Petoskey offense answers questions, Northmen drop 40 on Bay City Western

PETOSKEY — Remember all that talk about the Petoskey football team needing to work out the kinks offensively following the opener a week ago?

Well, it doesn’t appear Labor Day weekend was spent on barbecues, boats and the beach for the Northmen.

At least it didn’t look like it Friday night when the Northmen welcomed in Bay City Western for Week 2 and did nothing but light up the scoreboard to the tune of a 40-6 victory.

Time well spent laboring away on the offensive side of the football.

“It’s a work in progress and our goal is to get better every week. We made this week pretty good,” Petoskey head coach Jim Webb said afterward.

A bit of a slow start to the night for both sides, Petoskey (2-0) quickly put a couple scores on the board by the end of one to lead 12-0, then opened the floodgates from there.

The Northmen scored three more touchdowns in the first half, the final coming on a 45-yard fumble scoop and score by linebacker Logan LaHaie after a sack by a blitzing Seth Marek.

The 32-0 halftime lead was all Petoskey needed to coast in the second half.

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Offense balances out

In the opener, most of the offensive issues came behind the connection between new quarterback Korbin Sulitis and his weapons out wide. Missed chances led to an imbalanced offense.

Those connections weren’t missed Friday against the Warriors.

Sulitis finished the game 10 of 15 passing for 165 yards and three touchdowns, along with an interception, while adding eight carries for 60 yards. That came after 20 rushing attempts in the opener.

“When Korbin can hit our receivers like that, it just makes (the other team) scramble,” Webb said. “They’ve got the whole field to defend. Last week, we missed those, so Greenville was able to come in a little tighter on our runs.”

Mitch Eberhart caught four passes for 84 yards and two scores, then added 37 yards on a pair of carries. Marek had four grabs for 60 yards, nearly getting into the endzone after being called down on the one.

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Haden Janes totaled 49 yards and a score and Brendan Swiss had eight rushes for 41 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Defense still aggressive

Physicality and aggressiveness are two things that instantly stand out when watching the Northmen defense two games in. All 11 players on the field – no matter who subs in and out – want to hit someone and want the football.

That’s a credit to assistants Gavin Fralick, Mike Loper and others, having the unit prepared enough to be able to fly around and not have to think about the assignment.

“The kids are prepared, they know what they’re doing out there,” said Webb. “They play fast and physical and if you can do that defensively, you’re going to have a good squad.”

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Through two games, the defense has six takeaways, eight tackles for a loss and allowed single digits in each game.

On Friday, LaHaie led with 13 tackles, one for a loss and the fumble recovery for a score, Haden Janes made six stops and recorded an interception – putting him four away from matching the career PHS record – Trent Black made six tackles, Devin Marvin had five and Wyatt Hahn had four tackles and a sack.

Honoring the past

While it’s an undefeated start two games in for the Northmen, during halftime it was announced that four undefeated Petoskey football squads will be enshrined into the Petoskey Athletic Hall of Fame as the class of 2025.

Those four include the teams of 1974, 1951, 1927 and 1926. A large portion of the ’74 team was in attendance and recognized during the halftime ceremonies as they celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Former Petoskey News-Review sports editor Jerry Rosevear, along with ’51 football player Lee Willson were also each recognized as special guests of the ’74 team. Willson’s two sons were members of the ’74 team.

Up next

The first game of the season away from Northmen Stadium will come next week for the Northmen, when they travel to Escanaba on Friday, Sept. 13. It’ll also come as the Big North Conference opener for Petoskey.

Note: Check for more on the Northmen and an offensive standout early next week in the News-Review.

Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey offense answers questions, Northmen drop 40 on Bay City Western