Kee football team limited by injury brings home schedule to a close with 64-0 loss to Midland team fueled by one-man show
Trio of tackles ... Kee football senior Ben Franceschetti engages a Midland player in a block in the Hawks’ 64-0 home loss to the Eagles Friday, October 7. Franceschetti wrapped up three tackles in the loss, all of them being solo stops. Photo by the Kee High School Yearbook. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
The short-handed second half of the Kee football season continued to show growing pains for the injury-riddled Hawks, as the Midland Eagles traveled to Lansing Friday, October 7 and soared to a 64-0 Kee defeat. With several key players being sidelined by injury, including a couple of their senior veterans, the host Hawks had difficulty keeping pace with a senior-laden Midland squad, especially senior quarterback Caden Ballou, who accounted for more than three-fourths of the visiting Eagles’ offense with his arm and - mostly - his legs.
The Hawks were more than doubled up in the offensive yards category, as Midland racked up a 314-147 advantage in moving the ball forward. Ballou threw for just 23 yards and one touchdown as part of that offensive effort, but also ran 265 yards and seven touchdowns on 14 of his own carries, averaging nearly 19 yards per carry.
Not only was Kee’s offensive effort limited by a senior-laden Midland defense, but the Hawks also slowed themselves a bit with three fumbles and two interceptions surrendered, leaving their Eagle guests some short-field opportunities they took full advantage of. Kee’s 147 yards of offense included just 57 yards through the air and 90 more on the ground.
“We have to execute better than what we did tonight,” Kee football coach Chad Winters said. “You can’t turn the ball over five times, get a punt blocked, and expect to be competitive. Four of those turnovers resulted in them having 15 yards or less to go. We really struggled with staying on blocks when we were on offense and getting off blocks when on defense to help get guys on the ground tonight. We have to get better in those areas before we worry about anything else moving forward.”
Holding a 2-5 season record that includes a 1-3 mark in Eight-Player District 5 play that leaves them outside the realm of State Play-Off qualification, the Hawks are next scheduled to wrap up their 2022 campaign with a trip to Easton Valley this Friday, October 14. Having played to an Eight-Player State Runner-Up finish last fall and returning a good amount of that leading production for this year’s campaign, the River Hawks lead District 5 with an undefeated league mark, coming off a 62-20 win over Edgewood-Colesburg this past Friday, October 7 and suffered their lone loss on the season against Don Bosco, 34-30, in their season opener.
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