Cards spoil Hurons homecoming with 16-6 win
“This was very tough. This was our first home game in such a long time. That made it a difficult loss. Throw in that it was homecoming and Onaway made it more difficult,” said Huron varsity football coach Mike Kosiara. Tough indeed. After five straight away games, and five difficult, sometimes heart-breaking losses, homecoming turned sour as Onaway took a 16-6 win over the Hurons last week. With two games remaining, both home games against Newberry (5-2) this week and Cheboygan (6-1) October 22, the Hurons (1-6) have to muster the resolve to finish the season strong.
“After we lost to Boyne, we had a letdown in Alcona. We bounced back and played pretty well against St. Ignace and the Sault,” Kosiara said. “The Rudyard game was a heartbreaker, and I believe we had a letdown against Onaway. We need to be resilient and bounce back against Newberry.”
AGAINST THE Cardinals, the Hurons had their moments, but couldn’t dodge costly miscues. Things were not as they were in prior games. A sometimes-explosive offense sputtered, and a defense, which had allowed some big gainers in past games, showed signs of shutting down the Card offense. The teams battled to a scoreless first quarter, played on a slick field due to a driving rain which ended midway through the first quarter. Finally the Cards broke the scoring ice in the second quarter, overcoming two penalties along the way. The drive covered 59 yards, took 11 plays and ran five minutes off the clock.
Tailback Lonnie Splan, who carried seven times in the drive, went the last three for the TD and the kick made it 7-0, Onaway with 8:48 left in the half. The Hurons avoided disaster on their next drive. On the first play of the drive a pass from Huron quarterback Austin Fairbanks went off tight end Mark Grulke’s hands into the hands of an Onaway defender who returned it to the Huron 24. But the Hurons came through with a defensive stand, capped by cornerback Dylan Centala’s tackle of Splan on a fourth-and-five from the Huron 19.
THE HURONS got a first down on a 15-yard run through the middle by Huron fullback Tyler Schuiteman. Four plays later, a 52-yard punt by Cody Wenzel put the ball back in the Cards’ end to end the threat. The half ended with the Cards up 7-0. Rogers City’s first drive of the second half ended in a punt, and the Cards’ drive ended at the Huron one-yard line. The Cards had first and goal from the Huron six, but the Huron defense held as four running plays netted five yards, one short of the end zone. The Cards would trap the Hurons in the end zone on the next play for a safety, and gain a 9-0 lead with 3:35 left in the third quarter.
WENZEL PICKED off a pass at the Huron six, ending a Cardinal drive at the nine-minute mark and the Hurons had life. Fairbanks looked to bail them out of the field position hole with a 35-yard scramble, but a penalty nullified the play. Instead of first down at the 40, the Hurons were faced with a first and 12 at their own three. An incomplete pass came before a 10-yard run by Centala around the left side. Fairbanks and split end Chris Santini didn’t connect on a third down pass play, setting up a decision for Kosiara.
Facing fourth down, two to go at the Huron 14, with 7:23 left in the game, Kosiara chose to go for it. He called an inside hand-off to Wenzel, a play which went all the way the week before in Rudyard. This time he was trapped for a loss, and the Cards had the chance to put the game away with another score.
ON THE next play, Splan burst up the middle for an 11-yard TD run, Onaway added the kick and the Cards were up 16-0 with 7:19 left in the game. The next Huron drive ended on downs at their own 27. Onaway picked up a first down, drove to the Huron nine, then missed a field goal. The Hurons avoided the shutout as they drove the field in 10 plays, capped by Fairbanks’ eight-yard pass to Santini for the touchdown. On the day, Fairbanks completed 4-of-21 for 66 yards, one TD and one interception. Wenzel caught two passes for 41 yards, Justin Wilbert had one catch for 17 yards and Santini had one for eight yards and a TD. The Hurons had 64 rushing yards
The Cardinals had 372 yards of offense with 327 on the ground and 45 through the air. “I was very pleased with our defensive effort. They defended 66 plays and only gave up two touchdowns. They made stops with their backs to the wall,” Kosiara said. Rogers City had only 130 total yards–64 rushing and 66 passing. Tyler Gorlewski led the defense with eight solo and seven assisted tackles. Trent Holmes, Matt Tomas, James Bruning, and Centala each had six tackles.
NOW THE Hurons have to turn their attention to finishing the season against two strong teams. Newberry, which averages 31 points per game while allowing 12, is coming off a 34-16 loss to Cheboygan and is in need of one more win to make the playoffs. The Indians finish the season with Sault Ste. Marie (4-3). “The biggest thing I am looking for is for our team to bounce back and play with some intensity,” Kosiara said.