PETOSKEY — The Petoskey Northmen kept a pristine record and claimed the Division 2 district title after beating the Mount Pleasant Oilers, 38-10, Friday.
The Oilers started the game on offense and had picked up a couple of first downs before giving up the ball on a fumble recovered by Petoskey’s Ely Pethers.
On the first play from scrimmage, Petoskey quarterback Korbin Sulitis ran in a touchdown to put the Northmen on the board first, 6-0. The two-point conversion was no good.
“My job was pretty easy — I didn’t get touched,” Sulitis said of his first of three touchdowns on the night. “My offensive line, tightend and receivers didn’t stop. They made it easy for me. I have great teammates.”
Sulitis led the team with 22 carries for 282 yards. He completed three of seven passes for 61 yards, including a touchdown pass over the middle to Plethers, who made a diving catch in the end zone with 8:44 left in the fourth quarter. Petoskey’s Seth Marek set up the touchdown with a 50-yard catch to put the Northmen on the 12-yard line.
Brendan Swiss finished the night with 118 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
On defense, Kaiden Boyce and Haden Janes led the team with eight tackles each. Janes sacked the quarterback in the second quarter, forcing Mount Pleasant to kick a field goal with 15 seconds left to make it 18-10 going into the half. Boyce had an interception late in the fourth quarter to stop the driving Oilers. Lahale Logan had six tackles and Treaden Gallert had five tackles.
“We stuck with the run game until we finally got a couple of big passes to complete,” Petoskey coach Jim Webb said. “That gave us some breathing room at the end. We have been a run team all year, and we were able to do it again tonight.”
The Northmen will face DeWitt in the regional semifinal on the road next week. Both teams are 11-0.
“You’ve got to play the best to be the best. That is our mindset,” Webb said. “We have a lot of film to watch.”
FOOTBALL DISTRICT FINALS
Beal City 21
Glen Lake 14
Glen Lake: Benji Allen 24-yard TD catch, 1-yard TD run. Keaton LaCross 3-5 passing, 47 yards, TD; Sam Dykstra 18 carries, 104 yards; Allen 11 carries, 43 yards, TD, 3 catches, 35 yards, TD; Dominic Stein 5.5 tackles, TFL; Jacob Peplinski 5 tackles.
UP NEXT: The Lakers end their season at 9-2.
North Muskegon 27
McBain 7
UP NEXT: The Ramblers end their season at 9-2.
8-PLAYER FOOTBALL REGIONAL FINALS
Inland Lakes 32
Alcona 26
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs (11-0) win a regional championship and advance to the state semifinals Nov. 15.
Onekama 48
Au Gres-Sims 44
UP NEXT: The Portagers (10-1) win a regional championship and will take on Crystal Falls Forest Park in the state semifinals Nov. 15.
VOLLEYBALL DISTRICT FINALS
Harbor Light 3
Alanson 1
Harbor Light def. Alanson 25-22, 25-11, 21-25, 25-17.
UP NEXT: Harbor Light (18-14-1) wins a Division 4 district championship and advances to the Pellston regional to take on Atlanta at Hillman on Tuesday.