Turnovers costly for Indians

Five turnovers proved costly for Tecumseh’s varsity football team at Ann Arbor Pioneer on Thursday, Sept. 12, beginning with the opening kick-off.The Pioneers took advantage of a fumble by Tecumseh on the opening kick off and put seven points on the board in the first 46 seconds of play. Ann Arbor Pioneer handed the Indians their first loss by outscoring them 35-20.“I feel terrible about how we came out,’ said Tecumseh head coach Al Romano. “But I feel great about how our kids responded and came together and fought back.”The Pioneers added another touchdown in the second quarter and held a 14-0 lead before Tecumseh quarterback Nick Cowen was able to put Tecumseh on the board. Cowen threw a 10-yard touchdown pass into the hands of Jimmy Terry with just 10 seconds remaining in the first half. Ben Vannatter added another point on the ensuing point after touchdown kick.Two more touchdowns, and point after touchdown kicks, were recorded by the Pioneers in the third quarter to bump their lead to 28-7 heading into the final quarter.Tecumseh recorded its second touchdown early in the final quarter with Mitchell Meger scoring on a two-yard run and Vannatter added a point on the following kick to cut Pioneer’s lead to 28-14 with 10:16 remaining in the game.Ann Arbor Pioneer fumbled the ball on their next possession and Tecumseh’s Silas Rebottaro scooped it up and scooted 29 yards into the end zone to pull the Indians within eights points (28-20) with 9:22 remaining in the contest. “We get it to a one score game in the fourth quarter with a lot of time on the clock,” said Romano. “I felt good that as bad as we were, handling the ball and turnovers, that we were still able to be in it.”Vannatter’s following kick was off but the Indians still had time to come-from-behind and make up the eight-point difference. Instead, the Pioneers scored another touchdown with just 2:59 remaining on the clock and secured the win with a good point after touchdown kick for the final tally.“There’s always some positive with the negative. You’ve just got to look on the brighter side,” said Romano. The brighter side is we hung in there and found a way to come back. The negative side, of course, is the turnovers, which just killed us.”Tecumseh’s offensive stats against Pioneer:Rushing —Mitch Meger 12-23Nick Cowen 15-62Wyatt Cadmus 8-3Passing —Cowen - 9-17-118 (1-interception)Receiving:Pat Beguhn - 3-17Wyatt Cadmus -2-20Jimmy Terry - 3-15Mitch Meger- 1-66Tecumseh fumbles: five, lost fourAnn Arbor Pioneer offensive stats:Rushing — 37-83Passing — 10-15-161Tecumseh defensive stats:Preston Pelham - 20 tacklesStephen Bloxam - 12 tacklesDevin Moore - 11 tacklesJake Havelka - 9 tacklesTecumseh (2-1) hosts Ypsilanti Lincoln (2-1) on Friday, Sept. 20. Game time is 7 p.m.