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On the other side, Birch Run, arguably Frankenmuth's biggest sports rival of the last decade, finally broke through.  Everything they tried to do that backfired, back on January 11th, was golden tonight.  Just as Nick Shelton caught fire along with Ryan Keith and Brad Redford last time for Frankenmuth, Dakotah Ellis, Chris Fogg, Logan Gaines and of course Jordan Duby did the same for Birch Run this time around.  Ellis had 34 points and 13 rebounds, while Fogg had 15, Gaines had 10 and Duby with 6.  How is someone with only 6 points mentioned in the same sentence with Ellis's 34?  Well, Duby, the Panther floor general had the distinction of lining up across from Redford.  Duby also set his team up with 11 assists.  The Panthers switched things up a little, defensively, this time.  Instead of double teaming Redford and leaving wide open shooters, they put locked Duby onto him, 1 on 1 and provided help when he drove to the basket.  The Eagles hit 11 three pointers in the last contest, six of them coming from Shelton who was left open because of the attention put on Redford.  This time there was only 6.  The Panthers had 5, with three of them coming from Fogg. 

Again, flashing back to the first meeting, these two teams had a heck of a first quarter, so the exciting opening and competitive 1st quarter tonight was not a telling sign if things had improved for Birch Run or not.  The score wasn't but their were other signs.  From the get go, it just wasn't Redford's evening.  He was surprisingly cold to start and just never could find a rhythm.  Also a big factor was Birch Run's activity inside, their 2nd changes and cashed in opportunities while squared up with the basket.  Thomas Darner opened the scoring up for Birch Run with a basket, putting the Panthers up 2-0, with 6:50 to go in the opening quarter.  Out of their 5 field goals in the 1st, 4 were from point blank range.  Gaines added 1, while Ellis had two inside baskets.  Birch Run went up 4-0 on a make from Ellis.  Frankenmuth didn't score until 5:10 to go in the 1st on a Ryan Keith basket.  Their took their first lead of the game on a three ball from Jeremy Warnemuende with 3:49 to go.  The shot was set up by a drive and beautiful dish from Redford.  Nicholas Wright gave the Panthers a 11-7 lead late in the quarter.  Redford finally hit from the field with 1:04 remaining, cutting the lead to 2 and ending the first quarter scoring.  Redford had 4 points, including two free throws.

The 2nd quarter is what set this game apart from the prior meeting, when Birch Run effectively was knocked out.  This time each team traded blows.  The 2nd quarter turned into the Ellis vs. Keith show.  Both players led their teams in the 2nd with 8 points a piece.  The Panthers opened up a 15-9 lead on two Ellis baskets but the Eagles came rushing back.  Three balls by Warnemuende and Shelton brought them to within in two and Redford tied it up at 17 with exactly 5 minutes to go in the quarter.  Shelton put Frankenmuth up 19-17 and then was immediately answered by a 2 from Fogg.  Ellis reclaimed the lead for the Panthers at 21-19.  This is when Keith scored 4 straight buckets for the Eagles.  His last gave them the lead with under a minute to go in the half.  With about 4 seconds to go before the buzzer, Fogg pulled up from beyond the three point line and drilled home the shot, giving Birch Run a 1 point lead at the break and more importantly, momentum.

Birch Run carried that momentum into the 2nd half with a 11-2 run to start the third.  The run was highlighted by another Fogg three ball and capped off by an Ellis basket to push the lead to 10 at 39-29 with 5:29 remaining in the quarter.  The Eagles quickly answered with a 6-0 run of there own, led by two Redford baskets.  Birch Run countered with 5 Ellis points, including a three point play.  The lead was pushed backed to 9 on a Fogg's third triple of the game with 1:12 remaining.  With 14 seconds to go in the third, Redford finally hit from long range.  With a man in his face, Redford nailed the three right in front of the Eagles' student section.  The three cut the lead to 47-41 after three quarters. 

Frustrated by the less than usual production from himself, Redford erupted in emotion as he started the fourth quarter with and 'And 1', cutting the lead to just 3 points.  After Redford had hit the shot, he pumped his fists in triumph and let loose, something we don't see too often from the class act.  It reminded me a lot of the great players of the NBA like Tim Duncan, who plays the game and lets his play do the talking but when his team needs to be fired up he will flare with emotion when he has to.  It was a great sight of the emotion in the heat of battle.  Too often, players taunt, jaw and draw attention to themselves after a good play, this was a genuine display of a great player trying to create a spark.  The next few minutes of the game would be an intense battle but after that, the clear winner would emerge.  With 6:12 to go, Redford hit record three pointer, 118 for the season, topping his own record he just set in the third.  The make cut the lead to two at 51-49.  Belill and Keith traded baskets and halfway through the final period, it was a two point game at 53-51.  That was the closest Frankenmuth would get again.  Birch Run ended the game on a 19-7 run and stunned the undefeated Eagles.  Ellis scored 13 points during this run, including what was most likely the play of the game, twice.  He nailed a three with 3:51 to go, to put BR up 60-51.  Then Ellis completed a three point play with 2:04 to go, pushing the lead to 12 points.  In a true display of just how Lady Luck was not on the side of the Eagles tonight, Redford answered with a three but it didn't count as the shot hit the back of the rim, grazed the top of the backboard and then fell in.  The illegal touch of the ball, turned the ball back over to BR, where they closed the game out from the line.  With just over a half minute remaining in the game, Ellis took to the line to nail a couple of free throws to make the score final at 72-58.  However, in between his attempts, Eagle Coach, Tim Crawford pulled the starters to get them the ovation they deserved in their game of the season and for players like Keith, Shelton, Cormier, Warnemuende and Redford, their careers in the famous gym.  Redford finished with 21, Keith with 14 and Warnemuende with 12 on 4 triples. 

Chants of overrated came from the BR side but were quickly put out when Coach Perry McCord came over to put an end to it.  The chants came from both sides as they do in both rivalries but it was the play on the floor that took center stage.  After nine tries, Duby and his fellow seniors finally did it.  Like Redford, Duby is a class act that lets his talking come from his play.  He doesn't complain, he doesn't get flustered when he doesn't get a call, he just plays the game.

It's a shame that these two close rivals will most likely, not meet up in the post-season.  Birch Run will host the districts and have drawn the honor of playing Flint Powers in the opener.  Flint NW and Goodrich also lay ahead in that bracket, a deadly combo of teams.  Frankenmuth however, will be the favorite in the Garber district with the likes of Freeland, Pinconning and Bridgeport.  Good luck to both teams as they close out the season next week and enter the 2nd season, two weeks from now.  The season everybody starts off 0-0.