Monroe County Region high school sports roundup for Saturday, Oct. 31

OTTAWA LAKE – Brek Ruddy set a Whiteford school record for career rushing yards Saturday.But yards he didn’t take impressed Bobcat football coach Todd Thieken almost as much as the record.Whiteford was nursing a 6-point lead with just over a minute remaining when he broke loose on a third-and-7 play in a Division 7 playoff game against Bronson.Ruddy probably could have run into the end zone, but instead dropped to his knee after getting a first down.More: Monroe County Region football roundup for opening round of playoffsRuddy knew the clock was more important than the scoreboard.With Bronson out of timeouts, Ruddy knew the first down would allow his team to go into victory formation and run out the clock to secure a 22-16 victory.“That tells you what a tremendous kid he is,” Thieken said of the kneel down. “He could have scored a touchdown, but he puts so much into the team.”Ruddy eclipsed the school record set of 3,794 yards set by Logan Murphy.“I am so happy for him,” Thieken said. “He’s our guy and everyone knows it, but he just keeps going.”As usual, Ruddy carried most of the workload Saturday.He ran for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns on 33 carries.The Bobcats fell into a 14-point hole early in the second quarter, but rallied to take a 16-14 lead at the intermission on a 16-yard touchdown run by Ruddy and a 31-yard interception return by Charlie Bieber.“We didn’t play our best game, but the kids kept battling,” Thieken said.Ruddy’s 46-yard touchdown run in the third quarter pushed Whiteford’s lead to 22-14, but Bronson kept fighting back.Whiteford’s defense had to make several huge stops in the fourth quarter.The Bobcats have won eight in a row after starting the season 0-2. They will play St. Mary Catholic Central (9-1) in the district finals at Monroe High on Friday, Nov. 6.SATURDAYS TOP PERFORMERSBOYS CROSS COUNTRYCameron Crane, New Boston Huron: Won the Division 2 Regional at Lake Erie Metropark with at personal-best time of 15:49.7. Airport and Jefferson both qualified for state as teams, taking second and third, respectively. Mason Tulik (6), Carter Lee (11) Maddex Shotwell (21), Gabe Busen (24) and Jonah Busen (34) all hit personal bests for Jefferson. Airport ran 8-10-19-20-31 with Hunter Rodak, Andrew Bell, Hayden Bovair, Jacob Kuti and Axel Thompson. Also qualifying for state were Mason Martin of Milan (16),Wyatt DelValle, Gibraltar Carlson: Took fourth place in the Division 1 Regional at Lake Erie Metropark with at time of 15:46.4. Also qualifying for the state finals were Cameron Varner (16) and Gavin Rohr of Monroe (18). Bedford was seventh in the team standings, Bedford eighth and Monroe ninth.Porter Ravary and Caleb Healey, Erie Mason: Helped their team place second and earn a trip to state by taking 11th and 12th, respectively, in the Division 3 Regional at Willow Metropark. They were supported by Weston Albright (15), David Mills (18) and Joseph Colaluca (25). Christian Crannen (4) and Phineas Totten (16) of St. Mary Catholic Central and Whiteford’s Grant Rasor (10) also qualified for state.Colin Brown, Summerfield: Qualified for the state finals by placing 25th in the Division 4 Regional at Napoleon.GIRLS CROSS COUNTRYAudrey Grosteffon and Iva Ravindra, Bedford: Finished eighth and 20th, respectively, to earn trips to the state finals in the Division 1 Reigonal at Lake Erie Metropark. Gibraltar Carlson also had two qualifiers in Ada Cain (17) and Giada Fioritto (18).Ella Baker, Airport and Claire Miller, Jefferson: Claimed fourth and fifth behind a trio of Adrian runners in the Division 2 Reigonal at Lake Erie Metropark. New Boston Huron qualified for state as a team in second place as Zoey Cheney, Grace Pacheco, Kayla Christesen, Alexis White and Isa Vargo ran 6-11-12-16-26. Ida’s Lana Benware made it to state in 14th.Jaelynn Horton, Erie Mason: Captured 10th place in the Division 3 Regional at Willow Metropark. She will be joined at the state finals by Breslin Wing (12) and Braylynn Chiotti (13) of Whiteford.Allison Ost and Abby Raymond, Summerfield: Earned trips to the state finals by placing 15th and 20th, respectively, in the Division 4 Regional at Napoleon.VOLLEYBALLLacy Paben, State Line Christian: Recorded 23 assists and was perfect on 13 serves as State Line Christian swept Rochester Hills Christian 25-15, 25-17, 25-12 in the finals of the Michigan Association of Christian Schools state finals. Fellow Seniors Sophia Heissenbuettel (17-for-17 serving, 11 hits) and Lyndie Dalton also were outstanding. The Patriots finished with a 19-0 record and dropped just two sets all season. “This team works together very well,” State Line coach Carrie Newbold said. “They were in the gym practicing together as much as they could, even outside of regularly scheduled practices. They had a strong mental game and were able to control their emotions through highs and lows.”Sophia Nolff, Dundee: Piled up 42 kills and 58 digs to lead the Vikings to the championship of the Jefferson Tournament. The Vikings beat Summerfield 27-26, 25-18, Riverview Gabriel Richard 25-11, 25-19, Garden City 25-17, 25-16, Livonia Clarenceville 25-17, 25-11, Gabriel Richard 25-19, 25-19 in the semifinals and Beat Summerfield 23-25, 25-16, 15-8 in the finals Mckenzie Heath (42 kills, 11 blocks), Cameron Kidd (30 kills), Aubrey Federer (117 assists, 48 digs) and Lacey Evans (71 digs) also played well. GIRLS SWIMMINGAvery Hovatter, Milan: Won the individual medley and the butterfly and swam on two winning relays during the Huron League Meet. Evelyn Gill took the 200 and 500 freestyle and was on a winning relay. Afton Presley ruled the backstroke and was on two winning relays. Also winning events were Tori Kimberly (breaststroke) and Kaylin Brown (diving). Grosse Ile won the meet with Riverview second, Flat Rock third, Milan furth and New Boston Huron-Taylor fifth.THURSDAY’S TOP PERFORMERSVOLLEYBALLHope Sisler, Airport: Filled up the stat sheet with 7 kills, 23 assists, 9 digs and 2 aces in a 27-25, 25-23, 13-25,25-14 victory over Monroe. Mya Stahr was credited with 11 kills and 13 digs, Myra VanWashenova 3 aces and 8 digs and Sophia Ruhlig 7 kills.Aubrey Federer, Dundee: Finished with 27 assists and 19 digs as the Vikings beat Milan 25-15, 25-13 and lost to Jackson Parma Western 19-25, 15-25. Other leaders were Sophia Nolff had (11 kills, 18 digs), Mckenzie Heath (9 kills, 5 blocks) and Lacey Evans (19 digs).This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe County Region high school sports roundup for Saturday, Oct. 31