Turnovers costly in loss to Alcona

by Richard Lamb, Advance Editor

Six turnovers cost the Hurons opportunities in a 32-14 loss to Alcona last Friday. The road doesn?t get any easier as the Hurons (1-2) travel across the bridge to play an angry St. Ignace Saints squad looking to forget about a tough defeat last week. St. Ignace (2-1) saw a chance to defeat highly-rated McBain go awry when a fourth quarter extra point kick bounced off the left upright. McBain then won in overtime to stay undefeated.

?St. Ignace stretches the field horizontally making them tough to defend. They are always physically and mentally tough,? said Huron coach Mike Kosiara. The Saints have won the last three times against Rogers City, with the last Huron win coming in a 28-14 win in 2006. THE HURON team, which comes into Friday?s game with a bit more confidence, showed they could move the ball against Alcona. What hurt were four fumbles and two interceptions.

The first turnover came more on a stolen ball than a Huron fumble. Alcona?s Kevin Fettes, who rushed for 106 yards, scored a TD from his linebacker position on defense. He came out of the pack at the line and raced 26 yards to put up the first score of the day. After the two-point conversion Alcona led 8-0 with 9:06 left in the first quarter. On the ensuing drive, the Hurons faced fourth and nine at their own 42, but turned the ball over on an incompletion. Alcona used that field position to march eight plays in four minutes as Fettes powered in from the 10. Alcona led 16-0 with 44 seconds left in the first quarter.

Rogers City answered with a drive of its own?10 plays?but it ended with a lost fumble at the Tiger 2 yard-line. The Hurons trapped Fettes in the end zone on the next play for a safety and trailed 16-2 with 8:09 left in the half. THE TEAMS traded punts and turnovers on the next four possessions. Levi Ellenberger?s interception set up a chance as time grew short in the second quarter, but the half ended with a 16-2 score.

Rogers City?s best drive of the day came on the first possession of the third quarter. Facing fourth and six, Jesse Wilbert kept the drive alive with a 15-yard scramble to the Alcona 32. Kosiara said going for it on fourth down paid dividends. ?We have good athletes who can make plays. Our defense was playing well. Our second goal for the week was to do our job aggressively, so I was also doing that,? he said. Running on a quick count, Wilbert picked up 4 yards, then Dylan Orr ran for 4 more. Orr?s run on the next play picked up the first down, then Orr scored five plays later. Wilbert found the junior fullback on a pass in the right flat, good for a 4-yard touchdown. The PAT failed, but the Hurons had cut the lead to 16-8 with 7:16 left in the third quarter.

The Hurons force a punt on the Tigers? next drive but again fumbled the ball away, this time at the Huron 46. That set up the next Alcona score to go up 24-8 with 2:34 left in the third quarter. Keegan Urban?s 6-yard TD run was set up by a 40-yard pass play from Wilbert to Chad Karsten down the right sideline. With 1:01 left in the third quarter, the Hurons trailed 24-16. Travis Claus onsides kick was recovered by Lance Schaedig on the Alcona 43. But that drive ended in a Huron punt, as did the next Alcona drive. Rogers City got two first downs on the next drive, but a tipped pass led to an interception. ANOTHER TURNOVER turned into another score for the Tigers, a 25-yard run from Fettes. A two-point conversion left

the score 32-16 with 6:22 left. The Hurons picked up a forfeit win earlier last week when it was found Hillman used an ineligible player in the first week. Hillman had to forfeit wins over Rogers City and Marion.

Kosiara said his team played much better than it had in the first two games. ?They were more focused. It was one of our goals for the week. Our line, Al Brietzke, Craig Nadolsky, Mark Rhode, Chris Pflug and Travis Claus stepped up their game,? Kosiara said. Friday?s game from St. Ignace will be broadcast on 99.9 FM with Karl Grambau and Karl Momrik doing the play by play beginning at 7 p.m.

Statistics: Total offense: Rogers City 171 rushing, 122 passing, 293 total. Alcona 250 rushing, 25 passing, 275 total. Passing: Wilbert 8-of-22, 122 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. Rushing: Schaedig 7 carries, 78 yards, O TD; Wilbert 16/47/0; Urban 11/23/1; Orr 9/23/0. Receiving: C. Karsten 2 receptions, 50 yards, 0 TD; Urban 3/32/0; Hilla 1/25/0, Ellenberger 1/12/0; Orr 1/3/1. Defensive leaders: Sobeck 8 primary, 4 secondary tackles; Schaedig 5/5; J. Karsten 7/2. Interception by Ellenberger.