

Unfortunately, Goff threw an interception to Christian Izien with just over 7:00 remaining.

The Lions had two opportunities in the red zone at the end of the game, but both resulted in turnover on downs. The second of them, an incompletion to Tom Kennedy, ended the game.

This article was produced by the staff at Detroit Lions On SI. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions

The Lions had a five-game home winning streak snapped with a 20-16 loss at Ford Field to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, despite a decided statistical advantage, falling to 1-1 on the season.

Here are the sights from Sunday’s game:

Takeaways from Lions’ 20-16 loss: Buccaneers spoil Aidan Hutchinson’s heroic day

DETROIT (AP) — Riley Greene homered twice and drove in three runs, and the Detroit Tigers beat Baltimore 4-2 on Sunday to take two of three from the Orioles.

Greene hit a two-run homer with two outs in the third off Cade Povich (2-9) and a solo drive in the eighth against Gregory Soto. Greene leads the Tigers with 23 homers. He hit both homers off left-handers after entering the day batting .203 with four homers against lefties.

Detroit (77-73), which began the day 2 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the last AL wild card, has won six of eight.

Baltimore (84-64) dropped its second straight series and scored just six runs in the three games. The Orioles, who have lost six of eight, started the day two games back of the AL East-leading Yankees but in position for the top AL wild card.

Keider Montero (6-6) gave up five hits in five innings and Jason Foley got four straight outs for his 23rd save in 26 chances.

Povich allowed two runs, two hits and two walks in five innings while striking out eight.

Colt Keith boosted the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single in the sixth against right-hander Jacob Webb.

Adley Rutschman hit a two-run homer in the eighth against Will Vest, Rutschman’s 19th homer this season but first since Aug. 18.

Soto has allowed 30 home runs in his big league career but Greene’s was just the fifth by a left-handed batter.

Baltimore outfielder Heston Kjerstad was activated from the 10-day injured list after recovering from a concussion and went 0 for 2 and Webb was reinstated from the 15-day IL following a bout of right elbow inflammation. Left-hander Cole Irvin and infielder Nick Maton were designated for assignment.

UP NEXT

Orioles: RHP Albert Suárez (8-5, 3.39 ERA) will start the opener of a three-game home series against San Francisco on Tuesday night.

Tigers: RHP Seth Lugo (16-8, 2.94) starts for Kansas City on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against visiting Detroit.

— By DANA GAURUDER, Associated Press

Texas is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll for the first time in 16 years, replacing Georgia on Sunday after the Bulldogs struggled to remain unbeaten.

The Longhorns moved up a spot from No. 2 and received 35 first-place votes and 1,540 points. The Bulldogs, who have been No. 1 since the preseason poll, received 23 first-place votes and 1,518 points.

Ohio State received five first-place votes and stayed at No. 3 during an off week. No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Mississippi held their places and Tennessee moved up a spot to No. 6, flip-flopping with Southeastern Conference rival Missouri.

The last time the Longhorns were No. 1 was the middle of the 2008 season, when they spent three weeks at the top of the polls before losing a memorable game at Texas Tech in early November. The Longhorns are likely to settle into the top spot for at least another week with a home game against Louisiana-Monroe up next, possibly with Arch Manning as the starting quarterback.

Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, stepped in Saturday night against UTSA when Quinn Ewers went out with an abdomen injury that coach Steve Sarkisian said was not serious.

“There’s nothing like being in the game. Playing in front of 105,000 people is not the easiest thing to do. I’m really proud of Arch,” Sarkisian said.

A week after the SEC became the first conference to hold six of the first seven spots, the league repeated the feat.

There was some shuffling at the back of the top 10, with No. 8 Oregon and No. 9 Miami each moving up a spot and Penn State slipping back to No. 10.

POLL POINTS

Winning and dropping from No. 1 is not unusual. This is the 94th time it has happened since the poll started in 1936, and first time since Georgia and Alabama swapped No. 1 back and forth for a few weeks in 2022.

The Bulldogs needed a second-half rally to squeak by 13-12 at Kentucky — the same Kentucky team that was buried at home a week earlier by South Carolina. That was the fewest points scored by a No. 1 team in a victory since Alabama beat LSU 10-0 in 2016.

“I don’t know much about this team, but I found out more tonight than I’ve known to this point,” coach Kirby Smart told reporters after the game.

Georgia has dominated the top spot in the AP poll since 2021, with 39 appearances.

In its first season as a member of the SEC, Texas keeps No. 1 in the conference where it has resided for 50 of the last 52 polls, dating to the start of the 2021 season. Only Michigan of the Big Ten in the final two polls of last season has interrupted the streak of No. 1 rankings by the SEC, which includes 10 appearances by Alabama.

Looking ahead, both the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs are off next week to prepare for a likely top-five matchup in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Sept. 28 that should have voters thinking about who’s No. 1 again.

IN AND OUT

Boston College joined fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Georgia Tech in the brief-stay-after-a-long-drought club. The Eagles lost at Missouri and fell out of the rankings after moving in last week for the first time since 2018.

Arizona is also out for the first time this season after getting thumped by Kansas State.

Moving in for the first time this season was Illinois at No. 24. Texas A&M jumped back into the rankings at No. 25.

CONFERENCE CALL

The 18-team Big Ten matched a conference record (reached 11 times previously) with seven ranked teams.

