WALLED LAKE — Sparked by two touchdowns just 10 seconds apart in the second half, Walled Lake Western turned in a strong performance to knock off Midland Dow 35-14 in a Division 2 regional final on Saturday.

The Warriors’ back-to-back scores in the final minute of the third quarter brought an end to a prolonged scoreless drought and changed the complexion of the game significantly. 

First, quarterback Kyle Thomas scored on a short run to give Western its first two-score lead of the game. Next, an unintended onside kick was recovered by Jackson Neracher moments later, returning the ball to the Warriors’ possession. 

“We were going to pooch it and (kicker John Camilleri) just drilled it and it hit their kid in the chest. I wish we could say it was a well-schemed, well-planned thing, but it wasn’t,” Western coach Mike Zdebski of the fortuitous play.

The first play of the ensuing drive was a deep pass to senior Javon Gabriel, who ran free through the secondary for a 48-yard score to make it 28-7.

“We were trying to hit a home run there,” Zdebski said. “Offensive coordinator Mike Weiskopf said let’s see if we could get them now.”

With the win, Western (12-0) advanced to next weekend’s Division 2 semifinal against Lowell, the team it narrowly defeated in the opening game of the season.

“We’ve been working for this for a long time and these (seniors) have put four years of their lives into it. It feels good to get back (to the semifinals),” Zdebski said. 

Western’s defense was challenged by a multi-faceted Midland Dow offense. The Chargers were able to move the ball with their passing game throughout the game, but the Warriors came up with four interceptions – two each junior Cody White and senior Jack Dodge – to prevent damage on the scoreboard.

Both of Dodge’s interceptions came in the end zone, while White’s second was a pick-six returned 33 yards to conclude the game’s scoring.

“Staying on top of the routes (was key) and playing some zone coverage mixed in with some man-to-man,” Zdebski said.

The Warriors scored touchdowns on each of their first two drives of the game. Thomas found White for an improvised shovel pass touchdown early, and running back Jake Prokes added a score to make it 14-0 soon after.

Midland Dow responded with a 77-yard touchdown pass from Bruce Mann to Mike Robb late in the first quarter. Western led 14-7 at the half.

It will be the Warriors’ first semifinals appearance since 2011 when they lost to Lowell in overtime. Western’s last state title came in 1999.

“It’s crazy because we’re the third team in school history to go undefeated in the regular season and now we’re making an impact in the postseason,” Thomas said. “It’s what we worked all offseason for and we’re trying to finish strong.”

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