Whittemore-Prescott's Dustin Laming engulfs Oscoda quarterback Justin Cain after a one-yard gain during the Cards' playoff-clinching win.
Oscoda's Brad Niemann tries to break a tackle during the first quarter of Friday's contest.
Brent Baker
W-P's Hugh Jenkins barrels in for a two-point conversion in the second quarter.

OSCODA - Oct. 12, 2007 - Whittemore-Prescott's defense controlled the game from the outset Friday and set up the Cards' offense by forcing a quick succession of turnovers in the second quarter as W-P clinched a playoff spot with a 48-0 victory at Oscoda.

The playoff berth is the 12th in 14 seasons for the Cardinals and means they won't be forced to beat another 6-2 team, Tawas Area, next week just to get in.

"Being an independent, that's always our first goal," said W-P coach Chad Zeien. "It's nice to be back, but we still have a long ways to go and a lot of areas we need to improve in. But it's nice not to have our backs against the wall."

The Cardinal defense forced turnovers on three consecutive Oscoda plays in the second quarter to set up a pair of touchdowns - a 16-yard run by Matt Ackerman and a one-yard plunge by Hugh Jenkins - and a 20-0 lead at halftime.

Billy Raushi, who had a 68-yard run for W-P's opening score in the first quarter, added a 64-yard pass reception from Austin Swanson on the second play of the third period, then broke loose for a 45-yard run four minutes later for a 41-0 lead.

The Owls, literally rebuilding from scratch after shutting the program down midway through last season, hung tough for a quarter and half. Mike Lamrock forced a fumble on W-P's first possession and Trent Fouchey returned it into Cardinal territory to give the Owls a shot at taking an early lead.

"That's Lamrock's niche," said Oscoda coach Chris Davis. "He just goes in there and yanks the ball out whenever he can."

A penalty erased Brad Niemann's first-down run on 3rd-and-2, and the Owls were forced to punt. Oscoda ended up not getting its initial first down until their final drive of the half.

"We should have started to throw earlier than we did," Davis said. "Their line just owned the line of scrimmage. We had a little more success getting off some quick throws in the second half."

That, of course, carries its own set of risks. Justin Cain completed three passes on a late drive -- two to Lamrock and one to Dillon Kachur -- but W-P's Chris Downes then picked off a pass and returned it 84 yards for the game's final score.

Tristan Kohlhoff also had a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and B.J. Lomason was 4-of-6 on extra point kicks.

"It was a great team win," Zeien said. "We had a lot of people contribute. I'm happy overall with how we played."

Raushi rushed for 132 yards on eight carries and Jenkins added 77 yards on 17 carries to lead the Cards on the ground. Swanson threw for 73 yards on 2-of-4 passing. Dustin Laming led the defense with eight tackles and two assists, while Brandon Kubik and Spencer Dietzel each had five tackles and an assist.

Niemann rushed for 26 yards on 11 carries and Cain had 19 yards on 10 carries while completing 7-of-14 passes for 50 yards.

For the Owls (0-8), their final chance to pick up a win comes against Rogers City -- a smaller school, but still yet another playoff-bound team at 7-1. In their nine-game schedule, only Pinconning isn't either playing for a playoff berth this week, or already in. Oscoda's opponents this year are 42-21 against the rest of their schedule while their non-conference opponents are a combined 24-8.

"We were kind of hoping we could get through the NEMC gauntlet relatively healthy," Davis said. "But we're pretty banged up. We only dressed 16 and one of those guys has only been with us a couple of weeks and really isn't ready yet.

"But we're going to make it through the season, and that says something for these kids."