Great football season ends for Posen
A super season, with what might be considered one of the best senior classes ever to don Viking football uniforms, came to an end in the second round of the MHSAA football playoffs against Gaylord St. Mary, the eventual state runner up in Division 8. The Vikings gave it all they could against another powerful St. Mary?s team, but had their amazing run come to an end with a 43-6 loss.
?They?re a hurdle for us right now, but we?ll come back strong,? said coach Glenn Budnick following the game. ?Our kids played hard. Gaylord is just a fabulous football team.?
St. Mary then went on to defeat Iron Mountain North-Dickinson at the Superior Dome in Marquette, earning a berth in the Division VIII state semi-finals. It?s GSM?s fourth straight trip to the Yooper dome.
THE 2002 VIKINGS finished a record-setting season, winning 10 straight in a season for the first time in school history. They also won their second North Star League title in three years and won the second playoff game in school history. Coach Budnick also has enough wins to become the all-time winningest coach at PHS (49-35). He passed Lou Ciarkowski with the first victory of this season against Cedarville. The players on this year?s team have a legacy that not even the mighty Gaylord St. Mary Snowbirds can take away from them.
?I don?t think anybody thought they would be 10-0 and playing for a district title,? said Budnick. ?The playoffs were a reasonable goal to attain. I don?t think anyone gave us a chance.
?These guys are still league champions. Not one of those kids had anything to be ashamed about. They can hang their heads high. They did a great job representing our school and our community.?
The seniors Budnick has to replace include: Josh Konieczny, Tom Romel, Dale Lewandowski, Bill Burns, J Richards, Ryan Misiak, Paul Romel, Jeremy Chojnacki, and Dustin Makowski. For the 2003 team these ?are the good old days,? and they?ll be looked at to keep it going. Excluding playoff games, Posen is 26-1 the last three seasons.
THERE MUST not have been many people left in Posen, considering the tremendous following the football team had on the sideline at Gaylord. They just didn?t have as much to cheer about, as they had hoped, because Posen couldn?t answer St. Mary?s team speed.
?They outquicked us tonight,? said Budnick. ?We obviously haven?t seen that type of speed all season. They were beating us to the gaps.?
With the fans chanting ?Let?s go Red,? the Vikings returned the ball to their own 39 yard line. The first play was met by a smothering wall of GSM defenders. On second-and-10, Ponik went back to pass but was immediately under a heavy pass rush. The third play was a hand-off inside that resulted in a one yard loss. On fourth down Posen punted. Many of the Viking? possessions were similiar to that opening drive. There were positive moments, however. The defense stripped the ball from the GSM ball carrier and the fumble was recovered by Ponik at Posen?s own three-yard line. On first down Ron Kroll gained five yards but the drive stalled and Ponik?s punt was returned to the PHS 23.
The battle of field position is the one area St. Mary?s has won in all three playoff matchups. GSM didn?t take long to put the ball in the end zone after the punt return. The kick was good and the score was 7-0, Snowbirds. On first down, Ponik completed a pass to Richards, but it was only for one yard. The third possession of the first quarter ended in another punt.
THE SNOWBIRDS had the ball at their own 48 but the defense really turned it up a notch. Paul Romel got in the backfield and hit the quarterback as he released the ball and the defense strung out Andrew Dobrzelewski for a three yard loss. A holding penalty put GSM in a 2-and-22 situation, and a pass was picked off by Ponik with 1:44 left in the first quarter. A false start call and a loss of two yards put Posen in a passing situation. The throw from Ponik was right on the money to Lewandowski, but speedy Troy Blasius jumped in front of the senior receiver for the interception.
Blasius ran to the right sideline, appeared to be bottled up, reversed the field and went around everyone for the 40-yard touchdown. With 53 seconds left, the Snowbirds had stolen the momentum. The score was 13-0. GSM added a 27-yard field goal that ended up somewhere in southern Gaylord to give the Snowbirds a 16-0 lead, but the game wasn?t out of reach, and the P-Town players weren?t ready to roll over. GSM got another drive going but the defensive backs continued to give the St. Mary QB fits as Jesse Romel intercepted a ball and returned it 10 yards to the Viking 23-yard line. A seven yard gain by Konieczny on first down got the crowd back into the game.
A COUPLE OF plays later, Posen had its first, first down of the game with 5:55 left to go in the first half. A screen to Konieczny gained four yards, and at that moment, there were thoughts that if the Vikes could score, this game could be interesting. Two plays later, Blasius did it again, cutting in front of a receiver for another interception.
Three plays after that and the offense put the ball in the end zone. Although it was argued the ball popped out before the running back crossed the goal line, the call stood. Blasius added another touchdown, highlighting some of his exceptional speed, getting outside, and gaining distance as he pulled away from the Viking defense. He ran for 65 of his 122 yards rushing on the night on that play.
Dobrzel
?They are well coached and have a great defense,? said Budnick.
?They kept battling,? said St. Mary coach Rod Bragg. ?They played well, they played hard. We were just the better team today.?
?We?re still the North Star League champs,? Budnick said, ?and we?re still the first team to win its first 10 games. I?m proud of the kids.?
by Peter Jakey, PIN Managing Editor