Hurons win district title; play Charlevoix in regionals
Huron and Eagle fans had nothing more to give an exhausting 40-36 Huron overtime win in the championship game of the Rogers City district. Rogers City moves on to play Charlevoix in the Petoskey regionals Tuesday. Played before one of the largest crowds to see a Huron home game in recent memory, the game had all of the color of a great match up played before the Huron orange and black crowd and the Hale blue and white. Rogers City played from behind nearly all the way, trailing 9-8 at the end of the first quarter and 20-15 at halftime. Each team played cautiously on offense, stymied by the opposition team?s zone defense.
The Hurons had a chance to cut into the Eagles? lead before the halftime buzzer, but fell short. Senior guard Chris Santini?s running jumper made the score 20-15 with 51 seconds left in the half. After an Eagle miss, the Hurons had the ball with 20 seconds left in the half but couldn?t get a shot off before the clock hit zero. A loud Huron crowd got fired up in the opening moments of the second half. Bret Karsten had a steal and a lay-up and then Austin Fairbanks hit a lay-up, off a steal. Senior forward Justin Wilbert connected on 1-of-2 from the free throw line to tie the game at 20-20 with 5:34 left in the third.
THE TEAMS played to a dead heat from that point until the end of regulation. Hale took a 27-23 lead after a free throw caused by Scott Kowalewsky?s third foul with 48 seconds left in the third. Andy Tulgestke?s three pointer from in front of the Huron student section made it 27-26 heading into the third quarter. Santini and Wilbert hit triples in the first 90 seconds of the fourth quarter to give the Hurons a 32-27 lead, their biggest lead of the game. When Kowalewsky picked up his fourth foul at the 6:15 mark, Justin Senff replaced him in the middle. Coach Karl Grambau, who won his second district title in five years as boys? varsity coach, decided to take some time off the clock with a weave. With three minutes remaining, Karsten?s crisp pass set up Fairbanks for a bucket and a 24-31 Huron lead. That would be the last points for Rogers City until the overtime. Hale tied the score with a free throw with 1:30 left in regulation. Grambau milked the clock, trying to set up a shot for the winner. Rogers City called timeout with nine seconds left, but the Hurons couldn?t set up for a shot and the game went into OT. IN THE overtime, Rogers City took the lead as Fairbanks hit the first free throw and Wilbert rebounded the missed second shot. Again the Hurons weaved away some seconds, forcing Hale to foul Wilbert.
Wilbert?s two free throws were off the mark and Hale?s Andy Katterman, who led his team with 14 points, hit two free throw to give his team a 36-25 lead with 11 seconds left. At this point Grambau called timeout to set up a play. The Hurons go the ball to Santini, who drove the lane and hit a one-handed runner with three seconds left to hive the Hurons a 37-26 lead. Hale called a timeout, but was charged with a technical since they ran out of timeouts. Santini hit on 1-of-2 free throws and the Hurons had the ball. Forced to foul again, Hale again send Wilbert to the line. This time he calmly drained both shots to ice the win, send
THE VOCAL crowd brought out the best in the Hurons, the coach said. A pep rally earlier in the day started the support, and students came decked out in orange and black, either worn or painted on, carrying signs and yelling support. ?The student body had been just great and the community has been so supportive. They have a lot to do with this (win),? Grambau said. Hale fell to 19-3, after topping Alcona in the first round of district play.
IN THE DISTRICT semifinal against Onaway, the Hurons won 72-55 as four players hit double-digits. Wilbert had 15, Santini and Senff scored 14 each, and Karsten added 13 in the game. Wilbert?s hot hand got the Hurons out to an 8-0 lead on the strength of two three-pointers. The Hurons led 14-6 after the first quarter. Kowalewsky?s defensive presence made penetration shots impossible for Onaway, as he turned away several shots with swats. The Hurons extended their lead to 20-6 on Karsten?s 12-foot pull-up jumper with 5:37 left in the half. Onaway cut the lead to 26-14 at halftime but the Hurons pulled away in the third quarter, leading by as many as 22 points. Wilbert?s triple and a jumper from Senff gave RC a 54-28 lead at the end of three. The win over Onaway sent the Hurons into the district championship game with Hale. The district championship was the second in five seasons for Grambau. The 2002 squad set the school record for wins in a 22-3 season which included a regional win. David Quaine and Tyler Hilla were co-MVPs of the squad which fell to eventual state champion McBain.