OGEMAW HEIGHTS - Sep. 19, 2008 - Ogemaw Heights threw a bit of a change-up at Tawas Area Friday, returning to its roots both figuratively and visually to key a 28-19 homecoming victory over the Braves to keep the Falcons' league title and post-season hopes alive.

Sporting old-school, all-gold uniforms devoid of decor (save for numbers), the Falcons, who had averaged nearly 20 passes a contest through their first three games, put the ball in the air just three times.

Quarterback John Hughes, who had played sparingly through Ogemaw's first three games, ran the option to near perfection while rushing for 155 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries in his first varsity start.

"We felt at the beginning of the season that we had two quarterbacks that could play well, and gave us some different things," said Ogemaw coach Andrew Pratley. "Eric (Noble, who started the first three contests) will still help us down the line, but right now we really needed to put a spark in our running game. John helped us put more emphasis there tonight, and he performed well there."

It also didn't help the Falcon passing attack that tight end Alex Rose was out with a collar bone injury. But the game changed as it went on as both teams were hit hard by injuries.

The Falcons lost running back Anthony Carollo for the game just before halftime, as well as Ken Larson. But Tawas wasn't shedding any tears of pity for the Falcons, particularly after injuries cost them playmaking wideout Jeff Janis (concussion) and nose tackle Walter Glass (knee) in the second quarter and quarterback Jesse Siwek late in the fourth.

"Injuries happen," said Tawas coach Tim Webb. "But every team deals with them, so those aren't an excuse. I can't remember a game where so many key kids from both teams got hurt."

There was no doubt that the Braves missed Janis' playmaking ability, though. Before he got hurt midway through the second quarter, he'd caught four passes for 69 yards and the game's first score, a 33-yard touchdown where he broke three tackles along the sideline and tiptoed the last 10 yards into the end zone.

The Falcons quickly showed what they were going to be about on this night. After the Braves took a 7-0 lead, Ogemaw launched a nine-play, 75-yard drive -- all on the ground -- and tied it on Hughes' 12-yard run and Jarritt Orlando's first of four extra point kicks.

In fact, after the Braves' opening drive, they ran just nine more plays from scrimmage to Ogemaw's 29 over the remainder of the half. Even without Janis, Tawas took a 13-7 lead when Tim Schmidt picked up a Falcon fumble and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown. Anthony Zettel blocked the extra point, which proved important later in the game.

"Our offense definitely improved," Pratley said, "but we had two mistakes that cost us 13 points. We're still young, but getting better."

After the fumble, the Falcons again stayed on the ground, running it for 12 straight plays: four times by Hughes (28 yards), six by Andrew Funsch (24 yards), and two by Jason Immel (29 yards. That set up Hughes' only completion of the day: a 10-yard scoring strike to Kyle Bellor with 13 seconds left in the half.

Funsch got the Falcons rolling right away in the second half, taking a handoff from Bellor on the opening kickoff return and taking it 74 yards to the Tawas 16-yard line. Two plays later, Hughes' 2-yard plunge made it 21-13.

Tawas struggled to move the ball throughout the second half, picking up just two first downs, but got back in it when Seth Thomas blocked an Ogemaw punt and Matt Compau took it the final 20 yards for a touchdown. But thanks to the earlier blocked extra point, the Braves needed a 2-pointer to tie it and couldn't convert.

And as they had after the first two Tawas scores, the Falcons simply wouldn't let go of the ball, this time chewing up more than five minutes while running 10 plays and putting the game out of reach on Hughes' 14-yard run with 5:30 left.

"We had some big plays," Webb said. "I'm proud that the guys didn't quit when we were losing key people. It shows that this is a team that's got some heart.

"I feel their pain," he added of the injuries. "We lost some key guys, too, but we had kids come in and step it up. It's a tribute to the kids who hadn't played much, but who kept fighting and practicing, and given the chance tonight really played well."

Siwek finished 7-of-8 passing for 108 yards. But Ogemaw limited the Braves to 10 rushing yards on 23 attempts, including just two yards on the ground in the second half.

By contrast, Hughes was 1-of-3 for 10 yards and the one score, but the Falcons rolled up 351 rushing yards on 51 carries.

Defensively, Conrad Laurion was in on 10 total tackles, with Funsch adding nine. The Falcons also had five sacks, including two by Orlando.

The Falcons (2-2, 1-1 NEMC) face another crucial league test at John Glenn (4-0, 1-0) on Friday, Sept. 26, while Tawas (3-1, 1-1) has another tough road battle at Standish-Sterling (4-0, 1-0).