Yale football finale Friday night
YALE — The young Yale football squad had few answers for a potent Armada rushing game, dropping its Blue Water Area Conference matchup to the Tigers in a 42-6 loss Friday night.
With the defeat, Yale fell to 1-7 overall and 1-6 in conference play.
Armada scored two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead and added two more in the second stanza to push its lead to 28-0 at halftime.
Yale’s lone score came in the third quarter when Jackson Reeves punched the ball over the goal line from 9 yards out. The point-after try failed, capping Yale’s scoring for the evening.
Armada added a touchdown in both the third and fourth quarters to seal the victory. The Tigers finished with 320 total yards, including 269 on the ground. Yale managed just 61 rushing yards while adding 115 through the air, as quarterback Austin Rhodes completed 6 of 17 passes.
Friday night will mark the Bulldogs’ final contest of the season, when it hosts Holly in a nonconference matchup set to kickoff at 7 p.m. The Bronchos enter the game with a 6-2 record and a shot at reaching the MHSAA postseason playoffs.
For Yale, it could mark the final game played at the city park. District officials have decided to stop using the natural-grass field, despite a rich history of high school football played on one of the area’s best grass surfaces for the past several decades.
The school district approved $375,000 for new field lights on campus, but must still install a scoreboard and other necessary amenities before hosting games at the new location. School officials remain noncommittal on whether this will be the final season at the city park.
According to school personnel, the primary driving force behind the move is the need for repairs to the park’s press box, concession stand, bleachers and restrooms. Rather than investing funds into a venue the district does not own, officials decided to direct those resources toward upgrading their own facilities. Work has already begun on running electricity to the field and installing four new light poles.
