ONEKAMA —
from Manistee News Advocate— The Onekama High School football
team dropped its homecoming game to Ashley Friday night in a
heartbreaker, 18-14.
Onekama (2-4, 2-1) rallied in the fourth quarter for a 14-12 lead, but
the Bears (2-4) responded with a touchdown with only nine seconds left
in the game.
Onekama got the ball back after Ashley’s failed extra point conversion,
and attempted to pass, but were unable to recover.
Ashley got on the board in the first quarter, taking an early 6-0 lead.
But the Portagers came back in
the second quarter with a 59-yard touchdown run by Zach Teachout, and
the game was tied at halftime.
Late in the third quarter, the Bears scored again after a long drive,
taking a 12-6 lead.
But the Portagers answered with a seven-play drive of their own in the
fourth quarter, and Joerdan Daldos scored a touchdown.
He also scored the 2-point conversion, giving the Portagers their only
lead of the game at 14-12. But the Bears were determined, and in a drive
that included an 11-yard pass, they drove down to the 16-yard line. |
The Portagers held them there on the
first and second down, but the Bears scored third down.
“It was tough,” said Onekama coach Jim Hunter. “To lose the homecoming
game is tough. To lose in the last seconds after coming back to take the
lead is tough.”
The Portagers racked up a total of 249 yards, 227 on the ground and 22
passing. Ashley outgained them for 332 total yards, with 55 yards
passing.
“They ran the ball 20 more times than we did,” Hunter said.
Teachout led the Portagers offensively with 121 yards on eight carries,
with one touchdown. Daldos ran for 97 yards on 20 carries, scoring one
touchdown and one 2-point conversion. Quarterback Dan Gillespie was 1-5
passing for 22 yards, with the lone completion going to Daldos.
Luke Fogerty led the Portagers defensively with 15 tackles, which Hunter
said was, “pretty good for a freshman.” Daldos had 14 tackles and
Ryan Miller had 12. Adrian Norman had one interception and gained
49 yards on a pair of returns.
“We made some mistakes,” Hunter admitted, but added that he sees
improvement in his team. “They’re trying harder, playing harder.”
He said, though Friday night’s game was a heartbreaker, his team will
recover. “The kids are pretty resilient.” |
