LAWTON — Previously undefeated Lawton got Ruff(ed) up by Cassopolis in the opening round of the Division 7 football playoffs on Friday night.

The Rangers showed a lot of Hart(line) in defeating the Blue Devils 33-15.

Cassopolis seniors Marcus Ruff and Nathan Hartline ran for 136 and 124 yards respectively to lead the Rangers back into the district championship game where they will face defending champion Mendon for the second straight year.

It only took Lawton two plays to take an early lead.

Senior stalwart Corban Olson raced 49 yards untouched up the middle after classmate quarterback Alex Dietrich found junior Colton Callaway for a 30-yard pass play to open the game after the kickoff.

The Rangers proceeded to move methodically down the field and reached paydirt on a third-and-15 pitchout to Ruff from 25 yards out, which was wide open.

The point after kick though was blocked and the hosts maintained a 7-6 advantage

“We wanted to control the line of scrimmage, since that is how games are won,” stated Cassopolis coach Bernard Thomas. “Both of the backs (Hartline and Ruff) ran extremely well and were tough to bring down.”

It took until midway in the second stanza before the Rangers could take the lead for good when junior quarterback Dwayne Morgan snuck in from one yard before Ruff bullied his way for the 2-point conversion.

The 14-7 lead grew on the ensuing kickoff as sophomore Tyrone Christopher found a fumble and carried the pigskin 10 yards for another six points with the kick being wide.

After an Olson punt, Cassopolis used its ball control offense success to score 35.8 seconds before intermission with Hartline finishing on a one-yard off tackle play where he was untouched for a 26-7 lead and a pass did not materialize for two points.

“We worked hard in practice and the coaches showed us how it would pay off and the leaders of this team said it didn’t matter that they were undefeated, because we wanted it more,” commented senior offensive guard Jeremiah Lee. “We have a nice rotation of running backs and all of us enjoy blocking for them, but it also helps playing bigger schools to get us ready for playoff competition.”

Both Hartline and Ruff totaled 79 rushing yards at halftime with Olson gaining an additional 10 yards on five carries after his initial burst. Dietrich completed five of his eight aerials for 67 yards with Callaway achieving 52 of the total.

“Cassopolis was quick off the ball and very aggressive and played a better game tonight,” stated Kyle Karsen, who co-coaches the Lawton team with brother Tony. “To be down three scores at half was tough to overcome, but we didn’t quit as all these kids have been friends for a long time and fought to the bitter end.”

A scoreless third quarter occurred when Cassopolis started a 17-play all rushing possession for 90 yards and 8:49 off the clock, which didn’t finalize until the final stanza. Hartline went the last two yards and the kick made it 33-7 with 6:25 left on the scoreboard.

Lawton then used an all passing 70-yard drive that lasted less than a minute (5:33) with Olson finalizing the final score after a spectacular career as a Blue Devil from seven yards. Dietrich’s arm must have been tired as he ran for the two conversion points to complete the scoring.

After a Ranger fumble, the aerial attack again accumulated yards until Ruff intercepted the ball at the 10-yard line and then took it back to near midfield where the running game closed the contest.

Cassopolis tripled Lawton in first downs by a 27-9 margin with each squad going backwards of more than 65 yards with penalties. Dietrich completed a dozen of his 19 passes with six different teammates getting two receptions each for a total of 162 yards with Olson gaining 86 rushing markers.

“Very proud of these kids who are battlers and will come back next week to battle again,” concluded Thomas. “Not happy though with the penalties and that will definitely be addressed to correct.”

Helping in the second half for the 337 total rushing yards was sophomore Evan Brown with 38 on six totes and Morgan completed his only pass for four yards to Ranger senior Austin Los.

Cassopolis will now travel to nemesis Mendon, who also defeated an unbeaten team in Springport.

“Any team we play we will be ready for, but we have a lot to prove against Mendon,” mentioned Lee. “We want to play Mendon since we need to prove we can beat them, which is what we all want.”

Cassopolis 6 20 0 7 – 33

Lawton 7 0 0 8 – 15

L – Corban Olson 49 run (Raul Bugarin kick)

C – Marcus Ruff 25 run (kick blocked)

C – Dwayne Morgan 1 run (Ruff run)

C – Tyrone Christopher 10 fumble return (kick no good)

C – Nathan Hartline 1 run (pass no good)

C – Hartline 2 run (Blaise Suseland kick)

L – Olson 7 pass from Alex Dietrich (Dietrich run)

Varsity records: Cassopolis 8-2, Lawton 9-1