EAST LANSING — Here is reaction from East Lansing closing the regular season with a 28-14 victory over Holt in a CAAC Blue contest on Friday, Oct. 24.
Player of the game
BAYLOR SCHANSKI, EAST LANSING:: The junior running back had his second 200-yard rushing performance of the season and finished with 222 yards and two touchdowns. Schanski surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the season.
Key moment
Trailing 28-14, Holt had a strong opportunity to tighten things up when it recovered a fumble at the East Lansing 34-yard line late in the third quarter. But the Trojans rebounded, denying Holt’s LaDon Hatcher just short of a first down on a fourth-down play at the 16 with just under 11 minutes to play. It was one of several key stops for the Trojans, who also got an interception by Jean-Michael Smith late in the second quarter.
What it means
With a very strong strength of schedule, East Lansing likely would have been part of the Division 2 playoff field even with a loss on Friday. There’s no need to worry about that now as the Trojans, who entered the week ranked No. 29 in Division 2 in playoff points, took care of business to close the regular season with a 4-5 record. The Trojans also wrapped up a third-place finish in the CAAC Blue with a 4-2 mark. Holt closes the season with a 4-5 record and will miss the playoffs for a third straight season. The Rams, who entered the week ranked No. 39 in Division 1 in playoff points, ended the regular season with back-to-back losses and finished fifth in the CAAC Blue with a 2-4 record.
Quotable
“We knew we had to come into this game as best as possible, We’ve been on a little roll right now and we knew we had to keep going with it.” — East Lansing’s Baylor Schanski
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Four downs from East Lansing football taking down Holt to secure playoff spot
Reporting by Brian Calloway, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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