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Boyne City's major concern going into the game was McBain's size advantage.

What the Ramblers intended to do was pursue the ball on defense, and be aggressive.

Coach David Hills felt the Ramblers accomplished that goal in impressive fashion, evading the much bigger McBain offensive linemen and forcing the Ramblers out of their normal game plan.

Another objective for the Ramblers was controlling the line of scrimmage on the offensive side of the ball as well, and that was achieved in spades.

The offensive line was able to open seams in the McBain defense, permitting Kruzel and Jensen to bust through for large gains on almost every play.

"Our effort was good," Hills said. "It was a sloppy game at the start. There was a heavy rain most of the first half. It was sloppy conditions most of the game.

"But, I thought our kids handled that well, and came out and played with good energy. Our defense played well. We pursued well, and played our assignments well.

"We did a nice job of taking away their basic stuff. I was real pleased with how the defense played."

Running the ball with confidence, and establishing early command, the Ramblers amassed an impressive 311 yards on the ground and maintained possession of the ball to run off huge chunks of the clock.

Rambler offense rolls

Kruzel paced the Rambler offense, rushing for 138 yards on 16 carries and scoring on a 33-yard run in the third quarter, by which time the Ramblers had already scored three times.

Jensen carried the ball just seven times, and gained 128 yards. He scored on touchdown runs of 60 and 58 yards, and added a two-point conversion.

"The offensive line ... most of them are experienced guys, and they played well," Hills said. "We have to clean up a lot of technical stuff. "We're a little behind of where we normally are in terms of execution. But overall, the kids played well."

Playing on the offensive line were Musser, the starting center, Avery Bennett and Kelly Austin at the guards, Nick Simeri and Zach Trafelte started at the tackles.

Boyne City's defense also contributed to the Ramblers' scoring, with Ryan Musser scooping up a McBain fumble and returning it 52 yards for a touchdown just before halftime to extend Boyne City's lead to 21-0. Kelsey Noel's one-yard burst followed Kruzel's third-quarter touchdown. Brendan Baic kicked two extra points following Boyne City touchdowns.

Simeri led the Boyne City defense with nine tackles. Musser had eight, and blocked a punt in addition to his fumble recovery. Jacob Peck also had eight tackles.

The Ramblers next play at Newberry on Friday night. Newberry is a big team up front, Hills said, with a fast tailback and a new coach. It lost its opener to Hancock, 21-0.