The Dexter football team was running on all cylinders Friday night as the Dreadnaughts rolled past Livonia Franklin 42-7 in the D2 state playoff opener.
The game was delayed after first play when a Dreadnaughts player suffered a severe leg injury. He was treated by the training staff and EMT’s and carted off the field. After the lengthy delay the teams rewarmed up and play continued.
The Dexter defense forced a punt and the Dreads did not take long to strike when Brady Arbaugh sprinted in from 50 yards out to put Dexter up 7-0.
The Dreadnaughts defense once again stopped Franklin and the offense quickly made it 14-0 when Cooper Arnedt hit Holden Niemi with a wide receiver screen and he rumbled in from 34 yards out for a 14-0 lead after one quarter.
Franklin had its best chance of the night on the next drive with a big pass completion inside the Dexter 10-yard line.
The Dexter defense came up big and Franklin went for it on fourth and eight, but Niemi came up with a huge quarterback sack for an 18-yard loss to give the Dreads the ball back.
The Dreadnaughts pushed it to 21-0 when Arbaugh scored his second of the night from 20 yards out with 6:25 left in the second.
The Patriots again drove inside the Dreadnaughts ten-yard line but tried to get fancy with a trick play that was fumbled. Kyle Silo picked up the loose ball and rumbled 85 yards with an escort from several Dreads to make the score 28-0.
The next Franklin drive saw Mitchell Ward pick off a pass in the endzone to put the ball at the 20-yard line.
Dexter took just three plays to go 80 yards with the drive capped off by a 29-yard TD pass from Arnedt to Niemi for a 35-0 halftime lead.
The second half saw Arnedt connect with Cole Novara for a TD pass to make it 42-0.
The game moved to a running clock and Franklin scored a late touchdown to make the final 42-7.
Arnedt was nearly perfect on the night, completing 12 of 13 passes for 215 yards and three TD’s.
Niemi had a big night on both sides of the ball with four catches for 79 yards and two TD’s and came up with several huge plays for the Dreads defense.
Cole Novara caught five passes for 83 yards and a score, while William Simpson caught two for 51 yards.
Arbaugh had a big game on the ground with 101 yards on eight carries and two TD’s
The Dreadnaughts improved to 9-1 overall on the season. They hit the road Friday night to take on South Lyon (10-0) for the district title at 7:00 PM.
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
