To the Superior Dome

Members of the Mid Peninsula football team sure learned a lesson about underestimating the 2004 Posen Vikings. Even though Posen (8-3) crushed Pickford in the first round of the Region 1, Division 8 playoffs, some Mid Peninsula players expressed cockiness in TV news reports that rubbed the Viking players the wrong way. Coach Glenn Budnick videotaped an interview with a Mid Pen player who said “Posen is going to be thinking about how many points we (Mid Pen) are going to score on them on the long bus ride up here, after we scored 55 against Cedarville.”

The coach showed the tape 10 minutes before their charter bus arrived at Mid Peninsula High School. “When it was done, I asked them (Posen players), ‘Well, I don’t know what you think, but I know what I think.’ I said, we need to go in there and shut them up.” The remarks were made, in part, because Posen scored 16 points in its season-opening victory back in week one against Cedarville. That was a long time ago and the Vikings are a lot better football team than the group that took the field in late August. Mid Pen players didn’t think of that and are still wondering what hit them. “They must have been looking by us, thinking we weren’t much,” said Budnick.

Posen earned the respect of its opponent by scoring 30 first-half points on the way to a 42-14 victory.

SINCE THE Michigan High School Athletic Association expanded the playoffs, it’s the farthest a Viking football team has advanced and the first district championship. The back-to-back wins also double the schools playoff victory total to four. “The kids came out aggressive and took it to them and showed them what Posen football is all about,” said Budnick. “Our kids can be very proud of what they accomplished on Friday night.”

Posen advances to the regional championship game and their opponent is 10-1 Forest Park, which is commonly known as perennial playoff contender Crystal Falls Forest Park. Forest Park pounded Baraga 39-6 in their district title game. “It’ll be probably our biggest challenge to date,” Budnick said. “I told our kids that there are eight teams left in the state of Michigan playing for a state championship. We are not going to be facing any cupcakes. You have to be ready and I think we will be ready.”

“THEY ARE kind of a throwback,” said Budnick. Forest Park is going to line up and try to run right through Posen. “There isn’t anything deceiving about it,” Budnick said. “They are going off tackle and they have a big running back, 5′ 11″, 225 pounds. He is similar to Richie Kroll in his running style.” Forest Park has some big offensive linemen as well. “Everybody we have faced has been bigger than us,” Budnick said. “I firmly believe our speed can be utilized on the turf in the Superior Dome. That’s going to be our biggest advantage.

“We go in with the philosophy that we have to be more aggressive than them,” said Budnick.

THAT’S HOW the Mid Pen contest started. The Vikings started the game with the ball on their own 30 yard line and drove to Mid Pen’s 17 with a third-and-two but couldn’t convert. “Then Mid Pen takes the ball and rips off a 16 yard run by their all-UP running back,” said Budnick. The defense buckled down and didn’t allow much of anything the rest of the first half. The Wolverines punted and Posen got the ball at midfield. That set up a 37-yard touchdown run by Matt Ponik. Paul Kroll provided a crushing block to spring Ponik lose down the sideline. It was the first of four touchdowns for Ponik, who rushed for a season-high 216 yards. The two point conversion made the score 8-0. Mid Pen answered on its next possession with a 44-yard touchdown strike with 59 seconds left in the first quarter and tied the game with the conversion.

POSEN STARTED its next drive on its own 34. Faced with a third-and-10, Ponik dashed for a 25-yard gain to the Mid Pen 32. Another Wolverine penalty moved the ball to the 14. Two plays later, Ponik ran the ball in from eight yards out. The conversion was stopped and the score was 14-8. On Mid Pen’s next possession, on a counter play, the Wolverines fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Jason Romel. On the only pass completion of the game, Ponik went up top to Matt Szczerowski who brought in a 31-yard reception that set up a 16-yard touchdown run by Richie Kroll. Kroll, who rushed for 146 yards on 21 carries, got behind the defensive backs and raced for paydirt. The conversion to Szczerowski was good to make the score 22-8.

Andy Styma sacked he quarterback on a third-and-12 for a loss of nine to force the Wolverines to punt. Richie Kroll keyed another scoring drive with a 39-yard run that set up a five-yard quarterback sneak from Ponik.

THE CONVERSION was no good, but Mid Pen committed a penalty and the Vikes got another shot, with Ponik running in the two points for a 30-8 lead. That’s what the score was at the half. To the defense’s credit, Mid Pen ran only 14 plays i

n the first half, while the offense ran up more than 300 yards. “I think, after our first couple of possessions, we took the aggressiveness away from them, because if you have doubt to who has the football, how can you be aggressive,” said Budnick. “That’s exactly what happened. They were confused. Our backs and our line did a good job of selling the fakes.” There was no scoring in the third quarter, but on the first play from scrimmage of the fourth, Ponik found himself down the Mid Pen sideline for the longest run of the playoffs, an 85-yard touchdown run. The game was in the bag.

The final touchdown came on a 27-yard TD run by Josh Worthington. Matt Schuch had six hard-earned carries for 28 yards. Next stop for the first Viking football team to play an 11th game is the Superior Dome and a shot at moving to the final four.