No. 9 Armada extends shutout streak, rolling over Richmond to stay unbeaten
There's no glamour in the countless hours high school football players spend in the weight room preparing for the next season.
The glamour comes when the team opens the season with four straight victories and begins Blue Water Area Conference play with three consecutive shutouts.
That's the story at Armada, which improved to 4-0 Friday night with a 42-0 victory against arch rival Richmond.
"We work hard," said senior linebacker Kaleb Vanhoeck. "Defense is the heart of our program. You can't lose if you don't let them score.
"We put in a lot of work during the offseason and it all pays off. Workouts. Just pushing it. We believe in getting strong and being the bigger person. We have great coaches — coach (Clint) Conard and coach (Dan) Walker. Our defense can't get much better. We've just got to keep it going."
The Tigers' defense is quick to the football. As soon as a Richmond player got his hands on the ball, he was swarmed by two or three Armada defenders.
"We call them the dogs for a reason," said coach Kyle Rowley. "They fly all over the field. We have great schemes, great coaches who prep those kids every single day, all week long. It's a pretty good defense."
Vanhoeck is one of the keys to that defense. He missed last week's game with an ankle injury.
"He's the leader of the defense," Rowley said. "He calls the plays and get everybody lined up. We're so much better when he's on the field."
Vanhoeck and TJ Seiler each had interceptions in the game.
"I had a pick-six but it was called back (by a holding penalty)," Vanhoeck said. "But that's OK. We won anyway."
Armada showed is depth on offense as five different players scored touchdowns. Fullback Logan Chunn scored twice on short runs, while Jackson Malburg, Evan Kanniainen, quarterback Lucas Pratt and Kenny Goike also scored.
Malburg had 85 yards on six carries, all in the first quarter, including a 25-yard touchdown run.
"He tweaked his ankle," Rowley said. "It was a precaution. We were in the lead. We were OK. Let's keep him out. Evan Kanniainen came in and did a good job.
"What's good about this team is we don't have to just run the ball. We have great receivers and that's a real benefit for us. We try to find the open spots and we have good receivers who understand the game. They understand spacing so when we need them we can fall back on them and I know they'll make the big play."
It's also a plus to have a seasoned quarterback like Pratt who can get them the ball.
This has been a rough start to the season for Richmond, which fell to 1-3.
"It's one of those years," said coach Sean Misko. "We started with 10 seniors and six injuries later you have to find a way to dig through it. We showed some promising moments tonight but Armada is a seasoned team. They have 15 or 16 seniors and they showed their experience tonight. They're very consistent and disciplined. We have to take what we can from it and grow."
Photo gallery from No. 9 Armada at Richmond in BWAC action
Misko mentioned several players who have played well and most of them are underclassmen.
"Our senior quarterback, Anthony Bonnetti, is doing really well and our receivers, Dominic Bonnetti and JJ Hollister have done well," Misko said. "Our defense is growing one step at a time. We have some tremendous D-linemen in Logan Evans and Brody Mayer. Our linebacking corps is coming alone with Gage Towner and Joey Joudi.
"Kolton Bartels is one of the best specialists in the state. He's an unbelievable punter. You love to have him but you hate to use him. Unfortunately, we missed a block on the edge and he got blocked (by Chunn). That was a bummer for him."
