Hurons snap four-game losing streak with homecoming win over Cards
by Richard Lamb– Advance Editor
After a successful homecoming win against Onaway last week, coach Mike Kosiara and assistant coach Andy Hayhoe have their sights set on a strong finish to the season. With home games coming against Newberry (0-7) this Friday and Oscoda (which has not won a game since the 2005 season) to end the season, the Hurons (3-4) have a chance to get back on the black side of .500. Last week against Onaway, the excitement, and sometimes distractions of homecoming didn?t take the Hurons off-task in a 39-17 win over the Cardinals.
?I was so happy to end our losing streak, especially during homecoming,? Kosiara said. ?Our kids had to overcome all of the distractions of homecoming. We could not really make halftime adjustments. Our kids played over it.? All the seniors, plus quarterback and junior class homecoming representative Pat Quaine were on the field during halftime, instead of in the locker room with the coaches.
IN THE GAME Quaine rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another one while senior running back Kevin Fairbanks scored touchdowns on runs of 32 and 25 yards in the win. Fairbanks carried the ball 21 times for 152 yards while Quaine called his own number 21 times good for 105 yards. The Hurons answered an early Cardinal field goal by scoring the next 33 points. Trailing 3-0 heading into the second quarter, Fairbanks took a handoff and darted 32 yards for a score with 11:44 on the clock in the second quarter. The Cards had a drive stopped by two outstanding defensive plays. On a second-and-one from the Huron 37, junior linebacker Wade Wilk tackled Jan O?Bradovich for a six-yard loss. Then, on fourth down, a gang of Huron rushers blocked O?Bradovich?s punt with the ball ending up on the Cardinal 32. On the first play from scrimmage after the blocked punt Fairbanks started right, then cut back against the grain to open field on the left side for a 32-yard TD run. Quaine?s pass to Devon Ferris for the point after made the score 14-3 with 8:26 left in the first half.
?Being able to both pass and run effectively pleased me the most. When we can balance our attack, we are difficult to stop,? Kosiara said.
THE TEAMS TRADED punts until the Hurons? next scoring drive. Quaine?s 21-yard run and then a 23-yard pass to Ben Tulgestke were the big plays of a seven-play scoring drive. A three-yard keeper by Quaine, and then Alex Lemmon?s kick made the score 21-3 going into halftime. On the first play of the second half, the Hurons used nine plays to cover 80 yards in just over four minutes to make the score 27-3. Onaway went three-and-out on its next drive with a short punt going to the Huron 45. From there, the Hurons marched 55 yards in 11 plays. Six of those plays were runs by Quaine with Fairbanks carrying four times in the drive. Tulgestke caught a pass good for 24 yards. Quaine plowed in from the three, making the score 33-3 with 1:35 left in the third quarter.
Onaway scored on a 32-yard run to make the score 33-9. A bad exchange on a handoff between Quaine and Justin Idalski resulted in a fumble recovered by the Cardinals. Two plays later Fairbanks intercepted a pass setting up the final Huron touchdown. Controlling the ball and the clock, the Hurons took 3:08 to go 63 yards, capped by Quaine?s five-yard run.
?OVERALL, I WAS pleased with the play of the defense. We hit much better than we have of late. Our pass coverage was solid. We need to work on our adjustments to formations, ?Kosiara said. Onaway?s final touchdown came on a 20-yard pass with 3:14 left in the game. For the first time in recent weeks, the Hurons came out of the game unscathed and healthy going into next week?s game, Kosiara said. In spite of injuries which ended the season for starting running backs David Lewandowski and Jordan Zempel,
?The mood has been excellent,? Kosiara said. ?Obviously we do not like the injuries, but we don?t use them as excuses. We work harder to overcome them.? Newberry comes to Gilpin looking for their first win of the year. They have lost to Hancock (3-4) 28-22, Boyne City (6-1) 41-6, St. Ignace (5-2) 43-8, Rudyard (4-3) 28-0, Munising (3-4) 48-14, Gwinn (2-5) 26-0, and Cheboygan (6-1) 53-20. The game will be broadcast on 99.9 The Wave with Karl Grambau and Karl Momrik doing the play-by-play. Pre-game show is scheduled to begin at 7:20 p.m.
Statistics: Total offense RC 276 rushing, 129 passing; Onaway 161 rushing, 93 passing. Individual statistics: Passing: Quaine 7-of-11, 129 yards 1 TD. Rushing: Fairbanks 12/152/2; Quaine 21/105/3; Idalski 7/1/0. Receiving: Tulgestke 2/47/0; Haneckow 2/40/1; Ferris 2/27/0; Ryan 1/15/0. Defensive leaders: Fairbanks 9 tackles, 2 assists, 2 interceptions; Ryan 2 tackles, 9 assists; Hayhoe 6 tackles, 4 assists.