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The Saline football team held off a second-half rally by Ann Arbor Huron and came away with a 35-24 win over the River Rats in the SEC Red opener at Huron Thursday night.
The Hornets built a 28-10 lead at the half, but Huron came to life in the second half with a pair of TD passes to cut the lead to 28-24 in the fourth.
Saline turned the ball over on downs at the Huron 30 with 5:17 left and would drive to the Hornets 44 with 2:04 left in the fourth. A five-yard run and a one-yard pass set up 3rd and 4 for Huron. After a timeout, the Huron quarterback stumbled while trying to scramble and fell for a loss of six yards setting up 4th and 10. Sullivan Mills blitzed through and nailed the Huron quarterback as he tried to throw, setting off a celebration but the ball was never whistled dead and Tate Bezeau picked up the loose ball and ran it in from 44 yards out for a touchdown that would seal the win.
Huron took a 3-0 lead in the first with a 42-yard field goal, but the Hornets answered with a seven-yard TD run by CJ Carr for a 7-3 lead after one quarter.
The River Rats retook the lead early in the second with a TD run to take a 10-7 lead, but the Hornets answered with three straight scores to take a 28-10 lead at the break.
Ryan Niethammer scored on a two-yard TD run to make it 14-10, and after Huron gambled on fourth down at its own 38, Carr connected with Garrett Baldwin for a 38-yard TD pass. Following a Peyton Widen interception with nine seconds left in the half Carr hit Bezeau with a 3-yard TD pass for the halftime lead.
Huron outgained the Hornets 386-348 and held on to the ball for 13 more minutes than Saline, but all that mattered was the final score.
Carr finished 12 of 23 passing for 202 yards and two TD passes and one on the ground.
Roman Laurio caught four passes for 94 yards and Baldwin two for 77 and a score. Niethammer rushed for 87 yards on 19 carries and Carr rushed for 58 yards.
Mills led the defense with 10.5 tackles, while Ryan Stein added 10.
Saline improved to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Red. They host Ypsilanti Lincoln Friday night at 7:00 PM.
