Saline Opens New Football Era With Upset Victory

 

It’s hard to imagine the Saline Hornets making the statement any clearer.

One year after losing at home to Walled Lake Western, 51-14, Saline went on the road and upset the perennial state powerhouse, 27-14.

The victory marked the start of the Joe Palka era at Saline High School. Palka was hired by the district to be assistant athletic director, assistant principal and head football coach. His son, Tyler, the team’s quarterback, had a stellar debut, throwing two touchdown passes and running for two touchdowns.

Coach Palka said he wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from his team before the game. He called it a huge victory.

“To beat a storied program on the road in your first game is unbelievable. I think it will do wonders for our program,” Palka said.

The Hornets went right to work. On the second play from scrimmage, Saline forced a fumble that was recovered by senior linebacker Caleb Ashby, who made his presence felt with hard hits and big plays all night. Saline took over at the Walled Lake 49 and made two first downs on keepers by Palka. On the sixth play of the drive, Palka threw a short pass to Caleb Luckett who sprinted 15 yards for a touchdown. Gage Hammond’s extra point made it 7-0 with 10:05 to play in the quarter.

After a strong series by the defense, Saline got the ball back at its own 30. On the first play from scrimmage, Palka tucked the ball in, sprinted up the middle, bounced to the outside and went all the way for a 70-yard touchdown. Hammond’s kick made it 14-0 with 7:20 to play in the quarter.

“It was a designed quarterback draw. We had two great guards and tackles pulling for me. I found that open hole—it was wide open because of the great blocking. It was all I could ask for,” Palka said.

Western’s next drive resulted in a missed 41-yard field goal attempt.

Saline’s offense struggled for the remainder of the half and Western took advantage of good field position. QB Kyle Bambard capped short, seven-play, 41-yard drive with a 10-yard keeper. The kick made it 14-7 early in the second quarter.

Saline’s next drive went backward and the Hornets punted from their 19. Walled Lake Western started at Saline 26. Saline’s defense did their best to defend the short field. Western had a 1st and 10 from the 11. A few plays later, the Hornets thought they stuffed the Western offense on 4th and 1 from the two, but Western got a good spot from the officials. Saline held Western out of the end zone on the next two plays before Western finally scored. With 5:59 to play in the half, the score was tied at 14.

Penalties put a stop to the Hornets' next drive and they punted from their own 17. Once again, Western had great field position, starting at the Saline 42. But the Hornets defense came up big, stripping the ball from Bambard. The Hornets punted the ball away after three plays and, after a good return, Western had good field position again, at the Saline 33. With 36 seconds left, Saline’s defense blocked a field goal attempt, recovered the ball and returned it to mid field.

With less than 30 seconds left in the half, Palka connected with AJ Korzuck on a long pass play to giving Saline the ball at the two. The Hornets lost five yards on the next play. With 6.7 seconds left, a pass in the end zone failed to click. There appeared to be two seconds left on the clock, but when the Hornets began to line up at scrimmage, the clock showed no time left and officials ended the half and the Hornets were robbed of another chance to score.

The Hornets’ offense found their mojo again in the second half. Hammond returned the opening kickoff to the Western 47. Griffin Wooley did a nice job rushing the ball deeper into Western territory but a holding call pushed the Hornets back to the 25. On 3rd and 13 from the 25, Palka’s long toss was caught by Hammond in the end zone to give Saline the lead.

“I had great protection. I took two steps and hitched up and threw it to Gage and he made an unbelievable play,” Palka said.

“We all had to step up and make plays. Tyler made a great throw and we all had to do our part. Big players make big plays,” Hammond said.

Hammond’s kick made it 21-14 with 10:48 to play in the third quarter.

Saline’s offense continued to give Western good field position. Three consecutive Western drives began in Saline territory, but the defense held strong, getting big plays from Ashby, Casey Schukow and Dominic DiMelis.

Saline’s first drive of the fourth quarter failed to go anywhere. Two fourth down delay of game penalties pushed Saline back into their end and it looked like Western might have good field possession for a fourth straight drive. But Hammond’s high punt was a beauty, allowing the Hornets to swarm the returner. The punt was dropped and Clayton Karcher recovered the ball giving Saline a first down at the Western 29. Two plays later, Palka ran in on a 26-yard keeper. The kick was wide and Saline led 27-14.

Saline held on for the victory and celebrated the win by singing the school’s fight song with the student section.

It was a big victory for the Hornets.

“We worked hard. We kept punching them in the mouth and we never gave up. The atmosphere is different (this year),” said Schukow. “I’m proud of this whole team.”

Schukow, a lineman, said the team’s emphasis on conditioning and platooning meant he was still energetic at the end of the game.

“At the end of the game I was able to get better rushes at the quarterback. Last year, I couldn’t get to the quarterbacks at the end of the game,” Schukow said. “We all have more energy to make plays and make things happen in the fourth quarter, and that’s what we all did.”

Ashby, an outside linebacker, had a huge game. He missed all of last season with an injury and seemed intent on making up for lost time. He was in on more than 10 tackles. Ashby said Friday’s victory confirmed to outsiders what members of the team already knew.

 “We’ve got a winning attitude. There’s no, ‘We might go to the state championship.’ No. We’re going,” Ashby said.
“We’re going all the way.”

Saline visits Ypsilanti at 7 p.m. Friday. Ypsilanti opened its season with a 42-6 loss to Milan.

 

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