SEC — 9 (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16, 25).

Big Ten — 7 (Nos. 3, 9, 10, 11, 18, 22, 24).

Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 12, 13, 14, 20).

ACC — 3 (Nos. 8, 19, 21).

MAC — 1 (No. 23).

Independent — 1 (No. 17).

RANKED VS. RANKED

No. 24 Illinois at No. 22 Nebraska, Friday. The last time the Cornhuskers hosted a game with both teams ranked was 2013 when No. 16 UCLA beat No. 23 Nebraska 41-21.

No. 6 Tennessee at No. 15 Oklahoma, Saturday. The Volunteers welcome the Sooners to the SEC.

No. 11 USC at No. 18 Michigan, Saturday. The Trojans’ first Big Ten game is exactly what the executives at Fox hoped for.

No. 12 Utah at No. 14 Oklahoma State, Saturday. The first big game between Big 12 teams that actually counts in the conference standings.

— By RALPH D. RUSSO, Associated Press

The Detroit Lions will have one of the best right tackles in the NFL available in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After missing practice Wednesday and Thursday, Penei Sewell returned to practice Friday and will be available to help one of the league’s top offensive line units.

Marcus Davenport, who had a stellar debut against the Rams, was ruled inactive after missing practice all week dealing with a groin injury.

Aaron Glenn’s defense will also welcome defensive DJ Reader into the fold. The veteran will make his Lions debut after being ruled inactive last week. He had been rehabbing a torn quadriceps tendon suffered last year while playing for the Cincinnati Bengals.

A prized free agency addition, Reader appears to be a solid fit along the defensive line capable of impacting the game against both the run and pass in defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s scheme.

“Well, I talked about that last week, that he’s a man’s man,” Glenn said. “When it comes to the run game, he’s going to be a huge addition to us, but I don’t want guys to just think that’s just who he is, because he has sneaky, athletic ability to be able to help on the passing game too, because he can push the pocket. Anytime you bring a player like that back in the fold, it only helps us as a defense.”

James Houston is active this week. Rookie cornerback Ennis Rakestraw is inactive.

Here is a complete list of Lions’ Week 2 inactives:

S Ifeatu Melifonwu

CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.

LB Trevor Nowaske

OL Giovanni Manu

OL Colby Sorsdal

WR Isaiah Williams

DL Marcus Davenport

This article was produced by the staff at Detroit Lions On SI. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions

DETROIT (AP) — One day after breaking up a no-hitter in the ninth inning, Gunnar Henderson homered and doubled to help the Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 on Saturday.

Henderson drove in two runs and scored twice to help the Orioles move within two games of the AL East-leading Yankees. The All-Star shortstop tripled with two out in the ninth for Baltimore’s only hit in a 1-0 loss to Detroit on Friday night.

Corbin Burnes (14-8) pitched seven innings of two-hit ball for Baltimore on Saturday.

“That’s his best start of the year,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “He just had everything going tonight.”

The Tigers trailed 4-0 going into the ninth, but Parker Meadows ended Detroit’s scoreless streak at 15 innings with a homer off Seranthony Domínguez. Colt Keith followed with a single, but Domínguez retired Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene on deep flyballs.

Wenceel Pérez struck out, but reached first when the ball got away from James McCann. Spencer Torkelson made it 4-2 with an RBI single before Zach McKinstry grounded out to first.

“We put on a nice fight at the end,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “These guys never quit. We know that.”

The Tigers (76-73) had won five of six. They are trying to track down the Twins (78-70) for the third AL wild card.

Burnes struck out seven and walked one.

“That’s as good as I have seen him in a long time,” McCann said. “That’s what your ace does — he gives you a chance to win big games.”

Beau Brieske tossed a scoreless first inning to become the first Tigers pitcher to start on back-to-back days since Hal Newhouser in 1946.

He retired the first four batters on Friday, but walked the first two hitters on Saturday before Anthony Santander grounded into a 3-6-1 double play. He then struck out Adley Rutschman to record an MLB-record fourth straight start without allowing a hit.

After walking to start the game, Henderson doubled off Ty Madden (1-1) in the third and scored on Cedric Mullins’ base hit.

Baltimore added three runs in the seventh.

With one out, Kenta Maeda hit Emmanuel Rivera with a pitch. Rivera took third on Livan Soto’s double and scored on McCann’s sacrifice fly. Henderson followed with a 106.7-mph line drive into the service tunnel behind the right-field fence.

“It is huge any time you can create some separation late in the game — that’s something we’ve had a tough time with this year,” Hyde said. “Soto gets the huge double, Mac does a great job of getting the ball in play and Gunnar gets a pitch to hit and puts an exclamation point on the inning.

“As you could see from the ninth, you can always use more runs.”

Henderson has 37 homers on the season. He has scored 113 runs, the most by an Oriole since Roberto Alomar’s franchise-record 132 in 1996.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Orioles: Hyde said reliever Yennier Cano wasn’t available due to “soreness,” but could pitch as soon as Sunday.

UP NEXT

The teams finish the series on Sunday afternoon in a game moved to 12:10 p.m. because of the Lions-Buccaneers game next door at Ford Field. Baltimore LHP Cade Povich (2-8, 5.91 ERA) will face RHP Keider Montero (5-6, 4.88 ERA).

