Chippewa Valley’s Deshaun Lanier worked all offseason to be a better player on both sides of the ball, especially on defense.

Lanier’s hard work paid off on Friday night.

The senior wide receiver and defensive back intercepted a pass and returned it 42 yards with 4:24 to play, leading the host Big Reds to a 24-21 MAC Red Division win over Anchor Bay.

“He played out of his mind tonight,” Chippewa Valley coach Terry Wilson said of the Bowling Green football commit. “He’s been sick all week, and he did what we need him to do. One of his goals in the offseason was to get better on both sides of the ball. He worked hard on his defense in the offseason, and it paid off tonight.”Anchor Bay, which trailed 14-7 at halftime, tied the game in the third quarter when Isaiah Domey scored on a 1-yard run, before taking a 21-14 lead when Tar QB Ryan LaFear connected with Gerry Hanson III for a 35-yard scoring strike on the first play of the final quarter.

The Big Reds answered with a 37-yard field goal by Juliano Haddad with 6:49 to play, setting the stage for Lanier’s final interception and score.

“I have a lot of memories here at Chippewa Valley and tonight is a bad memory,” said Anchor Bay interim coach Bob Schroeder, who used to coach the Big Reds. “The kids played hard, but we made some big mistakes. That touchdown by Lanier cost us the game.”

Chippewa Valley took an early 7-0 lead when Donny Diegel scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter, before Anchor Bay answered with a LaFear to Michael Orlando TD pass covering 32 yards, tying the game at 7-7.

The Big Reds added an 8-yard touchdown run by Caleb Fowlkes in the second quarter, gaining the 14-7 lead at intermission.

“I was a little worried, but all I asked them to do was to fight their butt off and that’s what they do,” Wilson said.

Big Red quarterback Jordan Alston had a good night, completing 22-of-29 passes for 241 yards. Lanier had 11 catches for 147 yards.

“He’s starting to settle into himself,” Wilson said of Alston. “He’s making good reads and putting the ball where it needs to be. He’s made good progress throughout the year.”

The Tars were led by LaFear, who completed 9-of-15 passes for 218 yards. Hanson III had five catches for 95 yards.

“We were inconsistent running the ball and you have to have that balance,” Schroeder said. “We’re still a good football team and we just need to comeback. We have two games left against two very good teams, one of which is undefeated.”

The win improved Chippewa Valley’s record to 3-4 overall, 2-3 league. The Big Reds will travel to Port Huron Northern next Friday night for a MAC crossover contest.

“It’s one week at a time,” Wilson said. “We have to cut down on our mistakes. We had too many penalties today and we need to get more disciplined when it comes to stuff like that. We have to understand how to be amped up but still play under control.

The loss dropped Anchor Bay’s record to 3-4 overall, 1-4 league. The Tars hit the road again next Friday night, traveling to Grosse Pointe South in another MAC crossover tilt.

“This loss does hurt, but we’re still in control,” Schroeder said. “If we win next week, we’re right back into it. We have to run the ball.”