Buchanan falls to Berrien Springs 35-14

Published 5:08 am Saturday, September 30, 2023

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BERRIEN SPRINGS — The Lakeland Conference football chance took a dramatic turn Friday night.

While in Niles, Brandywine was upsetting Dowagiac 30-7, host Berrien Springs was defeating Buchanan 35-14 to takeover first-place.

The Shamrocks, who are 3-2 after winning their third consecutive contest, are now 2-0, while Dowagiac and Benton Harbor are 1-1. The Bucks and Bobcats are 1-2. Berrien Springs travels to Dowagiac to face the Chieftains Friday night.

Berrien Springs used its powerful offensive line to push the Bucks around to the tune of 368 yards of total offense, including 307 yards on the ground.

All five Shamrock touchdowns came on the ground. Berrien Springs scored on runs of 4, 20, 35, 14 and 35 yards. The Shamrocks led 7-0 after one quarter and 21-6 at the intermission. Berrien Springs outscored the Bucks (2-3 overall) 14-8 in the second half.

Buchanan, after falling behind 21-0 in the second quarter, got on the scoreboard and averted the shutout when quarterback Jake Franklin connected with running back Nick Finn on a 20-yard scoring strike. The extra point kick failed, leaving Buchanan trailing 21-6 at halftime.

Franklin tossed a second touchdown pass in the third quarter when he connected with Kyle Lewis from 27-yards out. The two-point conversion was cut as the Bucks cut Berrien Springs’ lead to 28-14 heading into the final 12 minutes of play.

Buchanan finished the night with 233 yards of total offense. All but 12 of those yards came via the airwaves as Franklin was 23-of-44 for 221 yards with the two touchdowns and an interception.

Finn caught nine of those passes for 95 yards. Lewis had three receptions for 48 yards.

It will be a short week for the Bucks as their game at Bronson has been moved to Thursday night.