Hurons host defending state champ Kingsley Friday

There is just one more week to go before the Hurons enter the Michigan High School Athletic Association football playoffs. Who they play, where they play, and what division they play in, are still up in the air. The MHSAA will split up the 256 teams, which qualify in eight divisiionsseparate them by region, and rank them by computer points, then pair up teams (see box on page 2B). Confusing, yes, but by Sunday night?s selection show, everything will be cleared up. With seven wins, the Huron are in the playoffs, but await word on the rest of the particulars.

LAST WEEK at Gilpin Field, the Newberry Indians used two big plays to get their only TDs in a 21-12 Huron win. Again, the Hurons played in wet weather, this time in a steady snowfall with dropping temperatures. By the middle of the third quarter, the snow made it difficult to see from one side of the field to the other, and the cold had driven many of the fans away. ?The cold was the biggest thing, but if we want to go deep into the playoffs, we had better get used to it,? said Huron coach Mike Kosiara. Newberry scored on a 73-yard kickoff return with 3:21 left in the second quarter and a 46-yard fumble recovery with 9:01 left in the third quarter. Other than those two plays, the Hurons kept the Indians at bay.

ROGERS CITY played without senior center Evan Vogelheim, out with an illness, but with running back and linebacker Tyler Schuiteman, who was expected to miss the Newberry game after suffering a bruised leg in the Onaway game. Both should be available for Friday?s game. ?With Tyler able to play, we had minimal adjustments to make. We moved Joe Finch to center and had Ryan Darga take Joe?s tackle spot,? Kosiara said. ?Obviously, we would rather have Evan, with his experience, at center. However, we knew Joe and Ryan would do well.?

THE HURONS got on the scoreboard first, getting a 15-yard TD run by junior quarterback Chase McLennan with 2:47 left in the first quarter. Rogers City used eight running plays to pick up 63 yards in just under four minutes. Kosiara mixed up the plays with Dustin Hein, Brent Freel, Schuiteman, and McLennan sharing the load. On the next Indian possession, the Hurons couldn?t take advantage of a short punt into a stiff southerly wind to the Huron 35. A sack on third down made it fourth-and-long and Newberry took over on downs. Senior linebacker Trent Holmes made up for it by recovering a fumble to end the next Newberry drive.

THAT SET up the longest Huron scoring drive of the day, starting from their own 26-yard line. A run from Hein gained five yards and Schuiteman went for three up the middle. Then on third down, McLennan was trapped at the line. Kosiara called time out, rallied the troops and came up with a play, a five-yard pass from McLennan to Bret Karsten. On third and eight, McLennan hit Karsten with a pass good for 34 yards to the Newberry 15. Hein capped the drive with a three-yard TD run over the left side, Finch added the kick, and the Hurons led 14-0 with 3:35 left in the first half. Newberry returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD, but the Hurons answered with another score. Karsten tip-toed down the right sideline for a long gainer off a McLennan pass to set up the touchdown. On fourth-and-five from the Indian 15, McLennan rolled left behind great pass protection, waited patiently for a moment for Karsten to clear coverage, and then flipped a pass to the junior wideout for the score. Finch added the kick and the Hurons led 21-6 with 1:03 left in the third quarter.

FRIDAY?S GAME with Kingsley marks the end of the regular season. The Stags are the defending state champion in Division 6, and come into the game with a record of 6-2, taking a 68-8 win over McBain (2-6) last week. Their only losses came to Traver

se City St. Francis (7-1) in week one, 36-20 and undefeated Suttons Bay. Kosiara said finishing strong is important to the team and the team has several goals coming into the contest. ?First of all, our kids need to know in their hearts that they can not only play with a team like Kingsley, but that they can defeat them. Secondly, we need to take care of the little things,? he said. Beyond that, Kosiara and assistant coach Andy Hayhoe will spend some time working on special teams, especially kickoff coverage, this week. Game time at Gilpin Field is 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on The Wave radio, 99.9 FM.

STATISTICS: Total offense: Rogers City 189 rushing, 87 passing. Newberry 100 rushing, 0 passing. Passing: McLennan 6-of-10, 87 yards, 1 TD. Receiving: Karsten 5/77/1; Schuiteman 1/10/1. Rushing: Hein 10/60/1; McLennan 23/43/1; Schuiteman 12/43/0; Freel 3/43/0. Leading tacklers: Holmes 10, Freel 8, Gapczynski 6. Fumble recoveries: Holmes 2.