Hurons tangle with Cards Friday

The Hurons will not have any time to lick their wounds after a frustrating 41-13 loss to Rudyard last week as powerful Onaway is on deck. The Cardinals (5-1) lost their first game of the season to Johanesburg-Lewiston last week and will certainly be gunning to get back in the win column against the Hurons Friday in Onaway. The Cards started fast last season and looked to be on the way to a playoff berth before a late-season slump kept them at home for the post season. This year, one win away from qualifying for the playoffs, coach Tony Hoffmeyers?s team is well-rounded and features elusive senior running back Lonnie Splan who has put up all-state numbers this season. ?You can?t really prepare for a Lonnie Splan,? said Huron coach Mike Kosiara. ? We will focus on tackling and wrapping up.?

THE HURONS played a good first half last week against Rudyard but things disintegrated in the second half as the Bulldogs capitalized on several opportunities. Rogers City (2-4) scored first as senior quarterback Austin Fairbanks plowed over from the one on fourth-and-goal. Cody Wenzel booted the point after and the Hurons led 7-0, scoring on their first possession. The big play of the 65-yard drive came on sophomore Chase McLennan?s 36-yard bolt up the middle. Rudyard responded by scoring on its next two possessions with the second TD coming early in the second quarter to make it 16-7 with 11:08 left in the first half. Rogers City then began a long possession which started on its own 35 yard-line at the 11 minute mark. The Hurons picked up three first downs and had the ball at the Bulldog 18, after a 12-yard run by Fairbanks.

?We felt going in that we could run the outside veer and that is what we did,? Kosiara said. ?We blocked well and Austin made some good reads.? Then the team began moving in the wrong direction. Penalties took the ball back to the Rudyard 35 and set up fourth-and-27. The teams traded punts, with Wenzel?s 52-yard punt pinning the Bulldogs deep in their own end.

THAT SET UP a Huron opportunity. Senior linebacker Mark Grulke broke through the line to block a punt and Justin Wilbert recovered the football at the Rudyard three. Fairbanks scored two plays later on a keeper to the right side. A pass fell incomplete on the PAT try and Rudyard led 16-13 with 1:26 left in the half. In the third quarter the Hurons got the ball first, starting on their own 36 and getting the ball across midfield on a 17-yard pass from Fairbanks to Bret Karsten. Senior running back Dylan Centala kept the drive alive by picking up four yards on a fourth-and three, getting a crucial first down at the Bulldog 20. Momentum seemed to be swing the Hurons? way. Then one of the strangest plays to be seen at Gilpin struck against the Hurons. Wenzel took a handoff up the middle from Fairbanks and appeared to be gaining ground when a defender ripped the ball from his hands and then raced all the way to the end zone in front of a stunned homecoming crowd.

INSTEAD OF taking the lead at the end of a successful drive, the Hurons now trailed 22-13 with 6:17 left in the third. To make matters worst, the Bulldogs picked off a Fairbanks? pass on second down of the ensuing drive, and ran it back for a touchdown to make the score 28-13 with 5:22 left in the third. On the interception play, Fairbanks ran right to avoid a heavy rush and while a lineman tugged on his jersey, he flipped a throw to the right flat where it was picked off. In less than a minute, the Hurons went from the brink of a lead-changing drive to being 15 points down. ?The fumble, followed almost directly by the interception, definitely changed the game in Rudyard?s favor,? Kosiara said. ?To have driven the field so well and then have it turn into a Rudyard touchdown was quite an emotional swing.? The Hurons got the ball back at the Bulldog 24, but went three-and-out on the next possession. The Bulldogs then marched 82 yards on five plays to get the score to 34-13.

They scored again on their next possession, capping a four-play, 53-yard drive for the final score with 5:15 left in the game.

WITH THR

EE tough road games left, after losing four consecutive games at home, coaches Kosiara and assistant Nick Rethman face the challenge of getting the team back on track. Kosiara looks at the challenge this way: ?The strength of the wolf is the pack. The strength of the pack is the wolf. The kids need to focus on the idea of team. We need to focus on the positives that each player brings,? he said. Friday?s game begins at 7:30 p.m. in Onaway. The Hurons finish the season with a game in Newberry October 14 then in Kingsley October 21. ?We are all frustrated. A win would definitely ease the frustration,? Kosiara said.

Statistics: Total yardage: Rogers City 189 rushing, 60 passing, 249 total. Rudyard 253 rushing, 86 passing, 339 total. Passing: Fairbanks 6-of-21, 60 yards, 3 INT. McLennan 0-for-1. Rushing: Fairbanks 11/62/2; Centala 14/47/0; McLennan 3/42/0; Schuiteman 6/22/0; Wenzel 8/17/0. Receiving: B. Karsten 3/36; Holmes 2/22; Centala 1/2. Defensive leaders: Centala 7 primary, 2 assisted tackles; Fairbanks 5 primary, 2 assisted tackles.

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