LocalSportsJournal.com
LUDINGTON — A lot of emotion was involved in Thursday night’s season-opening football game at Oriole Field.
Afterall, it was the Orioles first action on the new turf field.
On top of that the Orioles were playing a pretty good team in the Petoskey Northmen, and after a strong defensive performance in the first half, Ludington eventually wore down. Petoskey earned a 32-14 victory.
“We had to work so hard to move the ball, and really they hit us with some big plays with their tailback,” said Orioles head coach Charlie Gunsell. “We did a really nice job defensively, (but) when we missed him, they scored.
“I think it was 8-7 at halftime, and they kind of put it on us a little bit in the second half. Overall, it was a really good football game. I’m not thrilled we lost, but I’m happy with what I saw.”
Cameron Gunsell led the Orioles in rushing with 101 yards on 13 carries while Joe Bentz added 51 on seven attempts.
Gunsell also threw for 151 yards and one touchdown. Gage Jones caught five balls for 61 yards.
Jones topped the tackle charts with 13 tackles, followed by Darric Duncil with seven and Connor Such six.
“We were looking for kids to compete, and we held them to eight points at halftime and we were playing tremendous defense,” Gunsell said. “Again, it’s Week One. We’re going to get better. That’s kind of our focus.”
Ludington hosts Shelby on Thursday, Aug. 31.
Photos by LSJ photographer Joe Washington
