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The haircuts and beards don’t make tackles or put points on the board, but one thing is for certain: Neither the razors nor scissors will get any use this week after the Bulldogs pummeled the Wolves 38-7.

“I think (the Mohawk) was (senior wide receiver) Jimmy Kern’s idea,” Romeo co-coach Jason Couch said. “We call him WJIM because he’s the talker on the team. Somebody said Mohawks and I think 95-98 percent of the team has them, coaches included. Even my boys, ages 5, 3 and 1 are going to get Mohawks today.

“The beards itch like crazy,” Couch added. “But if you think I’m changing anything now, I’m not.”

The Bulldogs decided the outcome of the game in the first half, exploding to a 31-0 lead by halftime, dominating Clarkston on both sides of the football.

“The first half was unbelievable,” Couch said. “I can’t say enough about these guys. They have a work ethic that is second to none. I’m pretty excited because you never know what these kids are going to do.”

Romeo moved the ball briskly on its first two possessions, but hurt itself by turning the ball over on a fumble on the first possession of the game, and failing to convert on fourth-and-11 on its second possession.

After missing on fourth down, the Romeo defense stepped up, as John Bacci fell on a botched snap by Clarkston, giving the Bulldogs the ball at the Wolves’ 31 with 3:16 to play in the opening quarter.

On the first play after the turnover, Romeo quarterback Ricky Roth launched a pass down the right sideline where wide receiver Taylor Brynaert made a diving catch in the end zone for a TD. Rob Flinn added the PAT and Romeo led 7-0.

After a Clarkston punt on the ensuing possession, the Bulldogs marched 65 yards in three plays with running back Ben Brown scoring on a 33-yard run on an option play. Flinn’s PAT was good, giving Romeo a 14-0 edge with 47 seconds left in the opening quarter.

“When you have kids that we do offensively, they make my job pretty easy,” Couch said. “Brown is a horse and Ricky Roth is a scientist back there at quarterback.”

Clarkston put together its best drive on its next possession, using 14 plays, moving the ball to the Bulldog 10 where it faced fourth-and-5. The Wolves opted to try and get the first down, but gained only 3 yards, giving the ball back to Romeo on downs.

The Bulldogs capitalized, driving 90 yards in 11 plays, with Flinn booting a 21-yard field goal, extending Romeo’s lead to 17-0 with 3:15 left before halftime.

The Romeo defense made another big play on the Wolves’ next drive as Tyler Laurain intercepted a Tyler Scarlett pass, giving the Bulldogs the ball at their own 38.

“We felt our kids were prepared (defensively),” Romeo co-coach Curt Rienas said. “When we’ve been emotionally in it, our defense has been pretty good this year.”

Three plays after the turnover, Brown scampered in from 14 yards out for his second TD. Flinn added the PAT and Romeo led 24-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Clarkston fumbled again, and Romeo’s Justin Medley recovered the loose ball at the Wolves’ 33.

Four plays after the turnover, Roth connected with Jason Schirmer for a 17-yard touchdown strike with 57 seconds left before halftime. Flinn’s PAT sent Romeo into the locker room with a 31-0 advantage.

“I think we found a few tendencies that we could take advantage of,” Couch said. “Getting up 31-0 was a shocker.”

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Romeo scored again early in the fourth quarter when Roth found Brynaert open on a slant route for a 7-yard score. Flinn added the PAT and the Bulldogs led 38-0 with 10:45 to play.

“What people probably overlook is that on both of Brown’s touchdowns on the option, we’re coming to Taylor’s side,” Couch said. “He’s one-on-one with a corner and his blocking was awesome. He also had two touchdowns on top of that. He probably wouldn’t be in the game if he didn’t know how to block and that’s what’s impressive.”

Clarkston finally got on the board with 5:26 to go when Scarlett scored on a 14-yard quarterback keeper.

After the game, Rienas said he was impressed with the defensive effort, shutting down Clarkston’s ground and air attacks.

“Watching Clarkston early in the year they threw the ball a lot,” Rienas said. “The last stretch they were very conservative and wanted to run the ball. They have some really nice athletes over there. I was very impressed with our pass defense this week. I thought our kids did a nice job.”

Roth finished the game by completing 19-of-26 passes for 251 yards. Brown added 19 rushes for 200 yards. Schirmer had eight receptions for 102 yards, while Brynaert hauled in five catches for 78 yards.

The win also marked the first playoff win in five tries for Romeo in Couch and Rienas’ six years as co-coaches.

“This is our fifth playoff together and our first win,” Couch said. “I brought in an open trophy case today to pregame and told the kids this is for our first signed football for our first playoff win. We’re going to have a fun time signing that ball today.”

Another Bulldog tradition under the co-coaches’ direction has been for all the seniors to walk off the Barnabo Field together after their final home game with their coaches as their underclassmen honor them by lining up behind the end zone. Obviously, this year’s walk had a different feel.

“This is the first time we get to walk off with a smile after a playoff game,” Couch said. “In the past we pretty much had to pull the kids along. It’s special right here.”

The win improved Romeo’s record to 8-2 overall and moved the Bulldogs into next Friday’s district final against host Lake Orion, which advanced by defeating Eisenhower 7-0 on Friday night.

“Each year we’ve wanted to raise the bar a little bit from an expectations standpoint,” Rienas said. “Hopefully we haven’t peaked, yet.”

Clarkston, which finished its season at 6-4 overall, was led by Scarlett, who completed 8-of-32 passes for 84 yards, and rushed for 57 yards on 14 carries.

Stevenson 41

Chippewa Valley 3

Jason Fracassa completed 19-of-29 passes for 384 yards and six touchdowns, leading the host Titans to the first-round Division 1 playoff win over the Big Reds on Saturday afternoon.

Stevenson trailed 3-0 after one quarter, but scored three times in the second quarter, taking a 21-3 halftime lead.

In the second period, Fracassa connected with Thomas Beaurem for a 13-yard score, Marcus Beaurem for a 16-yard TD, and D.J. Mershman for a 27-yard strike.

Fracassa and Thomas Beaurem hooked up again in the third quarter for a 62-yard score, before Fracassa connected with Mershman for touchdown passes covering 36 and 45 yards in the final stanza.

Mershman caught six passes for 150 yards, while Thomas Beaurem had three receptions for 86 yards, and Marcus Beaurem had three catches for 54 yards. Defensively, Stevenson coach Rick Bye lauded the efforts of Robert Strong, Charlie Walker, Brian Falta and Dan Lydick.

The victory improved Stevenson’s record to 9-1 overall and moved the Titans into next Friday’s district final against host Dakota, which defeated Troy 28-10 on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars gave the Titans their only setback of the season, defeating them 10-0 in Week 5.