Once this highwire act came to a crashing conclusion, the Fenton Tigers and their fans celebrated a madcap 46-41 victory over archrival Linden by chanting “home grown” as their opponents sulked off into the darkness.
There was plenty to celebrate in the friendly hamlet of Fenton. First, it was Fenton’s 14th consecutive regular season victory over Linden and the Tigers clinched their 13th Flint Metro League Stripes Division crown in the last 14 years.
As the Tigers leaped and bounced off one another after the game, it was difficult to decide what was more elating – beating Linden or winning another title. Let’s call it a draw because the two seem to go hand in hand.
The Linden-Fenton battle is often referred to as the civil, Civil War because the two communities work together, love together and respect each other. But a poison pill may have been added to the brew when Fenton accused Linden of importing players from Flint onto its roster.
Thus the chants of “home grown.”
“Home grown means we use our kids and we don’t have to recruit for them,” a Fenton assistant coach said. “We get them from right here in Fenton, Michigan baby.”
Probably the most impactful homies are the Shiels family. Quarterback Noah Shiel completed 19 of 33 passes for 355 yards and four touchdowns. He ran for another 134 yards. His favorite target was twin brother Rory Shiel who caught a five-yar touchdown pass and a spectacular 32-yard tipped pass that gave Fenton the ball inside the five-yard line.
“In big situations I am probably going to go to my brother,” Noah said.
Linden roared to a 34-19 third quarter lead behind touchdown runs of 75 and five yards from junior running back Drew Maienbrook who had a wide pathway around right end for much of the game. He finished with 289 yard rushing and four touchdowns.
But even as Linden seemed to be marching toward victory there was plenty of misfunction on the sideline. Guys did not want to come out. Some did not want to go in. Complaining could be heard throughout.
One Linden player thought Fenton players were ready to pack it in after falling behind by 15 points. However, the Tigers were just getting started. Noah Shiel tossed touchdown passes to Rory Shiel and CJ Hyder to tie the game, 34-34.
Linden scored again on a muffed punt, recovered in the end zone by Kaden Bagley to go up 41-34 with 11:09 left in the game. Noah found his brother Rory on a six-yard touchdown pass. The game-winning drive was sparked by a 56-yard pass from Noah to Rory.