By DOUG DONNELLY

OTTAWA LAKE – A football coach will sometime say before a game that if they can get one special teams touchdown it could be the difference in a close game.

St. Mary Catholic Central Friday returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in a 37-28 grind-it-out battle with Whiteford, overcoming a couple of early miscues and an outstanding performance by Bobcat senior Brek Ruddy.

“That was certainly the difference in the game,” Whiteford coach Todd Thieken said after the game. “To get two on us is almost unbelievable. Our kids responded and we played hard, but that is tough to overcome.”

The Bobcats had more yards on offense – 328 yards to 241 yards – had fewer turnovers and more first downs, but lost where it mattered most, the scoreboard.

“It was a big boost,” SMCC coach Adam Kipf said. “If we get a decent return, we are usually happy.”

Whiteford’s opening drive stalled inside the SMCC 10-yard line, but a fumble the Falcons first offensive play led to Ruddy’s first touchdown and a 6-0 lead for the Bobcats. It was short lived as SMCC’s Landon Barron returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.

“I thought our kids rebounded well, especially on that next kickoff,” Kipf said. “They are a resilient bunch. We’ve had a lot of things happen to our program the last eight or nine months. They didn’t get down after that. They didn’t hang their heads. They got right up.”

Ruddy gave the Bobcats 12-7 lead on a 52-yard run but the Falcons responded quickly with Cole Reinhardt scoring on a 34-yard rushing burst for a 14-12 SMCC lead.

Ruddy’s third touchdown, on a 64-yard run, gave Whiteford an 18-14 lead and he extended it to 20-14 with a 2-point conversion. Again, on the next kickoff, however, SMCC’s Lucas Rafko returned it 73 yards for a touchdown on a play where it appeared he was going to be tackled after a short return.

Matteo Rimanelli’s 39-yard field goal as time expired put SMCC in front 24-20 at halftime. They then came out in the third quarter and drove 66 yards in 11 plays, ending in a Cole Reinhardt touchdown run. The drive was kept alive with a 16-yard Falcon pass play on a fourth-and-seven.

SMCC led 31-20 at that point.

“I think we just got back to the basics,” Kipf said. “We got back to what we do – run our offense. Keeping it simple helped our kids I think.”

Thieken said that drive gives his coaching staff a lot to talk about when the team meets to break down the film.

“There were a lot of little things in that drive that we can talk about and learn from,” he said. “That was a key moment in the game.”

Whiteford wasn’t done offensively.

Lining up in the Wildcat formation, Ruddy was a one-man show on the next drive, finishing it with his fourth touchdown of the game on a 15-yard run, pulling the Bobcats within three points at 31-28 early in the fourth quarter.

An SMCC touchdown by quarterback Brady Rinehardt, however, sealed the victory for the Falcons.

Cole Rinehardt led SMCC with 70 yards on 11 attempts. Brady Rinehart rushed for 41 yards and threw for 76 yards.

Ruddy finished with 226 yards on 20 carries for the Bobcats. He also led the defense with seven solo tackles, including one for loss. Andy Trejo recovered two fumbled and Tre Eitniear one for the Bobcats.

Thieken said the Bobcats will regroup for next week. Pewamo-Westphalia comes to Ottawa Lake in Week 2 for a non-league game.

“I thought our kids played hard,” Thieken said. “We have some things to work on, sure, but there are some positives we can take from this and move on.”

Kipf was impressed with Ruddy and the Bobcats.

“Brek is an all-star,” Kipf said. “They are a good football team who will win a lot of football games this year.”

SMCC 14 10 7 6 – 37

Whiteford 12 8 0 8 – 28

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

W – Brek Ruddy 3 run (run failed)

S – Landon Barron 90 kickoff return (Matteo Rimanelli kick)

W – Ruddy 52 run (run failed)

S – Cole Rinehardt 34 run (Rimanelli kick)

Second Quarter

W – Ruddy 64 run (Ruddy run)

S – Lucas Rafko 73 kickoff return (Rimanelli kick)

S – Rimanelli 39 field goal

Third Quarter

S – Cole Reinhardt 1 run (Rimanelli kick)

Fourth Quarter

W – Ruddy 15 run (Ruddy run)

S – Brady Reinhardt 12 run (kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – SMCC: Cole Reinhardt 11-70, Brady Reinhardt 8-41, Landon Barron 6-30, Cameron Cousino 3-23, Vince Harris 3-1, Blake Lechy 1-0. Totals 32-165. Whiteford: Brek Ruddy 20-226, Andy Trejo 5-26, Elijah Vance 9-25, George Thompson 3-13, Tre Eitniear 6-(minus)-7. Totals 43-283.

PASSING – SMCC: Brady Reinhardt 5-10-0 76 yards. Whiteford: Tre Eitniear 4-10-1 42 yards, Brek Ruddy 1-1-0 3 yards.

RECEIVING – SMCC: Brody DeLand 3-50, Cole Reinhardt 2-26. Whiteford: Brek Ruddy 1-16, Elijah Vance 1-15, Andy Trejo 2-11, Caden Stewart 1-3.