Hurons? balanced attack too much for Posen
by Peter Jakey– Managing Editor
In the first game on Gilpin Memorial Field since last year?s home playoff loss to Mancelona, the Huron football team was starting to look like a playoff team again, as they won their second game of the 2008 season to improve to 2-0. The 39-0 win came at the hands of their closest county rival, Posen (0-2). The Vikings made tremendous strides from week one to week two, especially on offense, but a few first quarter lapses resulted in missed scoring opportunities and the Hurons having excellent field position. Rogers City scored on all four of their first half possessions to take a 26-0 lead into halftime.
?WE PLAYED well,? said head coach Mike Kosiara, who has started the season 2-0 the last four seasons. He said there is more work to be done if they want to defeat teams like St. Ignace, Inland Lakes and Rudyard down the line. Kosiara said, ?we need to take care of the details.?
Posen head coach Wayne Karsten, who is still looking for his first win as a varsity head coach, said his squad continues to build. ?We can move the ball,? said Karsten of Posen moving the ball deep into Rogers City on two of their first three possessions. ?I?m proud of the
m, we kept fighting until the end. We are coming around.? The Hurons travel to Lincoln to take on the 1-1 Alcona Tigers. Game time is at 7:30 p.m. Only one of the next four games is at home, before the regular season ends with three straight homes games. Posen has an open week, before hitting the road again to play at Au Gres. The Vikings next home game isn?t until October 10.
FRIDAY?S GAME was played under perfection conditions. The field was in tremendous shape and the weather was perfect for a clash on the gridiron. Posen got off to a slow start against Cedarville on both sides of the ball, but came out on fire against Rogers City. Starting at their own 33, the Vikes embarked on an impressive opening drive, mostly on the running of quarterback Aaron Romel. He fired a 13-yard pass to Tyler Krajniak to move into Huron territory, which was followed by a 28-yard run by Romel to the Rogers City 16. A few plays later and the Vikes were on the doorstep with a first-and-goal at the Huron five. The Rogers City defense kept Romel out of the end zone, setting up a fourth-and-two. Posen was flagged for illegal procedure and Jordan Zempel intercepted a Romel pass in the end zone.
On the Hurons? third offensive play of the game, and only the second carry of the season for Zempel, the senior back found lots of real estate on an off-tackle play to the right and went for 67 yards to the Posen three. Zempel got the call again, but still couldn?t touch pay dirt. Fairbanks got the handoff on the next play and put the first home six on the board, a little more than two minutes after the interception. Alex Lemmon kicked the ball through to make it 7-0.
THE VIKINGS got the ball just past midfield when their next drive stalled. Romel slipped on the turf, threw an incomplete pass, and on a third-and-13 Cody Elowsky put on a heavy rush on the QB. Romel got away, but Krajniak dropped the pass. At fourth-and-13, punter Tyson Klecha dropped the ball when it was snapped to him and was immediately tackled trying to run with it. The Hurons got the ball at the Posen 45. Fairbanks got the first down handoff and ran for 12 yards. In a third-down situation, and anytime Rogers City needed to convert a key play, they got it from the arm of junior quarterback Pat Quaine. He found Brandon Haneckow, pulling away from the defensive backs on the right hash marks, who caught the pass and went in for the score with nine seconds remaining in the quarter. It was 13-0. Quaine went six-for-10 with 155 yards.
Posen continued to get good returns from their kicking game, as Krajniak ran the ball to the Posen 37 on the ensuing possession. Romel and Krajniak connected on a big pass play to the Rogers City 25, but the drive would end on a third-and-seven run by Krajniak, who would have had a first down, but fumbled the ball. Rogers City got the ball at the Posen 10 and drove it 90 yards, capped by a 47-yard touchdown pass by Quaine to Ben Tulgestke, who didn?t miss a stride running by the defender and under the pass.
THE VIKINGS kept fighting in the first half, with Romel connecting with Krajniak, who had a nice run after the catch to gain a first down to the Posen 38, but that?s where the drive stalled. On fourth-and-15, Klecha punted the ball to Rogers City and got away a good one. The Hurons went back to the run, getting 11 yards from Fairbanks and four yards from Quaine. A couple of incomplete passes set up a fourth-and-six at the Posen 39. Quaine, who was under a lot of pressure from the Posen defensive front, found Haneckow running up the right side and connected on a 39-yard touchdown. That made the score 26-0.
The Hurons kept the momentum going in the second half with Fairbanks running the first play from scrimmage to the house for 59 yards. Zempel would add a fourth-quarter touchdown to make the score 39-0. Posen?s last chance to score came late in the fourth. Romel fired his best pass of the night to Shane Hentkowski for 26 yards to the Huron 17. A seven-yard run by Romel to the 10, gave Posen a second-and-third, but Nathan Street was stripped of the ball. For the Rogers City defense, the shutout was preserved. It was their first shutout against Posen since the schools played a three game series in the mid 1980s, all of which were shutout wins for the Hurons.
The only down moment for the Hurons was the loss of David Lewandowski for the season. He suffered a serious foot injury that will keep him out of sports the rest of the school year, at a minimal.
Statistics: Rushing: Rogers City: Zempel 12/15
Posen: Romel 22/96/0; Krajniak 2/19/0; Street 4/-6/0 Passing: Quaine 6-of-10, 155 yards, 3 TD; Romel 10-for-22, 155 yards, I Int. Receiving: Haneckow 2/67/2 TD; Tulgestke 2/62/ 1 TD; Devon Ferris 2/26/0. Krajniak 6/101/0, Klecha 2/29/0, Hentkowski 1/26/0, Justin LaPointe 1/9/0, Street 1/2.
Defense: Rogers City: Zempel 8 tackles/1 int./caused fumble; Wade Wilk 7 tackles, 1 assist; Cody Elowsky 6 tackles, 1 assist; Fairbanks 4 tackles, 1 assist; Luke Ryan 3 tackles, 2 assists. Haneckow and Tulgestke had fumble recoveries; Ferris, caused fumble.
Posen: Romel 11 tackles, Jimmy Novak 8, Krajniaj 8, Corey Hentkowski 7 tackles, QB sack, Street 6 tackles, QB sack.