SSC coach Paul Walderzak gets doused by Adam Gulvas in celebration of the Panthers' first NEMC title since 1991 and their third straight playoff berth.
Trevor Trombley gains some of his 105 yards against the Owls on Friday.
Oscoda's Justin Cain (7) picks up a block from teammate Brad Neiman during Friday's game at Standish-Sterling.
Linda Eyer
Elizabeth Cunningham (center) was crowned homecoming queen, and is flanked by first runner-up Brittney Scheall (right) and second runner-up Lindsay Nelson (left).

STANDISH-STERLING - Oct. 5, 2007 - Standish-Sterling had three reasons to celebrate on Friday after the Panthers defeated Oscoda 63-14.

SSC, before its homecoming crowd, earned its sixth win of the season to qualify for the playoffs and claimed a share of its first North East Michigan Conference championship since 1991. It's also the Panthers' third straight playoff berth.

The Panthers will share the 2007 title with Ogemaw Heights after the Falcons' 34-21 defeat of Tawas Area.

"It feels good to have our six wins and top it off with a conference title," said SSC coach Paul Walderzak. "At this point we can just focus on these next two games and picking up a couple of big wins and some playoff points."

The Panthers took just 13 seconds to score as Austin Collier connected with Ashton Gulvas on a 25-yard touchdown pass. Jacob Goodroe hit the first of his nine extra points for a 7-0 lead.

The Owls had one of their bigger positives of the season as they scored on the Panthers' first-string defense, with Justin Cain hitting Dillon Kachur for a 60-yard scoring strike. The extra point failed, and the Panthers still led 7-6.

"Our kids were so excited after we answered Standish's first score with a big play of our own," said Oscoda coach Chris Davis.

From there, though, SSC took over, scoring five more touchdowns in the first quarter to take a 42-6 lead.

The Owls made it 42-14 on Cain's 1-yard pass to Trent Fouchey, but the Collier added a 17-yard run with 40 seconds left in the second quarter, and the Panthers scored once in each quarter in the second half.

"Austin Collier is amazing," Davis said. "He's unreal."

SSC forced seven turnovers, including three interceptions by Adam Gulvas, including one that he returned 22 yards for the final score of the first quarter.

Collier finished with 116 rushing yards on four carries and completed 2-of-5 passes for 46 yards and two touchdowns, both to Ashton Gulvas. Collier also had a 46-yard touchdown run. Trevor Trombley added 105 yards on eight carries and scoring runs of 67 and 15 yards, while Casey Potts had 63 yards on nine carries and Brad Bialobrzeski had 55 yards and a 13-yard touchdown run on five rushes. Jason Kandal also added a 30-yard touchdown run on his only carry of the night.

Kevin Goretcki was in on nine total tackles, while Dewey Milan added eight, Adam Gulvas had seven, Wes Dunn had six, Kandal had five and Zach Dziuban blocked a punt.

Cain completed 15-of-29 passes for 240 yards and two scores for the Owls.

"Cain played a great game," Davis said. "(He made) precise reads and delievered the ball to the correct receiver in the passing game. He also made several great reads and plays in the running game."

Brad Niemann led the Owls with 35 rushes on eight carries.

"I can't say enough about Niemann," Davis said. "He started the year on the offensive line. Following an injury to our starting ace back, a search began for a more durable, bigger back to take the pounding and get us the tough yards. Brad has been that back for us; I'm extremely proud of how far he has come."

The Panthers (6-1, 4-1 NEMC) will get a good test next week at Reed City (6-1), which blanked Morley-Stanwood 41-0 on Friday. The Coyotes' most impressive victory was a win over Chippewa Hills (6-1), while their only loss was to Central Montcalm. Those three teams finished in a three-way tie for the Central State Activities Association title.

A win over another playoff-bound team will also add to the Panthers' playoff points total and increase their likelihood of opening the playoffs at home in a few weeks.

"Reed City is a very good team," Walderzak said. "Power football with some very good athletes. We are looking forward to a great game."

The Owls (0-7, 0-5) will try to spoil Whittemore-Prescott's (5-2) playoff hopes on Friday.