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GRAYLING- Isaac VanNuck caught three touchdown passes, and scored four touchdowns in all in No. 9 Grayling's 43-12 victory over East Jordan last Friday night.

VanNuck wasn't the Red Devils' only problem. East Jordan dressed only 18 players for the game because two were sidelined with injuries, and eight are two-way players. The Red Devils were worn down.

A combination of Grayling's outstanding defense, and the Red Devils' own frustrations, conspired to shut down the East Jordan offense.

"Statistically, we were going backward it seemed most of the time,"East Jordan coach Chris Nelson said. "We had a lot of bad offensive penalties, plus our blocking all the way around was not very good."

Needless to say, the Red Devils didn't mount any running game, and when those same players turned around on defense they failed to stop Grayling's offense.

The Red Devils' leading rusher for the game was quarterback Scott Hansen who had 45 yards on 14 carries, and that includes negative yardage on five sacks.

"Our defense played pretty well, despite the score,"coach Nelson said.

East Jordan's defense came up with three interceptions, one by defensive lineman Bo Fuller and another by outside linebacker Lucas Spence.

But, the offense just couldn't move the ball. At one point, the Red Devils were faced with a third-and-36. In such obvious passing situations, the defense is going to blitz the quarterback.

"We have to hand it to Grayling,"coach Nelson said. "They had a very strong, a very powerful defense. The combination of their great defense and our poor blocking made for a long night offensively."

The Red Devils did muster two touchdowns, one a 12-yard run by Hansen and fullback Marshall Page scored the other on an 18-yard scamper.

"It's hard being down 0-3, because it takes a lot to muster the team's confidence,"coach Nelson said. "Eight of our guys go both ways, and that's another big factor, too.

"From an emotional standpoint, it's hard for them to forget the previous drive and start fresh."

East Jordan (0-3) hosts Charlevoix (0-3) on Friday night.