PHS can clinch playoff berth with win at Hale
Any retelling of Posen?s first loss of the 2003 high school football season Friday to Mio, 50-14, needs to include some important details that the final score alone doesn?t tell. The 6-0 Thunderbolts hadn?t trailed in any of their previous five games, but the Vikings were up by two, 14-12, with 4:09 left in the first half. Then, in the third quarter with Posen trailing by only six, the Vikes had an opportunity to tie the game at the Mio three-yard line, but senior running back Ron Kroll was stopped by the Mio defense one yard short of the end zone on fourth down, late in the third quarter.
?I think there was a letdown for our team after that, and it just happen to be that on our next series we lost our QB for a for a while,? said coach Glenn Budnick of junior quarterback Matt Ponik.
THE VIKINGS were facing a passing situation when Ponik went down late in the third quarter with an ankle injury. He later returned in the fourth quarter. ?It didn?t break our backs, but it sure didn?t help at that point,? said Budnick. The P-Town defense had not allowed a Thunderbolt first down through nearly the entire third quarter. Until sophomore Klint Mitchell ran the ball to midfield for a 10-yard gain.
On the next play, junior Matt Sodt broke tackles and sprinted for a 50-yard touchdown run at the one-second mark of the third quarter. After the two-point conversion, the Thunderbolts had a two touchdown lead, 28-14. Mio owned the fourth quarter, scoring 22 unanswered points against a mentally deflated Viking defense, including a 79-yard romp by Mitchell. ?I?m proud of them, they played hard, they played tough,? said Budnick.
?WE KNEW it was going to be tough,? said Mio coach Joe Stone. ?I mean, we?re scared to death of them. They are a good football team and they are going to be 8-1. He (Coach Budnick) always has them ready. He gave us a heckuva first half.? ?We just have to rebuild on Monday, and build ourselves back up, and get ready for a tough Hale team,? Budnick said. Hale lost to Au Gres, 12-7, in week six action and is 2-4 on the season. Posen defeated Au Gres two weeks ago, 14-0. The Eagles defeated Arenac Eastern by nine and Atlanta by 20 for their only wins. The Vikes have won their last 17 regular-season road games, dating back to the Hale game of 1999. It?s one streak that lives on after Mio stopped Posen?s attempt at a new record, 18-regular season victories (home and away). The Thunderbolts ended the streak both times.
MIO TOOK A 6-0 lead on its first possession on an eight-yard run by Sodt with 7:13 left in the first quarter. The Viking offense got the ball back for the second time in the first quarter but the drive stalled near midfield. In a fourth-and-five situation, Budnick called for a fake punt. Ponik, who serves as the team punter and QB, went back and connected with senior Jesse Romel for a 29-yard gain. Soon after, on a deep handoff in the backfield, sophomore Richie Kroll found a huge hole on the right side and took it down the Mio sideline for a 28-yard touchdown to tie the game at six. The score would stay that way after the pass on the conversion attempt failed. The Thunderbolts started at their own 42 on their next possession, and were plagued by several penalties, but came up with the big plays when they needed them. Sodt caught a pass near the sideline and had lots of open terrain in front of him. He broke a few tackles and was stopped at the Posen five yard line.
Junior Derek Keegan took the ball up the middle for a nine-yard touchdown run to give the Bolts the lead back, 12-6. It was two possessions for Mio and two scores. ?You can see how explosive their offense is,? said Budnick.
THE VIKINGS FAILED to move the ball on their next possession and a punt was run out for big yardage by senior Chad Wright, but the play was called back on an illegal block. The Bolts had the ball at their own one and moved it out to the 14 before fumbling. The mishandled handoff by Wright was recovered by senior Mark Oliver. The Vikings went back on offense and earned every yard they got as they moved closer to the Mio endzone. Budnick called timeout on a fourth-and-six and came out in a three wide receiver set.
Ponik went over the middle to tight-end Matt Szczerowski on a timing play. Szczerowski juggled the ball slightly, but was able to secure it as
THERE WAS an optimistic attitude on the Posen side among fans at halftime. The Vikings had kept the game competitive and were hoping it would stay that way in the second half. ?We made the adjustments in the second half and you saw that in the first few drives, we came out and were taking it to them,? said Budnick. ?They stopped us when they needed to.?
Ron Kroll rushed the ball 24 times, gaining 48 of Posen?s 94 yards rushing. Richie Kroll had 34 yards. Ponik was five-for-14 passing for 58 yards. Mio had 459 total yards of offense.