— By DAVE HOGG, Associated Press

NOVI – The Novi Wildcats utilized their retention of the ball and found a late insurance goal to defeat the South Lyon East Cougars 2-0 on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats opened the scoring early when Jackson Shaw fired a cross into the box and Noah Kakish got on the end of it, turned and fired a ball into the net just 5:33 into the game to make it 1-0 Novi.

Novi proceeded to dominate the ball and territory for much of the game. Anchored by the play of Ryan Calanchi, the Wildcats were able to consistently win balls in midfield and recycle possession regularly.

“It’s not necessarily about the quantity of the time that we have the ball but the quality of what we’re doing with it. At the beginning of the season, it was like every other pass was a turnover. A lot of them were unforced turnovers,” Novi head coach Todd Pheiffer said. “That’s one thing we’ve been focused on this week is making the smart, simple pass, not trying to do too much. Let’s just keep the ball and build up the attack. I thought we did a really nice job of keeping possession, building up the attack, and creating some good scoring opportunities for ourselves.”

But after the early goal, the Cougar defense settled in and stubbornly refused to yield any more goals. Orchestrated by Nicolas Gonzalez Moller and William Gallagher, the South Lyon East back end allowed just two shots on goal the entire second half and just six shots on goal for the game as it was able to make the key interventions to keep the Wildcats off the scoreboard again until very late.

“We’ve got a strong back line, and I’ve got to give those guys a lot of credit along with our defensive midfielder back there,” Cougars assistant coach Zachary Hemker said. “We try our best to make sure they are a unit back there and they move as a unit together to help prevent some of those shots being taken, prevent a lot of opportunities on goal.”

Still, while the Cougars were good defensively, they struggled at times to get out of their own end. Eventually, they did start creating some good chances late.

“Defensively we were sound, but then we were kind of skipping lines occasionally. We needed to calm ourselves down a little bit and really possess the ball though the midfield and build our way out of the back,” Hemker said. “I thought once we got the ball moving forward a little bit there were opportunities where we started moving the ball laterally a little bit.”

Novi goalkeepers Christ Miller and Kevin Percy combined on the shutout, and the Wildcats added a late insurance goal when Calanchi played a through ball for Ivan Sazdanovski, who slotted home a shot with 5:26 remaining in the game.

With the win, Novi improves to 3-6-1 overall. The Wildcats face South Lyon on Monday in another non-league contest before hosting Howell on Tuesday in their next league match.

Photo gallery of Novi vs. South Lyon East boys soccer

“We were able to get everybody in the game today, and we had a couple of key kids today out with injury that are some of our starters, so it was good see our bench guys step in,” Pheiffer said. “Once you get into the state tournament, you’re going to be counting on your bench in moments, and I think that’s another positive we got out of today that we know we can count on our bench when we need to.”

South Lyon East (3-3-3 overall) finishes its Lakes Valley Conference regular season on Tuesday when they it hosts Walled Lake Northern.

Novi and South Lyon East were both drawn into the same district and could face each other in the state tournament as well.

TROY – Oak Park was going to be in for a long night if it couldn’t stop Troy Athens from repeatedly grinding out first downs with the ground attack like it did for a good portion of the first quarter of Friday’s game.

The Red Hawks marched all the way down to the 2-yard line and looked sure to cash in for their efforts. Oak Park, though, stiffened up, and on fourth down blocked a field goal to leave the home side empty-handed despite owning possession for over eight minutes to start.

Despite putting up points first, the drives for Athens’ wing-T offense weren’t quite so prolific after that, and Oak Park responded with all its points unanswered to collect a 24-16 road win over the Red Hawks.

Knights head coach Greg Carter didn’t hesitate when asked how often his team sees that style.

“Once a year,” Carter said. “They’re dominant and play extremely hard, so we knew that we had to be as physical as possible to match their physicality on every play, because they’re relentless. They come at you in waves. You know, I’ve been around so long that I remember we used to run it back in the day when I was at de Porres. It’s a tough offense to contain.”

Athens (1-2, 0-2 OAA Blue) didn’t piece together another series as cohesive as that until its final one, which came with the Red Hawks trailing by 16 and without the fortune of being able to deliberately drain clock. Senior Tom Gjelaj broke a tackle and got help from his lineman on fourth-and-goal from the 6-yard line to cross the pylon, then junior quarterback Andrew Dunlap took in the conversion to make it 24-16 with 2:02 remaining.

The Red Hawks were flagged for illegal touching on the onsides kick attempt, but despite using their timeouts to force a fourth-and-3 with just under a minute to go, sophomore running back Ivaan Burrow chunked out an 11-yard gain to move the chains and and allow the Knights to kneel it out.

Even after failing to capitalize on the extended opening drive, Athens posted points before Oak Park thanks to a fumble recovery on fourth down following a botched punt attempt that gave the Red Hawks extremely favorable field position. Just 48 seconds into the second quarter, the Athens QB took it in himself from just a few feet out, and Anthony Dunlap ran in the conversion to put the home team ahead 8-0.

When the ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Red Hawks, they really appeared to be in the driver’s seat, but Oak Park responded with a big special teams play of its own when Rondre Austion returned Athens’ punt over 90 yards along the right sideline for a score. Officials initially threw a flag against the Knights that would have negated it, but eventually picked it up before Mike Jones ran in the 2-point try to tie it 8-8 with 8:31 left in the half.

