GRAND BLANC, MI – Davison made no secret this week that the Cardinals don’t consider Grand Blanc to be much of a football rival.
And that’s understandable given Davison had beaten the Bobcats in the last four years, when they averaged 46 points against Grand Blanc while allowing less than 12 per game.
Not much of a rivalry, right?
Well, it is now.
Grand Blanc turned the tables on Davison, which has appeared in the last two Division 1 state championship games, by hammering the Cardinals 43-7 Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak against the Cardinals dating back to 2011.
Coach Clint Alexander had no doubt the ninth-ranked Bobcats (4-0) were going to win despite their recent struggles against Davison.
“Honestly, I knew watching film on Monday,” he said. “We were pretty calm all week. The kids knew they were going to win. We knew we were going to win. We’re the better team. It doesn’t matter all the bravado that gets said. I knew they couldn’t stop us.
“I knew we’re playing really good run defense … and that’s been the big turnaround for us. Then when you look at special teams, that’s not even close. We knew we were the better team.”
It certainly didn’t start that way.
Davison took the opening kickoff and marched 71 yards down the field in 13 plays, passing just once before junior quarterback Braylen Himmelein scored on a 1-yard sneak to cap a drive that took 9:44 off the clock and gave the Cardinals a 7-0 lead.
It looked like it was going to be another case of Davison’s physical dominance overwhelming Grand Blanc.
But you know what they say about looks being deceiving.
After going three-and-out on its first possession, Grand Blanc’s offense came to life and scored on four straight possessions, needing a total of only 11 plays in that stretch to take a 29-7 lead at halftime. The Bobcats first scoring drive last just two plays and the fourth consisted of one.
The game was basically over at halftime.
Alexander wasn’t worried when Davison opened the scoring on that long drive.
“We just had to get used to it,” he said. “The one thing we talked about this week … you can’t replicate another team’s offense with scout like they can. Once you play a couple series and you get the sense of how physical it is, you start hitting the gaps and doing your job and it becomes a lot easier.
“We’ve had to put up with a lot. They’ve stuck by me – some of them have – when we got pounded by these guys. But I knew we were coming. It takes a while to build it from the ground up. It’s a lot easier to bring kids in from all over and build your program and fill your holes.
“We had to make kids fill the holes and develop them but when you get it right, you’re right. We’re pretty excited about what we pulled off.”
Quarterback Hunter Ames was outstanding for Grand Blanc, completing 7 of 11 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns.
He hit Nas Cardon with a 45-yard scoring pass that put the Bobcats up 8-7, found Tae Boyd for a 56-yard TD that hiked the lead to 15-7 and connected with Boyd again for an 18-yard TD that made it 29-7 at halftime.
Ames also rushed for a 19-yard TD and Elijah Jackson-Anderson ran for TDs of 13 and 1 yards.
“We’ve been talking about this since last year, when we lost (to Davison) in the playoffs,” Ames said. “I felt like they were going to come out punching but I always trust our defense. I always trust our game plan all week.
“Our O-line is phenomenal. Our tight end is phenomenal. Our wide receivers are phenomenal. All I had to do was get them the ball.”
The defense was indeed outstanding after Davison’s opening drive.
At one point, the defense forced Davison to give the ball back seven times after running three plays and that usually provided Grand Blanc with great field position. The Bobcats started three drives in Davison’s end of the field and two others at their own 38 and 45.
“We always say in practice, ‘Do it how the (ancient) Romans do it,” Boyd said. “‘Do it how the Romans fought war.’ We just came in, did our jobs, executed the plays and good results happened.”
Ryan Deibis and Cross Dobbs have sacks for the Bobcats, Dobbs and Joe Marion recovered fumbles and Joe Nemecek had an interception. Dylan Hertzberg kicked five extra points and ran for a two-point conversion.
As for Davison, after reaching the Division 1 state championship game that two years and winning it in 2019, the Cardinals (1-3) have some work to do in order to make the playoffs for a seventh straight year.
Himmelein was 10-for-20 passing for 88 yards, Jay’len Flowers rushed 21 times for 150 yards and Gabe Smith led the defense with seven tackles.
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