Millington 27, Cass City 7
Defensive First Half Leads to Millington Pulling Away for at Least a Share of BTC-White Title
September 25, 2026 — Week 05 — Cass City, Michigan
The Millington Cardinals permanently parked themselves in the driver's seat of the Big Thumb-White divisional race with a 27-7 victory over the Cass City Red Hawks, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing on Friday, September 25, 2026. Cardinal quarterback and safety Layden DeLong accounted for four total touchdowns — on the ground, through the air and on defense.
Friday’s highly anticipated matchup began with a pair of three-and-out punts, leading to consecutive turnovers on downs and a scoreless game at the end of the first quarter. Millington finally punched through to the end zone four minutes before the half was over when DeLong ran in an eight-yard touchdown. Evan Kreger’s first of three extra points made it 7-0 entering halftime in favor of the Cardinals.
After a tight first half, four of the first five drives in the second half resulted in points. Cass City tied the game on the first possesion of the third quarter when Xavier Spence brought in a seven-yard pass from Preston Dorland. Brody Schefka’s point-after kick made the game all-square with 5:43 left in the third. Millington responded three minutes later when Brenden Wascher caught a 40-yard pass from DeLong to put the Cardinals ahead and for the remainder of the game.
With 8:34 remaining in the game, Millington scored for the third time; this time, Drake Terwilliger brought in a 30-yard catch four a score to extend the Cardinal lead to 21-7. Cass City’s ensuing drive was cut short when Dorland’s pass was intercepted by DeLong and subsequently returned for a touchdown, 40 yards later. The extra point was blocked to give the game’s final score, 27-7. Cass City’s next drive was again stopped abruptly when Dorland threw another interception, picked off by Kreger. As time and opportunity waned, Cass City’s defense forced a Millington punt with four minutes left, but the Red Hawks ran out of time.
Millington now sits alone at the top of the BTC-White division, holding a one-game lead over Cass City, Caro and Lakers — all teams that the Cardinals have already defeated.
Player of the Game
#2 Layden DeLong
Passing: 5-6-0 (83%), 100yd, 2TD
Rushing: 14car, 55yd, 1TD
Defense: 8 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 1 TD
DeLong led Millington with precision passing, throwing just one incomplete pass on six attempts. He finished 5-6 for 100 yards and two touchdowns. DeLong also added 55 yards on the ground on 14 carries and one score. His pick-six touchdown on defense gave DeLong his eighth touchdown in just the last two weeks and 14 in the last four games (7 rushing, 6 passing, 1 defensive). Terwilliger paced the Millington rushing attack with 110 yards on 13 carries.
Cass City’s offense was led by Bryce Barrigar, who had to step up as the main running back after Braxton Kolacz went down with an apparent ankle injury in the first half. Barrigar carried the ball 18 times for 64 yards. Dorland completed nine passes to four different receivers. Charlie Hempton brought in three balls for 45 yards.
Millington has clinched at least a share of the Big Thumb Conference’s White Division, having defeated Lakers, Caro and now Cass City. A win against Sandusky on October 09 will seal the outright title for the Cardinals.