“I was really indecisive whether I was going to get (the ball on the return) or not, but something told me I needed to go pick it up and go take it to the crib for my team,” Austion said. “I had to change the pace of the game for my team, that’s all it was.”

Able to stymy Athens’ offense again after that, Oak Park got the ball back and moved into striking distance on a 32-yard run by Marshawn Johnson to the Red Hawks’ 5-yard line, and Jones (13 carries, 98 yards) took it in the next play, then bounced it outside for the conversion that made it 16-8 with 3:24 on the clock.

Burrow picked off a pass to give Oak Park a chance to score yet again before heading into the lockers, but despite a 20-yard run the following snap by Knights quarterback Muhammad El-Mubarak, Athens’ pass defense forced several incompletions from the sophomore QB to keep it a one-score game at the half.

A fumble recovery by Athens’ Vadym Hladiy was one of the few notable plays in the third quarter as both teams’ offenses stalled, but Oak Park eventually compiled its own elongated drive that spanned into the fourth. It nearly sputtered on fourth-and-12 at the Red Hawks’ 24-yard line, but El-Mabarak found junior Nehemiah Black for a 16-yard completion that moved the sticks, and two plays later Dorian Bethel scored from five yards out when he was part of a push into the end zone that seemingly involved every player from both teams.

Jones rushed in the conversion for Oak Park’s final points with 7:32 to go.

Photo gallery of Oak Park at Troy Athens in OAA Blue football action

Regarding the adjustments Oak Park's defense made to tighten up following Athens' early success, Carter said, "We tried to put a little more pressure on them, sent our linebackers a little bit more, because (before that) we were sitting there waiting on them. We just tried to be a little bit more active, that's all. We didn't really change the way we were doing it, but I think we did it a little bit better."

The Knights, who defeated Athens 30-24 in overtime last season, improve to 2-1 on the season, including 1-1 in the OAA Blue. They'll next return home to face undefeated Seaholm.

Athens must return to the drawing board with a visit to Farmington on deck.

"We just need to be able to maintain drives," Athens head coach Tom Cook said. "We have tough kids that are willing to do the basic things right, and we need to make sure we can sustain drives and finish them to score points ... We've got to keep grinding. Tomorrow, everybody like, let's show up and let's turn this thing around for next week."

Troy Athens scored first, but Royal Oak answered with three touchdowns in a row to collect a 24-16 road win Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.

ROYAL OAK — As the clock ticked inside of 10 seconds remaining in the first half Friday night, Ferndale head coach Eric Royal called a timeout.

His team had moved the ball 82 yards down the field in just 46 seconds. A 39-yard screen pass from Cullen Hock to De’Kari Smith, followed up by a personal foul. Then, a 23-yard screen to Antonio Jones helped set the Eagles up with a first and goal at the 4-yard line.

The timeout allowed Royal to set up what very well could have been the final play of the first half. And Hock, the team’s senior signal caller, knew exactly what was going to happen.

“Throughout the entire offseason leading up to the season, and now into the games, I’ve known that (Antonio) is my guy in the red zone,” Hock said. “I don’t think I remember that last time I’ve seen him drop a pass. He’s got hands like glue. Every time we’re in the red zone, it’s like (check your) reads, but when Tony’s open, you get him the ball.”

And true to form, that’s exactly what Hock did. Jones found a hole in the middle of the end zone, and Hock delivered the touchdown pass. It was the third time the two had connected for a score in the second quarter. It helped the Eagles to a 21-0 lead, one which they wouldn’t relinquish en route to a 35-0 shutout of the host Ravens on the road.

“He just trusts me to go up and get the ball,” said Jones, who also hauled in touchdown catches of 26 and 24 yards. “He knows that anytime we get down (into the red zone), I’m there to catch the ball.”

The Eagles are loaded with offensive talent. Royal knows it, and despite his team being shut out for the first 17 minutes of the game Friday night, he knew it was just a matter of time before all that talent was unleashed.

“We’re a senior-laden team with a lot of experience and our skilled guys are very explosive,” Royal said. “It seems like they’re taking turns right now, from game to game. Jayden (Mills) didn’t have an outstanding game tonight, but he was getting a lot of attention which opened things up for some other guys — like Antonio and El’Vonte (London). And Cullen did a nice job getting the guys the ball.”

Both teams attempted to establish the run early in the game, resulting in a scoreless first quarter. On Ferndale’s first possession of the second quarter, Royal decided to let Hock air it out. After opening the possession, which started near midfield, with four straight running plays, Hock found Jones streaking down the sideline. Jones went up over the defender and hauled it in for a 26-yard touchdown to break the scoreless tie.

After forcing a Royal Oak punt, Ferndale opened its next possession with a 45-yard pass from Hock to Mills. Then, Hock went back to Jones for the 24-yard touchdown reception.

“We really try to set up the pass from our run game,” Royal explained. “I’m a big play-action guy. If we can establish the run game, it’s going to open up our pass game. That’s our philosophy. We try to be balanced, but with our weapons we’re probably going to pass the ball a little more. We’ve got the skill to do it.

“We just have to find the right balance. Whatever the defense is going to give us, we’re going to take advantage of it.”

Royal Oak’s defense stifled the Eagles early on, forcing a pair of punts over the game’s first 12 minutes.

