October 19, 2012

ONEKAMA — Despite holding Frankfort scoreless in the second half, Onekama dug itself too big of a hole in the first during a 32-6 loss Friday night.

“We had a multitude of errors early,” said Portagers coach Jim Hunter. “We gave up a safety first, and the kids were pretty down, and (Frankfort) punched one in right after that.

“It took the wind out of our sails for a bit, I thought.”

The Panthers (4-5), who will miss the playoffs for the first time in 18 seasons, took a 24-0 lead after the first quarter, and held a comfortable 32-0 advantage at the half.

“We battled pretty good in the second quarter, and kept them out of the endzone the whole second half,” Hunter said. “Defensively they played a lot harder and a lot tougher.”

The Portagers (3-6) got on the board down the stretch when junior quarterback Tyler Johnson scored from 30 yards out on a keeper to put a dent in the gap.

However, it was too little too late, as Frankfort continued its streak in the rivalry that started in 1994.

“I was proud of them because it could have been really easy to fold up our tent in the last game in a year we’re not going to the playoffs,” Hunter said of his team. “We were playing for pride, and I thought we did a good job with that.”

Posted at Manistee News Advocate on-line