Bay City Western Pounds Midland Dow at the Cornfield

September 6, 2008
By: MyBayCity Staff

SPECIAL TO MYBAYCITY FROM TOM BAIRD:

The Warrior offense piled up 28 points against Dow on Friday night at home.
(MyBayCity Photo by Tom Baird)

Justin Gwizdala (24) pounds into the line for a short gain against Midland Dow.
(MyBayCity Photo by Tom Baird)

On a very nice setting at Bay City Westerns Cornfield the Warriors pounded the Midland Dow Chargers 28-0. Veteran head coach Jim Eurick Warriors ground out a 14-0 lead in the first half by moving the ball up and down the field early on.

Justin Gwizdala finally punched the ball into the end-zone with 8:18 left in the first half. Both teams had played solid defense up until the 17 yard run. Following a blocked punt the Warriors had a short drive before senior Quarterback Matt Grew scored the first of his 3 touchdowns on the night.

This hard fought Saginaw Valley Conference game left Bay City Western now 2-0 and in first place in the very balanced SVC this season. With 14 returning starters back for the Warriors things should bode well this season for the Auburn based bunch. In the second half the defense which played well in the first half stepped it up in the second half by holding the Dow Chargers in check. Lucas Kozuch, C.J. Barton and Sam Penkala all played outstanding in keeping pressure on Dow quarterback Kyle Partlo all night long.

A very balanced attack by Western will make if difficult for any team to focus on one player through out the season. Running backs Joe Hanisko and Justin Gwizdala ran for 77 yards and 63 yards respectively.

Quarterback Matt Grew had an average night passing with 3-for-10 and 46 yards. Matt came into the season as the returning leading passer in Bay County from 2007. He accounted for the 3 touchdowns on the ground with 68 yards rushing. Midland Dow fell to 0-2 on the season.

Coach Eurick's Warriors who just missed the playoffs last season are poised to make the next step to have a successful season. The 41 player squad has all of the key positions covered by returning starters who gained valuable playing time last season.

The Western Warrior Marching Band had much to celebrate during their game Friday night against Midland Dow.
(MyBayCity Photo by Tom Baird)

Bay City Western will play the meat of their schedule in the middle of the season with Saginaw Valley Conference co-favorites Midland Chemics and the Saginaw Arthur Hill Lumberjacks in back to back weeks on October 3rd and 10th.

Both of those teams have highly touted Quarterbacks with one already committed to Michigan State and the other being recruited by Division One schools. The Warriors then will finish out the season at arch rival Bay City Central who is down this year from they usually strong football teams. This well coached veteran loaded team should make a strong run for the SVC title and secure a MHSAA playoff bid if they continue to play and improve like they have the first two weeks.