“I thought we had a good game plan coming in and we put our kids in place, and I thought we fought and battled,” Royal Oak head coach Colin Campbell said. “I just think it’s a matter of learning. We need to keep learning, to keep fighting.

“Ferndale, they’re a good team. This is the (kind of) team we want to compete with. We want to be here. We want to fight and compete with teams like (Ferndale). For a while we did, then they started to figure some stuff out. We just need to figure out how to respond.”

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Ferndale would add a pair of rushing touchdowns late in the game to put the final touches on a spectacular performance. Jaylin Dennard scored on a 31-yard run with just under five minutes remaining before Gary Maxwell found a seam in the Royal Oak defense, scoring from 18 yards out with 2:25 left to play.

Photo gallery of Ferndale at Royal Oak football in OAA Gold football action

Ferndale used multiple weapons on both offense and defense Friday night. Everyone in the stadium saw how much talent the Eagles have to work with. And Jones made sure to mention that talent by name after the game.

“Shout out to El’Vonte London, Jayden Mills. We’ve got me, we’ve got (Cullen), Gary Maxwell, De’Kari Smith. We’ve got weapons for days,” Jones pronounced.

London and Jones each had an interception for Ferndale (2-1 overall, 1-0 OAA Gold), while Bryce Ferguson finished with multiple sacks in the victory. With the loss, Royal Oak fell to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the Gold.

Ferndale improved to 2-1 on the year by defeating Royal Oak, 35-0, on the road Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.

FARMINGTON HILLS – The North Farmington Raiders cranked up the running game and methodically ran over the Farmington Falcons 20-7 Friday night in the latest installment of their rivalry.

“It feels amazing,” North Farmington junior quarterback Terrence James said. “This was just an amazing week for me and my team to get together and really play football. It was just a really good experience.”

“It was great to see the whole community out here. All our fans were great. Their fans were great. It’s nice to see the community get excited about it but respond in a good positive way.” Raiders head coach John Herstein said.

James led the way for the Raiders. He helped opened the scoring when he connected on a 34-yard bomb to Lorence Woodley with 3:17 remaining in the first half, launching a ball toward the endzone that Woodley simply outjumped the defender for, staking the Raiders to a 6-0 lead.

Farmington briefly took the lead in the third quarter when Herschel McCormack-Reamer got loose and cut back a fourth down play for a 46-yard touchdown. The Falcons converted the extra point for a 7-6 lead with 9:33 on the clock.

But McCormack-Reamer’s touchdown romp was the last of the offense for the Falcons. Farmington tried three different players at quarterback, however no one could get the offense moving consistently, and the Falcons managed just two first downs the rest of the game against a stingy North Farmington defensive front led by Trey Thomas and Dominic Washington.

“We had a couple different packages this week, and it was just seeing who was playing in the moment. We figured with this environment it was going to be tough,” Falcons head coach Jason Albrecht said. “We wanted to see who had the hot hand, and that’s how we played it out for a bit.”

McCormack-Reamer led the Falcons with 70 yards rushing, most of it coming on just two big runs, including the touchdown. Trenton Darden had 33 yards rushing.

Eventually, the Raiders’ offense started finishing drives. After turning the ball over three times on their first four drives (twice on interceptions, once on downs), the Raiders scored on two of their first three drives in the second half. They cranked up the running game, and the primary beneficiary was James, who finished with a game-high 140 yards and one touchdown rushing. Duke Blanch added 48 yards rushing and scored the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, finishing off a nine-play drive with a one-yard dive to make it 12-7 and give North Farmington the lead for good.

The Raider offensive line, anchored in the middle by Brendon Rice, Leland Pettway, and Micah Redic, helped North Farmington put the game away late. The Raiders took over with 7:50 to play in the game and marched 72 yards in nine plays, all runs, ending with a 3-yard run from James.

“The offensive line did a fantastic job. They should really proud of themselves. They responded, and really they’ve improved since Week 1. We always talk about getting better each week,” Herstein said.

Defensively, the Falcons were stout much of the night. Two interceptions from Anthony Bailey helped the Falcons to bend but not break defensively. Farmington allowed just one scoring drive in the first half to stay close. But eventually, the Falcon defense just spent too much time on the field and the Raider offensive line started leaning on them and opening more holes for the runners as the game wore on.

Photo gallery of Farmington vs. North Farmington in OAA Blue football action

The win over their rivals also marks the first victory of the season for the Raiders (1-2 overall, 1-0 OAA Blue). They travel to Bloomfield Hills next week for another divisional game. North Farmington will likely have revenge on its mind as well since it was a triple-overtime loss to the Black Hawks in the final game that kept the Raiders out of the playoffs last year.

Farmington (2-1, 1-1 OAA Blue) returns home to host Troy Athens in another divisional game next week.

“It’s a tough loss for us, and I think it will be a measure of how we respond next week,” Albrecht said. “We have six more opportunities that are given, and then if we take advantage of those opportunities, hopefully we’ll get more opportunities in the playoffs. But next week will be a tell of who we really are.”

North Farmington defeated crosstown rival Farmington 20-7 in the OAA Blue contest played on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024 at North Farmington HS.

