Onekama cruises past TC Christian

Posted by Dylan Savela, Manistee News Advocate

ONEKAMA — When rung for the first time of the season, a victory bell sure has a sweet sound.

It took Onekama until Week 4 to hear it, but the Portagers let it ring loudly after its convincing 54-0 triumph over Traverse City Christian on Friday night.

“It takes some weight off your shoulders,” said Onekama senior Quinn Matthews, who had a huge game in the backfield, rushing 133 yards and four touchdowns on just 12 carries. “It feels good to get that first win.”

Neither the Portagers nor the Sabres had even scored during respective 0-3 starts to the year. Like Matthews, Onekama coach Jim Hunter talked about that weight being lifted with a win.

“There’s monkeys on your back and then there’s gorillas. This was a gorilla,” he said. “Not only had we not won, but we had not scored.

“Doubt can creep in, especially with young kids and first-year players,” he added. “It was good for them to see it, good to score early, good to score often. It’s exactly what the doctor ordered.”

Onekama left no doubt from the beginning: they were the stronger team than the upstart Sabres, who are in their first year of 11-man football.

The Portagers reached the endzone on their first drive, and never looked back. They put up points on eight of their nine possessions of the night, while holding TCC to just four first downs.

Matthews set the tone, making his first of four trips to paydirt at 7:03 in the first quarter. Their next possession took just three plays, and ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass from junior Tyler Johnson to senior receiver Brandon Bohannon at 2:19.

Johnson went 4-for-7 passing for 32 yards for Onekama. He, along with Matthews, were rested for the majority of the second half while the Portagers’ junior varsity players picked up a good amount of varsity minutes.

“We didn’t overlook this game,” Matthews said. “Everybody did their job. JV did a good job too; they didn’t have a game this week, so they got their time in and played well.”

The Portagers started rolling in the second quarter, as Matthews ran for two more scores — a 5-yard rush at 7:11 and a big 34-yard run at 5:55 — and senior Nick Streeter gave Onekama a 34-0 lead at the break with a 19-yard touchdown run with 50.3 seconds remaining.

TCC started the third quarter with the ball, but on its fourth play from scrimmage, Bohannon intercepted quarterback Benjamin Larkins at the Sabres’ 40-yard line. The pick was one of three turnovers the Portagers forced to go with two fumbles.

On the ensuing possession, Matthews broke for another big score — this time, a 31-yard run for a 41-0 lead at 9:22 in the third. From there, the Portagers gave way to a number of junior varsity players.

“I made a point to thank the JVs, who didn’t have a game this week,” Hunter said. “We took advantage of it … tonight, I told them the ball’s rolling, and it was there job, when they got in, to keep it rolling and not play like timid JV guys.

“I’ll tell you what, people watching may have been hard pressed to tell when we made that switch. The kids were working hard, hitting, and getting after it.”

Hunter moved tight end Bryson Waller under center, and the junior scored on a one-yard keeper with 11:20 to go in the fourth for a 48-0 lead.

Waller and Jacob Morgan combined for six extra-point kicks on the night, as well.

Onekama capped the game’s scoring at 1:28 remaining in the contest, as junior varsity running back Paul Hayes ran for a 10-yard touchdown.

With the gorilla off their back, Hunter kept his team’s albeit important victory in perspective.

“I feel for that TCC program right now,” he said. “They’re starting from scratch, so I told our kids we didn’t do anything special tonight; we did what we should have done. We were the better team and we needed to play like it.”

Still, the win was a good note to hit before embarking on four straight West Michigan D League games in the Portagers’ pursuit to defend last year’s league title.

“I would hope it carries over,” Hunter said. “We’ll still have some talking points, and come Monday, I’m sure we’ll find some things to show the kids that didn’t go well tonight.

“But, we hope this can get them going.”