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HARRIS -- The Bark River-Harris Broncos extended their football season by at least another week as they retained the Division 8 district title in a 38-13 triumph over the Maple City Glen Lake Lakers here Saturday afternoon.
Unlike their 22-21 victory at Glen Lake in a regional final last year, this one was nowhere near as dramatic as the Broncos dominated the time of possession.
BR-H (9-2), which travels to Beal City (11-0) for this weekend's regional final, ran 51 offensive plays and limited Glen Lake to 29.
Glen Lake, which finished 8-3, was within 22-13 after the third quarter before senior running back Gionni McDonough scored on a two-yard run to put the Broncos up 30-13 just 56 seconds into the fourth.
After forcing the Lakers to turn the ball over on downs on their 38-yard line early in the fourth frame, the Broncos put together another time consuming drive which ended on McDonough's 15-yard touchdown run off left tackle with 2:44 remaining.
"In the first half we came out and pretty much did what we needed to do," McDonough said. "We played our game, which is all we needed to do. We caught a couple breaks and capitalized off those. We like to play our game which is disciplined football."
BR-H dodged a bullet when Glen Lake reached its 21 early in the second stanza.
The Lakers, who were trailing 14-7, appeared to complete two passes in the end zone. Both, however, were nullified by holding penalties, followed by a third infraction which forced them to punt.
"That was a big turning point," BR-H senior running back Andy Johnson said. "Turnovers were a big part of this game. We just capitalized on our end. Our offensive line did a great job blocking. They just did what they had to do and helped us maintain our energy."
BR-H, which started on its four, marched 96 yards for another score on a one-yard run up the middle by senior running back Andy Johnson for a 22-7 cushion just 12 seconds before halftime.
Glen Lake answered with a 32-yard TD run around left end by sophomore running back Hunter Kemp, shaving its deficit to 22-13 midway through the third quarter.
The Broncos, operating out of the wing-T, took a 6-0 lead on a two-yard leap through the middle by senior Gabe Spear nearly midway through the opening frame.
Glen Lake responded quickly on its next possession, taking a 7-6 on a four-yard run by sophomore Hunter Kemp at 5:08.
BR-H regained the lead at 14-7 on a fake punt, leading to a 44-yard TD dash along the left sideline by McDonough with 48 seconds left in the first.
"Our senior leadership is huge for us," BR-H coach Caleb Adams said. "Having home field advantage was also huge. We didn't have to go for a long bus ride this time. McDonough's long touchdown helped us out. We caught a couple breaks and our defense responded."
Glen Lake, facing a third-and-13 situation on the BR-H, used a time-out with 9:57 left in the second prior to its string of three penalties.
"Those were bigtime penalties," Lakers' coach Jesse Smith said. "It could have been a 14-14 game. But when you make a mistake, they make you pay for it. I'm proud of our boys. They gave it their all which is all you can ask for. Hat's off the Bark River-Harris. That's a great program with a great coaching staff."
The Broncos gained all 368 of their yards on the ground. Johnson rushed for 177 on 29 carries and McDonough added 174 in 19 attempts.
"Ball control is important to us," Adams said. "They say your best defense is a good offense and I think our offensive line wore them down. Jacob Schiesser (senior) was blocking guys 10 yards downfield."
Glen Lake finished with 178 yards, including only 27 in the second half. Kemp carried five times for 90 and senior quarterback Park Robinson hit 5-of-9 aerials for 28.
The Broncos will now turn their attention to their contest at Beal City.
"That's a tough match-up, but I think we have a good shot at them," McDonough said. "They like to play physical, just as we do."