Ubly 30, Cass City 8
Ball Control & Methodical Offense Sends Ubly to Playoffs with Momentum
October 23, 2026 — Week 09 — Cass City, Michigan
The Ubly Bearcats looked like their old selves again, defeating Cass City 30-8 with a dominant run game, stout defense and clock-draining drives on Friday, October 23, 2026 to round out the regular season.
Ubly received the ball first and took full advantage of it, putting together a 15-play drive that spanned just 63 yards but took nearly eight minutes off the clock. Tyreke Essenmacher ran in the score from four yards out. Blake Soule carried in the two-point conversion to put the Bearcats up, 8-0 with 4:08 left in the first quarter. Cass City responded well, moving the ball all the way down to the Ubly 29-yard line, but the Bearcat defense held strong on fourth down, forcing a turnover on downs with 10:31 left in the first half. It looked like Ubly was about to go up two scores, but a fumble at the Red Hawk seven-yard line gave the ball back to Cass City with two minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Red Hawks ran the clock out to finish the half with Ubly claiming the lone score, 8-0.
Hoping for a better second-half performance, Cass City got off on the wrong foot, unable to garner a first down in their first possession. Ubly took advantage, putting together a 12-play drive over six minutes and capped off with a Jordan Maurer nine-yard run into the end zone. With 4:19 left in the third quarter, the Bearcats led by two scores, 14-0. On the next drive for the Red Hawks, their progress was cut short when the ball was fumbled on the drive’s fourth play at their own 43-yard line.
Ubly again took advantage of the scenario, scoring just two plays later when Cooper Langenburg connected with Devin Geiger for a 44-yard touchdown pass. Jordan Maurer ran in the two-point conversion to push the lead to 22-0 with 1:41 left in the third quarter.
As the night progressed, the Bearcat defense continued to turn up pressure, getting into the backfield on multiple occasions, nearly taking the snap between the center and quarterback. Despite the trench warfare, Cass City put together a seven-play drive to start the fourth quarter, but stalled in their own zone when a low snap forced Brody Schefka to go down to one knee to punt the ball away. That knee down gave Ubly the ball at the Cass City 24-yard line and yet again scored two plays later. Maurer scored his second touchdown of the night with 10:51 remaining in regulation from the two-yard line. Weston Bambach ran in the two-point conversion to push Ubly’s lead to 30-0.
Cass City’s sixth drive of the night finally ended with a score when Luke Perry, moved up in the final week of the regular season, rumbled in from two yards out. Quarterback Preston Dorland called his own number on the two-point conversion to cut into Ubly’s lead with 8:07 left in the fourth quarter. Ubly had one more possession in the game. On fourth down at the Cass City 20-yard line, Essenmacher tried a 35-yard field goal but was wide left.
Ubly finished the night with 286 total yards, all but 44 of them on the ground. Langenburg led the Bearcats with 70 yards on nine carries for one score. He had to throw just one pass on the night for 44 yards, which resulted in a touchdown to Devin Geiger. Maurer ran the ball 13 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns. The Red Hawks were led by Charlie Hempton who ran for 72 yards on 13 carries. Bryce Barrigar added 56 yards on nine totes. Dorland was 1-3 in passing for zero yards, caught at the line of scrimmage by Perry.
Both teams finish the regular season with a 6-3 record. Cass City will advance to the MHSAA Division 07 playoffs, while Ubly will be in the Division 08 playoff field. Pairings will be announced Sunday at 5pm on the NFHS Network.