Willow Run's Charles Cheatom II, far right, dives into a pile with his teammate to try and recover a fumble in a 41-6 loss to Grass Lake. Willow Run turned the ball over six times in the contest.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

Maybe it was the freezing cold, or the snow flurries that flew during the game. But the Willow Run football team had a hard time hanging onto the football Friday night in a 41-6 playoff loss to Grass Lake on Friday night

It was the first time in school history that Willow Run (7-3) had hosted a playoff game, and this was the first year since 1981 that the Flyers had appeared in the playoffs.

After the game, even with tears in his eyes, Willow Run senior linebacker William Meadows had some perspective on the Flyers' historic season.

"I hope and pray people remember us," Meadows said. "That's all I wanted. We'll go down in history."

The ball-handling issues, began on the game's opening kick off. Grass Lake squibbed the kick along the ground, it struck a Willow Run up-man, and Grass Lake pounced on it. It was a sing of things to come for the Flyers, who had six turnovers on the night, including four fumbles.

"It was a great run," said Willow Run coach Rufus Pipkins, "You would like to end on a more positive note, but I'm proud of the kids."