By DOUG DONNELLY

The revenge tour continues.

Whiteford (12-0) will face Riverview Gabriel Richard (8-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Adrian College in a Division 8 semifinal.

 Whiteford’s last loss came at Adrian College in the 2021 semifinals against Hudson. That was 26 wins ago.

“Our kids will be ready,” Whiteford coach Todd Thieken said. “We have a very good football team, but we can’t come out and take things for granted. You never know. At this point of the year, the competition is going to get better and better. We have to make sure we are stepping up our practice efforts.”

The revenge tour has gone like this:

The Bobcats this season beat Edon, Ohio, in week four. Edon was the last regular season loss for the Bobcats, coming way back in the 2021 season.

After two playoff losses, Whiteford beat Reading for the first time in school history in week seven.

In the second round of the playoffs the Bobcats beat Hudson 24-14, avenging the 2021 semifinal loss.

Now the Bobcats get back on the Adrian College field with a chance to advance to the state finals for the fourth time in eight years.

Richard is the Cinderella team in the Division 8 final four, which features two undefeated teams in Whiteford and Ubly and one-loss Beal City. Richard started the season 1-3 before accepting a forfeit against Muskegon Heights Academy. They then beat Madison Heights Bishop Foley 56-6 before losing to Macomb Lutheran North. At that time, the Pioneers were 3-4 and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

A week nine win over Owosso put Richard into the playoffs. Since, they’ve beaten Mount Clemens 44-8, Allen Park Cabrini 50-14 and Clarkson Everest Collegiate 31-28. The win over Everest Collegiate came with a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining.

The Pioneers are coached by Aaron Gant, who played at The Ohio State University in the mid-2000s after a great career at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. He was defensive coordinator last year for Gabriel Richard when they lost 56-19 to the Bobcats in the district finals. He took over after week one of this season.

“We had a little adversity during the beginning of the season,” Gant said. “We had some tough matchups. It was just us finding ourselves, connecting and trusting each other as a team. In a lot of those games, we kind of beat ourselves.”

The Pioneer offense lines up in multiple formations, from a power running game to the spread. Coaches and school officials declined to provide statistics on any of their players.

“We are balanced,” Gant said. “We’ll do some RPO, some power. We can get into the spread. We will use three backs in the backfield and show power or spread things out. We have four or five good receivers, a good quarterback and three good running backs. We have the versatility to change things up.”

Richard’s biggest playmakers appear to be quarterback Nick Sobush, running back Joey Calhoun and receivers Andrew Sobush and Derek Lesko.

In the regional final win over Clarkston Everest Collegiate, Nick Sobush completed 9-of-12 passes for 170 yards and the game-winning touchdown to Andrew Sobush.

As for Whiteford, the Bobcats are riding a 26-game winning streak over the last two seasons. The defense is giving up fewer than 10 points a game while the offense is rolling, averaging 43.6 points per game. The Bobcats average 277 yards rushing and 116 yards passing.

Jake Iott leads the team in rushing with 803 yards while Hunter DeBarr has 791 and Drew Knaggs 636.

Tre Eitnear is the team’s passing leader with 949 yards through the air while Ryin Ruddy has thrown for 438 yards.

Kolby Masserant has a school-record 889 yards receiving this season and 12 touchdowns, also a school single season record. DeBarr has 14 receptions for 277 yards.

Saturday will be the 49th career game for Knaggs, DeBarr and Ruddy. Iott will be playing in his 48th career game.

“I couldn’t ask for anything better,” Knaggs said. “I feel bad for the kids who aren’t in football right now. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else right now than going to school and putting the work in after school. It’s just something that is like normal at this point.”

GAME NOTES:

Riverview Gabriel Richard (8-4) vs. Whiteford (12-0)  

Game: Division 8 semifinal, 1 p.m. Saturday at Docking Stadium on the campus of Adrian College.

All-time series: Whiteford leads 1-0

Last meeting: Whiteford beat Richard 56-19 in the 2022 district finals.

Gabriel Richard playoff history: The Pioneers are in the semifinals for the first time in school history. They are 10-9 all-time in playoff games with four of those wins coming in the last two seasons.

Whiteford playoff history: This is Whiteford’s 12th straight playoff appearance and 24th all-time with state championships coming in 2017 and 2022. Playoff record 33-21. 

Gabriel Richard statistical leaders: Richard declined to provide stats.

Whiteford statistical leaders: Jake Iott 120 rushes for 803 yards and seven touchdowns; Hunter DeBarr 105 rushes for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns, 14 catches for 277 yards and four touchdowns; Drew Knaggs 111 rushes for 636 yards; Ryin Ruddy 38 rushes for 399 yards, 23-for-37 passing for 438 yards; Tre Eitniear 41-for-79 passing for 949 yards; Kolby Masserant 39 catches for school-record 889 yards and school-record 12 touchdowns.

Comments from Gabriel Richard coach Aaron Gant (first season, took over after week one, 8-3): “Our guys are a lot better than the record shows. Those losses (early in the season) definitely helped show them the type of team they wanted to be. We beat ourselves early in the season.”

Comments from Whiteford coach Todd Thieken (second year 26-0): “They play more of a spread-type offense. It’s been a while since we’ve seen that. At this point in the year, the competition is going to get better and better. We have to make sure we are stepping up our effort.”