PREP FOOTBALL

Addison 46, East Jackson 8

Allen Park 21, Brownstown Woodhaven 0

Allen Park Cabrini 49, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 35

Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 10, Battle Creek Pennfield 0

Ann Arbor Huron 37, Ann Arbor Skyline 20

Armada 49, Algonac 0

Bark River-Harris 30, West Iron County 8

Bath 47, Potterville 7

Battle Creek Harper Creek 35, Coldwater 14

Bear Lake def. Baldwin, forfeit

Beaverton 48, Farwell 10

Belleville 65, Livonia Churchill 0

Berkley 41, Pontiac 6

Berrien Springs 28, Traverse City St Francis 14

Big Rapids 33, Reed City 14

Birmingham Groves 34, Stoney Creek 6

Birmingham Seaholm 37, Bloomfield Hills 0

Brighton 29, Northville 28 (OT)

Burton Bentley 35, International Academy of Flint 0

Cadillac 49, Sault Ste. Marie 6

Caro def. Bad Axe, forfeit

Cass City 28, Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker 8

Cedar Springs 36, Greenville 33

Centreville 38, Hartford 6

Cheboygan 30, Elk Rapids 23

Chelsea 7, Pinckney 0

Clare 53, Bullock Creek 14

Clarkston 23, Oxford 15

Clawson 28, Madison Heights Madison 18

Clinton 30, Adrian Madison 0

Croswell-Lexington 41, Richmond 10

Davison 49, Traverse City Central 14

Dearborn Divine Child 26, Milford 12

Dearborn Heights Crestwood 69, Dearborn Heights Annapolis 0

Decatur 55, Comstock 6

DeWitt 62, Lansing Waverly 6

Detroit Cass Tech 71, Detroit Mumford 0

Detroit Denby 48, Detroit Northwestern 0

Detroit Old Redford def. ATAP, forfeit

Dowagiac 48, Parchment 16

East Grand Rapids 42, Grand Rapids Christian 6

East Lansing 38, Grand Ledge 21

East Jordan 44, Kalkaska 13

Eau Claire def. Wyoming Tri-unity Christian, forfeit

Every 52, Roscommon 13

Ferndale 35, Royal Oak 0

Flat Rock 35, Carleton Airport 14

Flushing 35, Flint Kearsley 0

Frankenmuth 48, Alma 7

Frankfort 18, Benzie Central 2

Freeland 34, Saginaw Swan Valley 0

Galesburg-Augusta 17, Allegan 14

Goodrich 62, Lake Fenton 0

Grand Haven 26, Holland West Ottawa 14

Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills 34, Allendale 20

Grand Rapids Northview 42, Sparta 14

Grosse Pointe South 28, Utica 7

Hamilton 49, Grand Rapids Union 0

Hanover-Horton 49, Grass Lake 21

Harbor Beach 45, Ubly 6

Harrison 20, Sanford Meridian 14

Hart 30, Shelby 6

Haslett 52, Lansing Eastern 12

Hastings 48, Jackson Northwest 6

Hazel Park 66, New Haven 32

Hemlock 43, Carrollton 24

Holland Christian 38, Holland 12

Holt 31, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 12

Hopkins 35, Wyoming Godwin Heights 14

Howell 34, Salem 14

Hudson 16, Ida 8

Ithaca 35, Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary 14

Jackson 28, Tecumseh 20

Jackson Lumen Christi 44, Toronto St. Michaels College School (CN) 0

Kalamazoo Central 55, Richland Gull Lake 0

Kent City 44, Lakeview 6

Kingsley 58, Grayling 21

Lakeland 41, Waterford Kettering 21

Lake Orion 32, Troy 0

L’Anse Creuse 54, L’Anse Creuse North 20

Lansing Everett 41, Okemos 6

Lapeer 56, Saginaw United 12

Leslie 62, Vandercook Lake 12

Ludington 36, Fremont 12

Lutheran Westland 48, Madison Heights Bishop Foley 22

Macomb Dakota 34, Anchor Bay 6 [PHOTOS]

Madison Heights Lamphere 27, Grosse Pointe North 24

Manchester 44, Homer 0

Marlette 24, Unionville-Sebewaing 22 (OT)

Mason 34, Williamston 20

McBain 29, Beal City 25

Melvindale ABT 22, Detroit Leadership 14

Menominee 58, Ishpeming Westwood 19

Michigan Center 14, Jonesville 6

Midland 44, Bay City Western 9

Midland Dow 28, Mt. Pleasant 7

Millington 62, Sandusky 28

Monroe St. Mary CC 49, Grosse Ile 0

Montague 55, Muskegon Orchard View 14

Mount Clemens 38, Sterling Heights Parkway Christian 6

Mount Morris 27, Birch Run 7

Muskegon Catholic 49, Benton Harbor 8

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 26, Spring Lake 14

Napoleon 22, Brooklyn Columbia Central 13

Negaunee 29, Calumet 0

Newaygo 40, Grant 0

New Boston Huron 28, Milan 7

Niles 56, Three Rivers 6

North Branch 55, Imlay City 0

North Central 60, Stephenson 8

North Farmington 20, Farmington 7

Novi 36, Canton 19

Novi Detroit Catholic Central 45, Harper Woods 12

Oak Park 24, Troy Athens 16

Ogemaw Heights 12, Gladwin 7

Olivet 7, Lansing Sexton 0

Onsted 34, Dundee 31

Ovid-Elsie 52, Otisville LakeVille Memorial 0

Owosso 50, Clio 14

Parma Western 28, Marshall 8

Paw Paw 63, Sturgis 0

Petersburg Summerfield 46, Whitmore Lake 30

Petoskey 44, Escanaba 19

Pewamo-Westphalia 57, Laingsburg 0

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 42, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 0

