No. 7 Cardinals win first outright conference title since 1998

JOHANNESBURG — No. 7 Johannesburg-Lewiston looked like a football team hungry to cap off an amazing regular season Friday night.

Brett Crandell took the opening handoff 72 yards for a touchdown, and the Cardinals (8-1) never looked back in their 67-14 win over Inland Lakes.

They scored 10 touchdowns to remain undefeated in the Northern Michigan Football League-Legacy and win their first conference title since 2009. It was their first outright championship since 1998.

What’s more, the victory gave them enough playoff points to earn a home game in Round 1 of the Division 8 postseason. They’ll host Merrill (6-3) to open the district tournament at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26.

But that conference title, that’s something J-L wanted to make sure it celebrated over the weekend. That was a long time coming.

“I think it’s huge,” said coach Joe Smokevitch, whose Cardinals have qualified for the playoffs in five of his six seasons on the sidelines. “We’ve had some great teams that just haven’t been able to win the conference championship. So that says a lot about our kids and what they’ve gone through this year. How well they’ve played and the determination they’ve played with has just been great.”

Getting that final win of the regular season harked back to more aggressive blocking from the offensive line and tight ends.

The Cardinals scored four TDs alone in the first quarter to clinch the win. After Crandell (seven carries, 107 yards) scored on his first carry, the senior scored again from 21 yards out on the ensuing handoff.

Immediately afterward, they recovered the ensuing kickoff by merely outracing Inland Lakes’ players to the loose ball laying on the ground. Then Kevin Gehringer went on to break a 32-yard TD, his first of five scores on the night, to fully swing momentum in the Cardinals’ direction.

Gehringer finished with a staggering 212 yards on only nine carries. As the senior was carrying a trap handoff 51 yards for a TD, which made the score 47-14 at halftime, Smokevitch turned to his players on the sideline and yelled, “That was it. That’s 1,000 yards on the season for Kevin.”

Gehringer said he’s going to repay Smokevitch this week in practice.

“Just working extra hard in practice every day, like we have been,” he said. “If it’s extra sprints, we’ve got to keep doing it.”

Logan Finnerty added eight carries for 105 yards rushing, but the junior left the game early with an injury.

Austin Carroll and Matt Ross each scored 4-yard rushing TDs in the fourth.

“They’re just amazing, every single one of them,” said captain Tyler Madej, referencing his teammates along the O-line. “They all blocked their hearts out. We all put in the work. We all do everything to push hard.”

Added Smokevitch: “Our rushing attack was huge tonight. ... It’s a three-headed attack, and those kids (Gehringer, Crandell and Finnerty) are great. I couldn’t ask for a better offensive line either.

“Tyler and Garrett (May) are probably two of the best linemen in the league, opening up holes and getting out there and running (while pulling), allowing Kevin, Brett and Logan to get out there and run. It’s huge.”

Through the air, Tanner Shimel found tight end Tyson Claeys for a 5-yard TD in the first half. Claeys, too, was excited about the O-line’s play.

“We’re a tough line, collectively,” the captain said. “We all love to block, and we take pride in blocking — run blocking, pass blocking, anything you ask of us. We’re going to get it done for the coaches.”

Defensively, J-L held Inland Lakes to 209 yards of total offense. Shimel and May came up with interceptions, four different Cardinals fell on fumbles and Crandell and Claeys each recorded 10 tackles. Claeys finished with the team’s lone sack on the night.

“You see them work hard during the off-season and work hard during the games,” Smokevitch said. “I can’t be more proud of this group of kids. I thought we had a chance to run the table at the beginning of the year. We slipped up against Manton, but it’s a great group of kids.”

Madej said the Cardinals played extra spirited because “we knew it’d probably be one of our last home games.” But now that they’re guaranteed at least one more home game, they can carry that spirit into the playoffs.

“The seniors came out, and we knew we had to get pumped up,” Madej said. “We just wanted to come out and get pumped up.”

And the Cardinals likely will again on Friday when Merrill comes to town.