Fenton Loses Heartbreaker to Walled Lake Western, 49-27

The end of Damon Thomas’ prep football career was met with a wave of emotion.

The senior said it was difficult to recall his fondest memory of playing football for the Fenton Tigers – there were just too many great times, and picking a single moment would be nearly impossible.

Thomas will remember his final season, though. How could he not?

However, Fenton’s playoff push came to a screeching halt Friday night, as the visiting Walled Lake Western Warriors ran away with the district title game, posting a loud-and-clear 49-27 victory in front of hosts of Tigers fans.

That’s the freshest memory, sure. But claiming the Flint Metro League title (shared) as a senior, beating Linden as a junior and stretching Fenton’s playoff streak to five years will eventually trump Friday’s loss.

The good has just outweighed the bad.

“It’s just been the best thing,” Thomas said after gathering with teammates, friends and family in the north end zone. “We formed a family. I made all my closest friends on the field, and it’s something I’m never going to forget…

“I just want to let the juniors and sophomores know that it’s (senior year, end of football) coming – it comes quick.”

Unfortunately for the Tigers, Thomas’ 70-yard interception-for-touchdown in the fourth quarter didn’t put a dent in the Warriors’ defense, which allowed just seven points in the first half. But it did show that the Tigers were far from rolling over, despite a 42-7 halftime deficit.

While Thomas, Connor Davidson and Mitch Shegos each scored touchdowns, they were no match for Walled Lake Western star Joshua Jones, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound University of Illinois commit who scored five times (three rushing, two receiving).

Jones first displayed his speed with a 62-yard touchdown romp up the middle of the field after shaking at least three tackles in the backfield. He then followed with a 30-yarder that gave Walled Lake Western a 20-7 lead in the second quarter, and his 48-yard receiving score put the lid on the Tigers, 34-7.

Fenton coach Jeff Setzke is a firm believer in team efforts. Seldom does he dole out individual praise; the sum of the parts is always greater than a single piece, and no one player makes a team.

But even he couldn’t deny Jones’ impact.

“We had a match up problem,” Setzke said. “He’s a heck of a player. He’s better than the best player we played against this year and it showed.”

Visibly upset, but far from disappointed, Setzke greeted his players’ families and made his rounds, giving one last post-game talk to his seniors and thanking them for their dedication to the program.

“It’s more than just football, football is the game we play Friday night – but it’s more about the time that you spend together is really what the whole purpose of football is,” Setzke said. “The coaches love these kids, and I told them, ‘The biggest disappointment for me isn’t that we’re not having a game Friday night, but we’re not going to hang out this week.’

“That’s the same for them. There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears put into a football season. Sure, we lost tonight. But nobody can take (their effort) away. It’s been a great, great season.”