Port Huron 47, Warren Mott 35

Ravenna def. Holton, forfeit

Redford Union 41, Garden City 29

Reese 28, Vassar 26

Riverview 61, Monroe Jefferson 0

Rochester 33, Southfield A&T 14

Rochester Adams 21, West Bloomfield 14

Rockford 37, Grandville 20

Romulus 3, Dearborn Heights Robichaud 0

Romulus Summit Academy North 20, Detroit Edison 8

Roseville 42, St. Clair Shores Lakeview 21

Royal Oak Shrine 22, Dearborn Advanced Tech 20

Saginaw Nouvel 35, Saginaw Valley Lutheran 6

Saline 50, Ann Arbor Pioneer 0

St Clair Shores South Lake 56, Eastpointe 0

St Johns 21, Fowlerville 14

St Joseph 35, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 0

St Louis 3, Pinconning 0

Saranac 54, Dansville 6

Springport 36, Sand Creek 12

South Lyon East 42, Walled Lake Northern 0

Sterling Heights Stevenson 24, Chippewa Valley 7

Toledo Central Catholic 37, Birmingham Brother Rice 0

Trenton 21, Lincoln Park 7

Utica Eisenhower 28, Romeo 7 [PHOTOS]

Vermontville Maple Valley 33, Quincy 16

Walled Lake Western 49, South Lyon 7

Warren Cousino 28, Fraser 14

Warren Fitzgerald 68, Sterling Heights 0

Warren De La Salle 38, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 28

Warren Woods Tower 28, St. Clair Shores Lake Shore 12

Waterford Mott 28, Walled Lake Central 27

Wyoming 32, Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills 16

Zeeland East 68, Alpena 0

(This story will be updated)

(This story will be updated when further scores become available.)

MHSFCA football rankings after Week 2

DETROIT (AP) — Gunnar Henderson tripled just past the glove of diving first baseman Spencer Torkelson with two outs in the ninth inning for Baltimore’s first hit, and the Detroit Tigers held on for a 1-0 win over the Orioles on Friday night.

Beau Brieske and Brant Hurter (5-1) combined to retire Baltimore’s first 21 batters before Adley Rutschman’s eight-pitch walk leading off the eighth.

Brenan Hanifee retired the next three batters and Tyler Holton relieved to start the ninth.

Emmanuel Rivera flied out and pinch-hitter Coby Mayo took a called third strike. Henderson pulled a first-pitch sweeper into the right-field corner for the Orioles’ second baserunner.

Holton struck out Anthony Santander to remain perfect in eight save chances.

Kerry Carpenter, Detroit’s second batter, homered on the third pitch of the game from Zach Eflin (10-9), who allowed five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Detroit (76-72) started the day 3 1/2 games back of Minnesota for the final AL wild card.

Baltimore (83-65) began the night two games behind the AL East-leading New York Yankees.

Brieske, a 26-year-old right-hander, was planned to start as an opener. He retired four batters while throwing 11 of 16 pitches for strikes.

Hunter, a 26-year-old rookie left-hander, struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings while throwing 53 of 71 pitches for strikes. He started 17 of 18 batters with strikes, including his first 14.

Hanifee, a 26-year-old rookie right-hander, relieved after Rutschman’s walk and got a pair of strikeouts around a forceout.

UP NEXT

The teams play the second of three games on Saturday evening, with Baltimore RHP Corbin Burnes (13-8, 3.18 ERA) facing a Tigers opener.

— By DAVE HOGG, Associated Press

 

The Detroit Lions signed a pair of veteran wide receivers to their practice squad in an effort to find another reliable option for Jared Goff.

Outside of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, the Lions are relatively thin at the wide receiver position. As it stands, there are just two others on roster at the position in Isaiah Williams and Kalif Raymond.

A fifth player, Tom Kennedy, was elevated from the practice squad for Week 1. However, moving forward there is an expectation that one of Tim Patrick, Allen Robinson or Donovan Peoples-Jones could be elevated from the practice squad to help the offense.

When asked if Patrick was on track to debut in the near future, Campbell pointed to the ongoing competition between all the options in an effort to find the best solution for the team’s receiver depth.

“All of those guys are competing. When you’re on the vet squad, every day you put in the work and our eyes are open,” Campbell said. “I told them all that last week, so we’re paying close attention to him, Robinson as well. All our options are on the table and we’ll just take it as it comes.”

Patrick was the premier addition to the practice squad, as reports surfaced of his intentions to join the Lions surfaced shortly after cuts were finalized. He has missed each of the last two seasons with significant injuries, but there is optimism that he can be a contributor in the near future.

He may not debut for the Lions this week, but Detroit did clear a spot on the active roster by waiving defensive lineman Chris Smith. The Lions have roster flexibility as a result, and how they decide to use it will be intriguing.

 

RODRIGUEZ’S ROLE

Third-year linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez missed all of the preseason with a hamstring injury, and as a result missed out on valuable reps. However, he has clearly established a level of trust within the coaching staff throughout his first two campaigns.

