Almont football clips Warren Michigan Collegiate in overtime for district title

ALMONT — After running wild in the first half, the Almont football team nearly ran out of gas in the second.

Fortunately, it still had enough fuel to finish the job.

The Raiders prevailed against Warren Michigan Collegiate, 40-38, in overtime of a Division 6 district final at home on Friday.

Almont improved to 10-1 and advanced to next week's regional semifinal against Detroit Edison (8-3).

"We were well-tested after some close games early in the season," Almont coach James Leusby said. "I knew that if it came down to the wire, we wouldn't give up. Our kids do not give up. We just kept battling. (Warren Collegiate) made some adjustments at halftime and it took us a little bit to figure out what they did. Once we figured it out, that did it."

"We were on top of everything," Almont quarterback Chase Davedowski said. "We had a great week of practice and it just translated into the game."

The Raiders jumped out to a 16-0 lead, courtesy of touchdowns runs from Chase Battani and Jonny Gjoka along with a pair of two-point conversions.

Warren Collegiate struck early in the second quarter with a 70-yard touchdown pass. The Cougars then tacked on a two-point conversion of their own

Almont distanced itself when Ayden Ferqueron dove into the end zone on a 4-yard carry at 4:36. Once again, the Raiders added a two-point try and now led. 24-8.

That score held until the fourth quarter, when the Cougars dropped 16 points in just under six minutes. Suddenly, the game was deadlocked 24-24 with 5:42 left.

Then came the turning point at 2:31.

On fourth-and-4, Davedowski threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Battani that caught Warren Collegiate off guard. It was a risky call, considering the play had failed twice earlier in the game. That decision kept Almont's season alive.

"(The Cougars) weren't getting penetration," Leusby said. "So, I figured we could get the ball off. Then I noticed that they had two safeties high. I knew that if we put one safety in conflict, he'd have to pick and (Davedowski) had to pick the right guy and he did it."

"There are three routes and two safeties have to guard it," Davedowski said of the play. "I was reading the play-side safety. He went with Cole (Walton), so I knew (Battani) would be there."

"My heart was racing as that ball was coming at me," Battani said. "There was a defender right on my side and I thought he would've swatted (the pass) down. But we made the connection."

However, Michigan Collegiate wouldn't go quietly and tied it once more with 41 seconds left in regulation.

That sent the game to overtime, where each team had four downs to score from the 10-yard line.

Almont went first and came away with eight points. Right on cue, the Cougars scored a touchdown on their own drive.

A two-point conversion was needed to force a second overtime, which seemed inevitable in that moment. Michigan Collegiate hadn't missed one all game.

But the Cougars were out of answers, responding only with an incomplete pass that sealed Almont's victory.

"We weren't ready to be done (this season)," Davedowski said. "So, we put it all on the line for the seniors and got the job done."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Almont football clips Warren Collegiate in OT for district title