REGIONALS: Davison vs. Midland

**Jake Thompson runs in a 2-point conversion**
**Andrew Maxwell moves out of the pocket to buy some time**
**Midland had trouble tackling Oliver Saylor**
**A Davison corner gets yardage after making an interception**

Midland- At halftime it looked like Davison would again loose another playoff game at Midland's Community Field, for the third straight year, as the Cardinals trailed Midland 7-12. Two years ago Davison lost to Muskegon in a semi-final game and last year they lost to Midland in a regional final.

But this year would prove to be different as Davison got their run game going in the second half with QB Jake Thompson and RB Oliver Saylor to take a 25-19 win to advance to the Division 2 semi-finals.

Davison got on the board first when Thompson hit a wide open Daniel Thwing in the middle of the field for a 21 yard TD. Midland answered back on their first possession with a 80 yard drive. The drive was keyed by a 4th-and-1 conversion on Davison's 25 yard line when Andrew Maxwell ran under center to move the chains. On the very next play Maxwell hit Drew Moulton for a touchdown. The extra point snap was botched keeping the lead in Davison's favor 7-6 with 3:37 to go in the first.

For the remainder of the first half Davison's offense failed to pick up first downs while Midland just couldn't take advantage like the Chemics normally would. In the second quarter Midland missed a 36 yard field goal, had a touchdown called back for holding, threw an interception, and got stopped on a 4th-and-2 on Davison's 17 yard line instead of attempting a field goal.

Midland did manage to convert a touchdown with 27 seconds left in the half when Maxwell found Michael Albrecht in the corner of the endzone. The Chemics 2-point attempt sailed incomplete giving Midland the 12-7 halftime lead.

In the third quarter the Cardinals capitalized off of another Maxwell interception. A 25 yard pass from Thompson set up a 1st-and-goal from the two yard line and Saylor finished the drive on the very next play. Thompson ran in the 2-point attempt giving Davison a 15-12 lead.

Davison took control of the game early in the fourth quarter when Thompson scored from 12 yards out and a Cardinal 28 yard field goal gave Davison a 25-12 lead with just over four minutes to play.

Davison was able to withstand a Chemic rally late in the game, after Midland scored off of a 33 yard pass to Moulton, Davison was able to recover a Midland onside kick with 30 seconds left, securing the Cardinal win.

BREAKDOWN

Davison- the Cardinal defense bent but never broke, and they really took over the second half as they were able to get pressure on Maxwell. Midland's offense could never get going in the second half but the Davison offense gets credit for that because they kept Maxwell and company off of the field by controlling the ball.

Midland- the Chemics just didn't seem to be as fired up for this game as Davison was. Too many mistakes and mental errors cost Midland the game. In the second half Midland had no answer for the Davison run game.

GAME MVP: Oliver Saylor, Davison a pure bruiser on both sides of the ball! When Saylor wasn't laying the wood from his linebacker spot he was running people over on offense. Saylor kept the chains moving in the second half as Davison controlled the clock. Saylor finished with 135 yards and a TD.

Jake Thompson, Davison- the sophomore QB didn't play like no regular sophomore. He did have a fumble and an interception but for the most part he was solid managing the game.

Andrew Maxwell, Midland- Maxwell spent most of the game on the run avoiding D-ends. He showed good mobility with a strong arm but just didn't come up with the plays you would expect out of a big 10 bound quarterback.

Michael Albrecht, Midland- the Saginaw Valley MVP showed why he was the MVP, even on a team with two big 10 bound prospects. Albrecht intercepted a pass to go with a touchdown in his final game.