As a result, he played a role on the defensive side in the Week 1 win with 14 snaps. The Oklahoma State product started 15 games as a rookie in 2022, but played a limited role in 2023 while also getting some action at fullback.

Detroit has established an overall strong linebacking corps, with Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes and Jack Campbell leading the way. However, the performance of Rodriguez and Jalen Reeves-Maybin has left Campbell and position coach Kelvin Sheppard feeling confident about playing any of the team’s options at any point.

“We have no problem with Rodrigo playing. There’s a lot of trust, now, and faith in him. He’s a smart, conscientious player. We do feel like he improved, even before he had the injury, and then when he came back, the hammy’s good, he picked it up pretty quick for the time that he was able to get back in there. When you trust your guys to go in there and help you, man, that takes a load off. Our linebackers do so much for us, all of them, (Jalen Reeves-Maybin) Germ, Rodrigo, Alex, Barnes, Jack, even (Ben) Niemann.”

As a result of the depth, the Lions can keep their options fresh at all points. While Anzalone, Barnes and Campbell are expected to take the majority of the reps, the ability to also utilize Rodriguez, Reeves-Maybin and Niemann without missing a beat can keep everyone healthy through the late parts of the season.

“So with all of those, we spread the load with them because we trust them,” Campbell explained. “They can take reps off each other between special teams and defense. That’s how you get production but you’re also, you get down into December, January, I think this is gonna help us out too.”

NOTES

Safety Brian Branch had strong moments in the season-opening win, but also had multiple missed tackles and dropped interceptions. The end result saw him finsh among the team’s lowest PFF-graded players with a 55.2 overall defensive grade.

While the struggles are by no means indicative of his overall ability, as he is one of the best defensive playmakers on the roster, Branch took accountability for his struggles and told Campbell he would right the wrongs from Sunday’s game.

“BB – I already talked about Kerby (Joseph), I thought Kerby did a good job, and BB made a lot of plays, but then one of the first things he says when he’s coming back in the locker room, he’s like, ‘I won’t miss those tackles anymore.’ So, he knows it and he’s really one of our best tacklers in general,” Campbell said Monday. “He’s got his first game under his belt. But all in all, just cleaning up some of the communication, but I thought it was promising where our D-backs are at.”

This article was produced by the staff at Detroit Lions On SI. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions

FENTON – Dillon Hamilton had two goals and one assist to lead the Fenton Tigers to a 3-1 win over the Holly Bronchos in the latest installment of their Flint Metro League rivalry.

Hamilton scored the game-winner with 13:01 to play in the first half when he settled a ball in the penalty area and ripped it home to break a 1-1 tie.

The teams had traded goals earlier in the half with Carlos Gomez Munoz opening the scoring just over 10 minutes into the game when he took a pass from Hamilton and slotted a ball in transition that found the lower-left corner to give the Tiers a 1-0 lead.

Holly tied the game only 2:33 later when Lincoln Rice slid a ball through for Ryan Nykiel, who was behind the defense and fired the ball in to even the score.

Both teams had plenty of other chances to find the back of the net. Fenton hit two posts in the match, including one just over three minutes into the game. The Bronchos had 12 shots on goal, including a handful of excellent chances.

“We had quite a few opportunities,” Holly coach Eric Ransom said.

But both goalies were very good. Sawyer Miller made 11 saves Fenton, including coming off his line to shut down a breakaway with the score still tied.

Holly keeper Bryce Wager also turned in a fine performance. He made six saves and had a lot to do coming off his line to intervene or to help out his defense against the Fenton pressure.

“Our goalkeeper had a ton of plays coming his way, and he’s played phenomenal this whole season,” Ransom said. “He’s our only guy right now. So it’s really important that he does a good job, and he’s done a brilliant job back there.”

Fenton added a third goal midway through the second half when Hamilton scored off a scramble in the penalty area to make it a two-goal advantage and provide some insurance for the Tigers.

“He (Hamilton) is a strong player. He works hard. He works hard outside of practice and games. He’s a very coachable kid,” Melero said. “He’s just a workhorse for us, and he does everything he can to help the team.”

The game eventually got rather chippy and saw a total of eight yellow cards, including two Holly players who were ejected for multiple cards, leaving the Bronchos to finish the game with just nine players.

“We talked about it before the game. We want the boys to keep their cool, and it’s tough,” Melero said. “We talked about it ahead of time. We want that to be part of our demeanor to stay within ourselves, and for the most part that worked.”

The win is an important one for Fenton, who improves to 3-5-1 overall and evens their league record at 2-2. The Tigers’ league season continues on Wednesday when they host Owosso.

Photo gallery of Holly vs. Fenton boys soccer

“We know we have some work to do,” Melero said. “Tonight was a good game because it gave us some of that confidence. We talked about it in our little huddle at the end. That’s the identity we’ve been searching for this season, and we finally showed it tonight.”

“We broke down. We’re going to work on not doing that in the next game,” Ransom said.

Holly suffers its second straight loss after opening the season on a five-game winning streak. The Bronchos (3-1 FML) will try to get back in the win column on Wednesday when they host Clio.

“The biggest thing we’re going to look for is just getting focused for the next game,” Ransom said. “My main focus is getting another FML win, and we’ll be able to get there,” he added.