Photo by Natalie McCormack

By DOUG DONNELLY

Monroe News

IDA – Gavin Albring doesn’t come off the field very often.

When he does, his Ida Bluestreak football coaches find ways to get him back in the game.

Albring’s interception late in the first half helped Ida turn a 7-6 lead into a 14-6 lead inside the final minute of the second quarter and was a springboard to the Bluestreaks beating Whiteford Friday, 21-6.

“The play right before that I came out because I was a little winded, but coached put me right back in,” Albring said. “They drop back to pass and I’m in the right spot at the right time. They threw it up and I just went up and got it.”

The interception set Ida up with a short field. Five plays after the interception, Albring found himself in the end zone giving Ida the one-score lead at the half.

“He’s a heck of a football player,” Potter said. “He does so much for us on both sides of the ball. He’s a great kid and continues to excel.”

Albring was in on 12 tackles to go with his two pics, leading the Ida defense, which stifled the Bobcat arsenal, holding them to 199 yards of total offense and just one scoring drive.

“Our defensive line plays amazing, and our linebackers go super hard,” Albring said. “This was huge. They are on a long winning streak. We knocked them off, that’s what we wanted to do. I think we just wanted it more.”

Ida is 2-0 after the win, which snapped a 24-game Whiteford regular season winning streak.

Ida led 7-0 when they scored on the second drive of the game. Dean Thomas scored on a 69-yard run after shifting from the backfield to quarterback for a series.

The Bobcats pulled within one on a quarterback sneak by Tre Eitniear but missed on the two-point conversion.

With about five minutes to go before halftime the Bobcats regained possession of the ball, but Albring stepped in front of an Eitniear pass, leading to the second Bluestreak scoring drive.

In the third quarter the Bobcats drove deep into Ida territory but turned the ball over on downs. That happened two more times in the second half as the Ida defense stood tall.

“We didn’t finish,” Whiteford coach Todd Thieken said. “Credit Ida for that. Jeff and those guys do a great job. They have one their best teams in years and they are a veteran team. I think our youth showed a little bit tonight, especially on those short runs.

“We have a third-and-3 and instead of putting our heads down and getting three yards, we try and make a big play and get tackled after one-yard. That puts us in a fourth-and-short and we can’t convert. I thought that was big.”

Ida had 273 yards rushing and 85 passing. They also had 18 first downs as they chewed up a lot of clock. Whiteford had only 12 first downs.

Thomas finished with 165 yards on 25 carries. Owen Snyder had five carries for 50 yards and completed all three of his passes for 85 yards. Albring had 40 yards on 11 carries rushing and caught two passes for 52 yards.

Brek Ruddy rushed for 107 yards on 17 touches for the Bobcats. Trenton Eitniear had 13 tackles and Drew Ruddy 10 for the Bobcats.

Ida didn’t turn the ball over.

“I think the biggest thing is we didn’t give up a big play,” Potter said. “We made them earn everything they got. For the most part, we were able to keep them in front of us. When it was third and short and fourth and short, the defense stepped up and did a nice job.”

Ida opens play in the Lenawee County Athletic Association next week, on the road at Hudson.

“It was a great win,” Potter said. “We worked hard for it. We’ll enjoy it right now, but we have to get ready next week to go against Hudson.”

WHITEFORD 0 6 0 0 – 6

IDA 7 7 0 7 = 21

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

I – Dean Thomas 69 run (Wyatt Dirkmaat kick)

Second Quarter

W – Tre Eitniear 1 run (pass failed)

I – Gavin Albring 1 run (Dirkmaat kick)

Fourth Quarter

I – Owen Snyder 1 run (Dirkmaat kick)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING – Whiteford: Brek Ruddy 17-107, Drew Ruddy 8-30, Antonio Nachtrab 6-25, Brody Hillard 2-10, Tre Eitniear 2-1, Trenton Eitniear 1-1. Totals 36-174. Ida: Dean Thomas 25-169, Owen Snyder 5-51, Gavin Albring 10-42, Wyatt Dirkmaat 9-11. Totals 49-273.

PASSING – Whiteford: Tre Eitniear 4-11-2 25 yards. Ida: Owen Snyder 2-2-0 53 yards, Dean Thomas 1-1-0 34 yards.

RECEIVING – Whiteford: Drew Ruddy 2-20, Brody Hillard 1-5, Brek Ruddy 1-0. Ida: Gavin Albring 2-53, Caden Kerth 1-34.