Posen sets its sights on first season-opening win since ?04

by Peter Jakey– Managing Editor

With enough warm bodies to field a football team, the Posen football team is hoping to put all the distractions of the first two weeks of practice behind them, and put all their focus into winning the season-opener at Cedarville. Game time in the upper peninsula is 7 p.m. Tuesday in practice was the most head coach Glenn Budnick had in pads with 16 suited up. A few more could be coming out in the coming weeks to solidify numbers, which are still on the low side. There was between 18 and 19 practicing with the team in 2006. Now, the most important numbers to the Posen players will be how many points they put on their side of the scoreboard, and to limit their opponents? points.

POSEN WILL try to snap a two-game losing streak to Cedarville, which has one regular season loss in two seasons. The Vikings had won five consecutive games against the Trojans before an 8-0 loss in 2005. Under the direction of head coach Randy Schaedig, who has ties to the Rogers City area, Cedarville has turned into a force to be reckoned with in northern Michigan. They are coming off some impressive seasons and play an extremely tough schedule. The Trojans graduated a talented group of athletes, but still have some impressive players at the skill positions. Anyone who watched the Cedarville basketball team win a Class D state title knows who the Duncan twins are. They?ll be bringing a lot of speed to the quarterback and tailback positions this season. Cedarville also runs a full JV squad and they were undefeated in 2006.

STOPPING THE run will be a top priority for the ?07 Posen club to win their season opener. ?If we can?t stop the run it w

ill be a long night,? said Budnick. A core of 12 letter winners return to the gridiron with the mindset of turning the program around, after a 2-7 injury riddled 2006 season. Posen was 3-6 the year before. Going into a fresh new season, Budnick and his players want to make sure there are no second-half let downs. Early last season, the Vikes let a couple of halftime leads get away from them and lost some close games. As the season progressed, the injuries and the losses started to spiral out of control. At the end of the campaign, even teams without a win against Posen in several years were getting by the Vikings.

The incoming seniors and underclassmen have worked hard in the weight room in the off-season to prepare themselves for a full four quarters, and for the rigors of a nine-game season. The first home game of the season is August 31 against Rogers City. Look for more information on the ?07 football team in The Advance?s fall sports tab which comes out next week.