Onekama Football for 2008: Grade 7-8

Middle School Football Schedule for 2008
Coaches: Gerry Matthews and David McNeilly

Date	Opponent	Result
9/10/08	Home vs. Brethren	Onekama Wins! Photos and Report Team Photo is at the bottom of this page
9/17/08	At MCC 6:00	Thanks to a strong defensive effort, the young Portagers posted another shut out win, with a 16-0 victory over their inter-county rival Manistee Catholic Central. The only offensive score came in the 1st QTR when Bryce Reckow sprinted off the left side on a QB option for 9 yd TD, Jacob Florian successfully converted the PA. The scored stayed that way until late in the 3rd QTR when Quinn Matthews intercepted a deep pass from the Sabers and ran it back 35 yds for the second and final TD, Florian once again ran in the 2pt conversion. The Portagers stayed on the ground the majority of the time, with Matthews running for 48 yds on 8 carries, followed by Florian with 41 yds on 14 carries. Reckow only went to the air twice, completing one to Matthews for a gain of 25 yds, that set up the first TD. As noted earlier, it was a great defensive game by both teams. For the first time in two years the Portagers were forced to punt, not only once, but three times. The Portagers returned the favor by forcing the Sabers to punt twice and also taking the ball over on downs three times. Florian was again lead the defensive attack with 14 tackles, followed by Josh Santa and Keifer Brewer with 9 each, Logan Fogarty added 7 and Austin Greiner had 6 take downs. Matthews also had two picks, the one for a TD and the other deep in Saber territory late in the game to seal the win. ~Coach Matthews
9/24/08	Home vs. Baldwin	Onekama Wins! With another huge win (56-14) over the Baldwin Panthers, the young Portagers are now 3-0 and lead the conference with three games to go. Photos & More of Coach's Report
10/1/08	At Brethren 6:00	Reminiscent of the first game with Brethren, the young Portagers once again bull dozed the Bobcats into submission with their most impressive Defensive and Special Teams display of the year, posting a 62-0 win… their third shut out of the year. With Jacob Florian clearing the way, Quinn Matthews returned the opening kick off 75 yards for a TD and Florian busted through for the 2pt conversion. The defense held their ground and 4 downs later the Portagers had the ball again and once again found the end zone on a 20yd TD run by Matthews. On next series of downs, the Bobcats went to the air (unsuccessfully), Austin Greiner was there and ready, as he snared is first of two interceptions, the later one coming in the 3rd QTR, both of which he returned for TD's. When the Portagers got the ball back again on downs, Bryce Reckow dropped back in the pocket and hit Joe Eno on a Play Action pass for a 21yd TD. Matthews added one more score with another pass interception for a TD and before the QTR ended the score was 32-0. The 2nd QTR wasn't any better for the Bobcats, Reckow once again went to the air and found Florian for a 25yd TD. Matthews followed that up with another TD when he broke loose on a quick pitch for a 65yd TD run and Reckow scooted in for the conversion. Score at the half, Portagers 46 - Bobcats 0. With a running clock in the second half, the game went by pretty quickly, but not quick enough for the Bobcats. Along with his 3rd QTR TD interception, Griener also added another 6pts when he busted up the middle for TD, Logan Fogarty and Josh Santa were successful on both conversions. Defensively, LB's Josh Jacobs and Florian lead the attack with 10 tackles apiece, followed by Santa with 8 and Eno, Fogarty, Greiner, Bryson Waller and Nick DeLeon had 5 each. Along with the 3 interceptions by Greiner and Matthews, the Portagers also had two fumble recoveries, one by Fogarty one by Waller. Offensively, the Portagers only had 157 yards on the ground, Matthews had 92 yds on 3 carries and Florian had 47 yds on one carry. Reckow was successful on 2 of his 8 passes, both for TD's. ~Coach Matthews
10/8/08	Home vs. MCC 7:00	Portagers defeat MCC 16-6 under the lights Coach's Report and photos
10/15/08 Oct. 20 Pizza Party	At Baldwin 5:00 End of Season Remarks by Coach and MVP	The Portagers ended the season in style with a 50-0 win over the Baldwin Panthers, the victory gave them the undisputed title of League champions with a record of 6 Wins and 0 Losses, four of which were shutouts over their opponents. As for the game, it didn't take long for the Portagers to demonstrate their dominance. On the first play from scrimmage, Jacob Florian showed off his strength and speed, when he broke two tackles and scampered 60 yds for his first of two TD's, his backfield partner Quinn Matthews converted the PA and the fun began. The Portagers continued to run freely against the Panthers throughout the first half, scoring three more times. On the second offensive series, Logan Fogarty busted through for a 1 yd TD, but they failed on their conversion attempt. Knowing that they had control of the running game, QB Bryce Reckow went to the air, connecting with Matthews for a 25 yd TD pass, he followed that up with a completion to Joe Eno for the 2pt conversion. On the next offensive series, Reckow then hit Florian on a 12 yd pass, but once again they failed on the conversion. The second half looked a lot like the first half, behind some great kicking from Marcus Lovell the Portagers were able to maintain excellent field position. Once again the Defense held their ground and after four Panther plays the offensive was back over the ball and on their first play, Matthews took the quick pitch and broke free for a 58 yd TD run, the conversion failed. Four plays later, the Portagers were back over the ball and once again on their first play, Matthews scored again with a fake reverse to Fogarty that completely fooled the Panther defense, Reckow then hit Brewer Keifer for the conversion. The Portagers scored again in the 4th QTR when Josh Santa scooted in on a 18 yd TD run. The team failed to convert on the 2pts, but Florian made up that when they got back on defensive by nailing the Panther QB in their end zone for a 2pt safety. When the horn sounded, the scoreboard read 50-0 and the Portagers were ready for a much deserved celebration! Defensively, once again at his LB spot, Florian destroyed the Panther running game, racking up 10 solo tackles. On his heels was Matthews with 9 solid tackles, followed close behind by Josh Santa and Josh Jacobs with 8 and 7 take downs respectfully. Fogarty, Lovell and Brewer added to the tackle chart with six apiece.