ONAWAY – Thursday night is going to be fun.
As weird as this sounds – and knowing how long I’ve lived up here – I’ve never covered an Inland Lakes-Onaway football game in person. Last year was the plan, of course, but things hit a roadblock after the Cardinals had to forfeit .
But now, the two M-68 rivals will do battle in Onaway as the high-powered Bulldogs, an 8-player state runner-up last season, return several excellent players, while the Cardinals have solid talent of their own along with new head coach Micah Bailey.
Here’s three questions I have going into Thursday's 7 p.m. matchup.
Do Cardinals have any shot of slowing down I-L offense?
If the Cardinals want to have any chance of pulling off a shocker, they’ll need to somehow find a way to limit an Inland Lakes offense that’s been a juggernaut in recent years.
Led by senior first team all-state quarterback Aidan Fenstermaker, the Bulldogs have weapons all over the place, including Andre Bradford, Mitch Crawford, Wyatt Hanel and others. Combining that with a terrific offensive line, it makes for a well-oiled machine of an attack.
Early on, we’re going to find out if the Cardinals have what it takes to slow down one of the most potent and efficient offenses in 8-player football. Onaway has quality players on that side of the ball, but facing Inland Lakes is a difficult challenge for any team out there.
Will Onaway playmakers have success against Bulldogs?
We know what the Bulldogs are offensively, but the Cardinals have dangerous offensive players of their own.
Among those is junior quarterback Brady Gapczynski, who had a solid junior season throwing the ball. Joining him is junior running back Trenton Soik and senior offensive linemen Levi Rigot and Billy Gasch, who hope to win the line of scrimmage battle against a physical Inland Lakes defense.
A fast start is critical for the Cardinals. If they do that, they might just make things interesting.
Which playmaker will have the biggest night?
On the Inland Lakes side, it would be easy for me to go Fenstermaker, Bradford or Mitch Crawford here, but from what I saw last week, the Bulldogs have juniors poised to break out this fall. The two that impressed me most during a recent scrimmage were juniors Wyatt Hanel and Ty Kolly. Hanel had several runs for touchdowns and Kolly hauled in a couple TD passes. With those two looking more like playmakers, it makes the choice tough for Inland Lakes.
As for Onaway, the challenge will be replacing the exceptional playmaking trio of Brendon Brewbaker, Jackson Chaskey and Justin Kramer-St. Germain, who were all seniors. If someone has a big night, I think it’ll be Gapczynski, who has a great arm and can be an effective runner. Soik is another threat.
No matter who it is, they’ll need to have a remarkable game if the Cardinals want to beat their rivals.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Three big questions heading into Thursday night's Inland Lakes-Onaway rivalry showdown
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