BRIDGMAN — A first quarter Bridgman field goal ended up being the difference as the Bees defeated visiting Cassopolis 17-14 to win the school’s first district championship Friday night.

But in the end, it was a Dan Koziel 44-yard pass to Ryan Chang with 2:09 remaining in the contest that provided Bridgman with the margin of victory.

Both teams scored two touchdowns and both teams would only score once in the second half.

But Logan Peters’ 33-yard field goal separated the Bees and Rangers in the final outcome.

After Peters gave Bridgman a 3-0 lead in the opening quarter, Cassoopolis rallied to take a 7-3 lead on a 6-yard run by Isaiah Crider in the second quarter.

The Bees would strike again before halftime as Julian Sheriff scored on a 16-yard run to give Bridgman the 10-7 halftime advantage.

Cassopolis (7-4) came out and reclaimed the lead in the third quarter on a 79-yard pass play from Nick Murphy to Tymari Brown.

The score would remain that way until the closing minutes of the contest.

Bridgman (8-2) rushed for 313 yards in the contest compared to Cassopolis’ 81 yards. The Rangers finished with 88 yards through the air as Murphy was 3-of-6 with a pair of interceptions.

Koziel was 3-of-5 with an interception.

Cassopolis also lost a fumble, while defensively the Ranger could not take advantage of four Bridgman fumbles as the only recovered one.

Bridgman will face the winner of the Hudson-Pewamo-Westphalia game, which is being played Saturday.

 

Cassopolis      0          7          7          7 – 14

Bridgman       3          7          0          7 – 17

B — Logan Peters 33 field goal

C — Isaiah Crider 6 run (Matt Locke kick)

B — Julian Sheriff 16 run (Peters kick)

C — Tymari Brown 79 pass from Nick Murphy (Locke kick)

B — Ryan Chang 44 pass from Dan Koziel (Peters kick)