Pellston football hammers Forest Area in opener; Inland Lakes, Mackinaw City volleyball win

FIFE LAKE – Pellston football coach Jack Carter was wondering how his team would respond if things didn’t go as planned out of the gate.

One disappointing first quarter later, Carter’s Hornets woke up, got it together and dominated the rest of the way in a season-opening 54-12 victory at Forest Area on Thursday night.

Senior Brach Taylor had the biggest night of the Pellston bunch, playing a role in four of seven touchdowns for the Hornets (1-0, 1-0 Ski Valley 8-Player Conference). Taylor finished with 173 yards rushing and 3 TD’s and 55 yards receiving and a score.

Quarterback Brady Bonter threw for 107 yards and two TD’s and rushed for a score, while Connor Keller added 87 yards rushing and a TD, and Brett Bonter had a 38-yard receiving TD.

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“The first quarter was absolutely terrible – and the next three quarters, the guys did exactly what I was hoping they would do under pressure,” Carter said. “The senior leadership out of Brach Taylor was completely evident. Brady Bonter, leading our team for the first time at quarterback, did a great job and had no turnovers. Connor Keller had a great night running the ball, and we had Brett Bonter as a receiver who did great, too.

“It was a team effort.”

Carter also praised the Pellston defense, which saw Mariano Santos lead with five solo tackles, six assists, one sack and one blocked punt. Sam O’Neil tallied nine tackles and a fumble recovery, Lucas Livermore added eight tackles, and Connor Keller chipped in with five tackles.

Pellston travels to face Cedarville next Friday.

Bulldogs earn two more victories in matches

INDIAN RIVER – After winning both of its matches in Tuesday’s tri-match, the Inland Lakes volleyball team followed it up with victories over Posen (25-13, 25-4) and Charlevoix (25-12, 25-20) on Thursday.

Leading the Bulldogs were Chloe Robinson, who tallied 11 aces, six kills and four digs, and Brooklyn LaBrecque, who recorded 10 kills, 10 digs and one ace. Also contributing were Ava Belford (eight kills, two blocks), Jenna Stubbs (six kills, four aces, 12 digs, three blocks) and Tara Clancy (16 assists, eight aces, four kills, seven digs).

“Our strong serving really stood out,” Inland Lakes coach Nicole Moore said.

Inland Lakes hosts Harbor Springs on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

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Comets pick up first two wins this season

CEDARVILLE – Mackinaw City volleyball earned its first two victories of the season by beating Cedarville-DeTour (25-16, 25-20, 7-15) and Maplewood Baptist (25-10, 25-15, 11-15) during a tri-match in Cedarville on Thursday.

Kerry-Ann Ming finished with 16 kills, 21 service points, six blocks and five aces to fuel the Comets (2-5-1), who received 20 assists, 13 points, two kills and two aces from Rian Esper, 10 points, five kills and four aces from Alaina Brown, and eight kills, nine points, five aces and one block from Vanessa Groenewoud. Abby Brown (five kills, seven points, one ace, one block), Elizabeth Kruczynski (six points, one kill, one ace), Poppy Wallace (two points, two aces, one kill) and Julia Short (two points, one kill) also contributed.

“Tonight, we had our best serving night at 88 percent and we were efficient in serve receive for most of the night, staying in system so we could get our hitters some quality work,” Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman said. “If we can be consistent in those areas, we will be able to find success as we move through the season.”

Mackinaw City travels to Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy on Thursday, Sept. 5.

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: Pellston football hammers Forest Area in opener; Inland Lakes, Mackinaw City volleyball win