By Mr. Zane Harding, Yearbook & Journalism Advisor
Very early this academic year, I approached my senior football players in our first hour homeroom class and asked a simple question: "How do you think this season is going to go, boys?" Senior Davin Sibo gave a very solid response (keep in mind that I am paraphrasing): "I know our defense is good ... but how we play against Marion is going to give us a good idea about how good we are."
Onekama ultimately dropped that week two game to Marion by a final score of 44-8, a far cry from what the boys were hoping for. The score was worse than the overall sentiment, however. Returning to class after that weekend, the team recounted how tight the game was at halftime, and how they had been more derailed by minor mistakes than major errors.
The Portagers, of course, did not lose another game in their regular season schedule, and their overall season performance gave them just enough playoff points to not only rematch Marion in the postseason, but to host the Eagles in friendly territory.
The game that ensued can only be described as an instant classic in the Portager history books.
Facing the reigning state runner-ups, Onekama received the ball to open the game, stalled on offense at midfield, and watched the Eagles quickly move down the field to take an early 8-0 advantage. Onekama made some noise on the following drive before throwing a redzone interception.
Marion once again immediately hit the gas pedal, driving to midfield in an effort to take an early two-touchdown lead. But the game's momentum shifted after two back-to-back tackles-for-loss by the aforementioned Davin Sibo.
A relatively recent addition to our high school, Davin moved up from Indiana with his family this past school year; while he hasn't grown up in Onekama since Leaps & Bounds like some of his teammates, he has proven to be quite the on-the-field leader for this Portagers playoff unit, and, in a way, he encapsulates what has been so great about this team. These Portagers aren't all lifelong Onekama residents. No; the team is made of lifelong Portagers, former Manistee Catholic Central Sabers, and a couple of kids who transitioned somewhere in-between, like Davin and his sophomore brother Dayne, also on the team.
Sibo's two tackles gave Onekama the ball back, and junior quarterback Luke Bradford connected with senior wide receiver Hunter Niesen not long after to knot things up, 8-8. On the following drive, Marion fumbled while driving down the field. Onekama recovered, but officials blew the play dead in a tough-luck moment for the home team. Marion would go on to score but not convert their two-point conversion, leaving Onekama down 14-8 in the second quarter.
Before halftime, Onekama responded; a 35-yard Tyler Hart reception put Onekama into Eagles territory, and junior Andrew Hybza came through with a massive completion to fellow former Saber, junior Nathaniel Barnett, to give Onekama a 16-14 halftime lead.
Looking to continue their newly-found momentum, Onekama opted to try for an onside kick to open the second half, and recovered. The team drove down to Marion's 10-yard line, when Bradford found Barnett for a 4th-down touchdown to give Onekama a 22-14 lead midway through the third quarter. From there, Marion managed to score early in the fourth quarter, but the Portagers defense stepped up to make a critical two-point conversion stop, leaving the score at 22-20.
Onekama proceeded to embark on a long drive down the field, but the air was sucked out of Portager Stadium when the team lost a fumble on fourth-and-goal trying to put the game away. Marion, with 5:15 on the clock, had plenty of opportunity to drive down and win the game, but the Portagers defense stepped up, stopping Marion around midfield to put the game away.
While many factors contributed to Onekama's triumphant win, a big shoutout goes out to senior Tommy Marcoux and junior Andrew Hybza for their critical two-point conversions. Another shoutout goes to head coach Justin Sedelmaier; in his second season at the helm of the Portagers, he has seamlessly integrated the existing Portagers team with Onekama's newly-acquired Saber student-athletes to create a relentless 9-1 unit of a team. And, of course, a massive shoutout to all of our student-athletes on the football team for delivering such a special season to our community.
KEY STATS
Passing:
Luke Bradford: 10-19, 95 yd, 1 TD
Andrew Hybza: 2-2, 53 yd, 1 TD
Tyler Hart: 1-1, 15 yd, 1 TD
Rushing:
Luke Bradford: 7 rushes, 71 yd
Tyler Hart: 7 rushes, 26 yd
Nathaniel Barnett: 16 rushes, 36 yd
Andrew Hybza and Tommy Marcoux: one 2PC ea.
Receiving:
Tyler Hart: 2 rec, 54 yd
Nathaniel Barnett: 3 rec, 37 yd, 2 TD
Hunter Niesen: 4 rec, 33 yd
Andrew Potter: 3 rec, 24 yd
Luke Bradford: 1 rec, 15 yd, 1 TD
Defensive Standouts:
Turnover Generators:
Arden Bradford: 1 FF, 1 FR
Davin Sibo: 1 FF
Leaders in Tackling/Coverage:
Hunter Niesen: 12 TOT tackles
Davin Sibo: 10 TOT tackles
Brandon Brindle: 9 TOT tackles
Arden Bradford: 7 TOT tackles
Tyler Hart: 7 TOT tackles
Nathaniel Barnett: 6 TOT tackles
Tommy Marcoux: 3 TOT tackles
Chase Gauthier: 3 TOT tackles
The eight-man D2 regional semifinal will take place Friday on the road against Au-Gre Sims. Au-Gre Sims defeated Onekama last year, 52-30, and won their playoff game against Mio this past week 70-42. Good luck, gentlemen!