By Brendan Samuels
LocalSportsJournal.com

SHELBY – Things got out of hand quickly on Friday when Manistee football blew the doors off Shelby in a 52-14 win.

The Mariners didn’t take it easy on the Tigers, shutting down Homecoming celebrations in Shelby quickly and with dominance on offense. The first quarter alone saw Manistee find the end zone five times.

Just 41 seconds into the game, Nick Hornkohl blasted off for a 51-yard touchdown run for the Mariners. Manistee’s run game produced just about all of the team’s offensive output with Isiah Davis, Kaden Kott and Dayvion Neal-Berry all scoring on the ground in the first quarter.

“Right from the first snap, our guys continued to do what we’ve been doing and what I’ve been stressing,” Manistee coach Troy Bytwork said. “That’s playing physical and playing clean on both sides of the ball.”

With a 36-0 lead after just 12 minutes of play, Manistee’s defense and special teams units turned up the heat in the next frame.

On Shelby’s first possession of the second quarter, the Mariners forced a punting situation. Backed up into his own end zone, the Tigers’ Lalo Garcia took a bit too long to get the kick off, allowing Manistee linebacker Brayden Schweitzer to block the punt and watch it roll out the back of the end zone for a safety.

Two more touchdowns were scored by Manistee before the half. One on a 31-yard dash by Davis and the other on a short yardage rumble from Hornkohl after a Schweitzer interception set up the Mariners deep in enemy territory.

With a 50-0 deficit, Shelby had plenty of work to do in the second half to make things respectable. The lone bright spot for the Tigers through two quarters of play was a fumble recovery from Chase Mero.

A running clock made it difficult for Shelby to do much of anything in the second half, but an absence of Manistee starters made it easy for them to move the ball. 

“Obviously, (Manistee) cleared their bench and we were able to execute,” Shelby coach Phil Fortier said. “That’s nice for us to have some success and move the football a little bit. Our guys responded well in a game that’s hard to play when you’re shorthanded and it’s raining.”

The Tigers scored their first touchdown of the night with four minutes left in the third quarter on a 3-yard scramble from Garcia. Then, in the fourth quarter, Mero made his second fumble recovery of the night, setting up a long drive that ended with an Isaiah Garcia touchdown with 15 seconds left, bringing the final score to 52-14.

Hornkrohl led Manistee’s offense with 139 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. Neal-Perry took four quarterback keepers for 90 yards and a touchdown while Kott had 78 rushing yards and a touchdown. Davis rounded out the offense with seven carries, 54 yards and two touchdowns from his fullback spot.

On defense, Ean Guenthardt led with nine tackles while Tervor Haag had seven tackles and a sack. Nathan Doremus had seven tackles as well and Caius Johns also had a sack. Schweitzer was a turnover machine, grabbing an interception, along with a blocked punt resulting in the safety.

Manistee is now 6-1 on the season and will maintain its spot as the No. 2 seed in Division 6. That sets up the Mariners nicely heading into the postseason, but first they’ll turn their attention to a matchup with Montague next Friday.

“We were the No. 2 seed in Division 6 coming into tonight, so we ultimately control our own fate when it comes to staying home for the first three rounds of the playoffs.”

Meanwhile, Shelby fell to 2-5 on the season with a road matchup against Mason County Central facing them next week.

“It gets emotional when you’ve won so little and this group has struggled,” Fortier said. “This group of seniors has had a tough go and to see them have some success the last two years is nice. This next game against MCC is going to mean a lot to them.”

Photos by Brendan Samuels