FRANKFORT — Frankfort played host to East Jordan on Friday with first place in the Northern Michigan Football Conference up for grabs. East Jordan entered the contest with an undefeated record in the NMFC.
The evenly-matched foes have split the last four meetings on the gridiron. The 2023 edition of the matchup saw East Jordan walk away with a nail-bitter, 38-36.
“It’s been a really good rivalry,” Frankfort head coach Ed Schindler said.
Eager to break the series tie, the Panthers’ faithful brought the noise. However, East Jordan’s powerful rushing attack was too much for Frankfort who fell to the Red Devils, 33-6.
William Webb finished the night with three rushing touchdowns for the Red Devils, and Logan Shooks picked up the other two on the ground.
Trace Wynkoop picked off two passes, and Eli Burns had one interception as East Jordan put together a stellar defensive effort against a high-scoring Frankfort team.
“It was a 6-0 game at the half, and our guys responded and physically took the game over in the second half,” East Jordan head coach Adam Grybauskas said. “This was a big win against a good opponent.”
For the Panthers (6-2, 3-2 NMFC), Friday’s loss provided a healthy wakeup call heading into the final week of the regular season.
“I think the biggest thing was we had a breakdown in execution all night long,” Schindler said. “Different people struggled with the game plan. When you play a really good team like East Jordan, we can’t make as many mistakes as we were making.”
The Panthers’ high-energy attack was able to notch one score on a connection between quarterback Carter Kerby and receiver Tristin Griffin. Frankfort did not convert on the extra point. Kerby went 7-for-18 on the night for 102 yards. The signal caller also threw two interceptions. Griffin caught two passes for 36 yards.
Frankfort’s Owen Mills played a strong all-around game, providing 28 yards on seven rushing attempts while pulling in three catches for 40 yards. The two-way threat also piled up 12 tackles.
Additional contributors on defense were Eli Lietart with 10 tackles, Cash Rossum with nine tackles, and Carson Gillison and Hayden Carver each notching seven tackles.
Frankfort enters the final game of the regular season looking to end the campaign on a high note at home against Oscoda (5-3) at 7 p.m. Friday.
“The thing you take away is that athletics is not a perfect game, and we’re gonna make mistakes. It’s our job as coaches to get them ready so they understand the game plan and they’re able to execute. So you know we’ve got a job to do next week, and we’ll do that,” Schindler said.
East Jordan (6-2, 4-1 NMFC) hopes to make it four straight wins and strengthen their playoff position when they travel to Elk Rapids on Friday.