Portage Northern Defeats Battle Creek Lakeview 49-41

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1st Quarter Key Plays</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Portage Northern quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='30341' first='Cane' last='Mack']</strong> hit wide receiver<strong> Jadyn Walker</strong> for a 59-yard touchdown to give Northern an early 7-0 lead. Battle Creek Lakeview running back <strong>Jayden Dennis</strong> had some good tough running to help sustain a very good drive for Lakeview. Lakeview quarterback <strong>Jacob Kucharczyk</strong> had some great runs on the drive as well and eventually finished off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. Portage quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='30341' first='Cane' last='Mack'] </strong>had a nice touchdown run on the following drive to put Portage back on top 14-7 with just under 5 minutes to go in the 1st quarter. Portage Northern running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='30343' first='Xavior' last='Tyus']</strong> ran the football very well in the 1st quarter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2nd Quarter Key Plays</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lakeview quarterback <strong>Jacob Kucharczyk</strong> threw a big pass to the tight end<strong> Walter Brown</strong> early in the 2nd quarter. Kucharczyk finished off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14-14. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='30343' first='Xavior' last='Tyus']</strong> ran the ball very effectively in the 2nd quarter and helped setup a 5-yard rushing touchdown by [player_tooltip player_id='30341' first='Cane' last='Mack'] to give Portage a 21-14 lead right before halftime. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Battle Creek Lakeview Players That Stood Out</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#16 | QB Jacob Kucharczyk- </strong>Kucharczyk was nearly unstoppable running the football. He has elite speed for a quarterback and it was on full display Friday night. He had a 80-yard rushing touchdown where he blew past defenders. He also had a 69-yard rushing touchdown that tied the game up at 28-28 in the 3rd quarter. I loved that Kucharczyk not only runs with speed, he can run with power as well. I liked watching him compete in this game and I never felt that Lakeview was out of this game with him in at quarterback. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#22 | RB Jayden Dennis-</strong> Dennis' physical running was critical for the Lakeview offense. He never was shy about lowering the shoulder and was consistently falling forward for extra yardage. Dennis showed great competitive toughness all night as he continued to run hard throughout the 3rd &amp; 4th quarter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Portage Northern Players That Stood Out</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#4 | WR Jadyn Walker-</strong> Walker came through with some big catches all night for Portage. He has a good release off the line of scrimmage and does a great job of getting open downfield. Walker came up with multiple big play receptions that helped Portage win this game. Walker has the versatility to play outside and in the slot. He has good size, at 6-2, 190 lbs. I expect him to continue to be a go-to target for Portage Northern this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#15 | RB [player_tooltip player_id='30343' first='Xavior' last='Tyus']-</strong> Tyus had a great game for Portage. He scored rushing touchdowns on back to back Portage drives to give his team a 49-34 lead late in the game. Tyus does a good job of hitting the hole hard and fighting for extra yards through contact. He has good cutting ability and can change direction with ease. Portage will certainly make sure they give Tyus the football as much as possible this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->