By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com
KINGSLEY — Showing why they are ranked No. 4 in Division 6 football, the Kingsley Stags dominated the time of possession and converted a couple Manistee fumbles to down the Mariners, 37-18, to win the district title Friday night.
But the Mariners struck the first blow with a lightning strike when freshman quarterback Dayvion Neal-Berry hit junior tailback Kaden Kott with a 15-yard pass that the speedy Kott turned into a 94-yard scoring play halfway through the first quarter.
It came after the Mariners had forced a Kingsley fumble inside the 10 and silenced the Stags’ fans, but that only lasted until the next possession of the game.
Foiled by their own mistake the first time they had the ball, the Stags would not stumble on their second and went on a 60-yard march that culminated on a 7-yard run by Eli Graves and a 6-6 tie with 2:24 left in the opening period.
Another long, time-consuming drive resulted in the go-ahead touchdown for the Stags four minutes into the second quarter, and a lead they would not relinquish.
Skylar Workman went off tackle, found an opening and bolted 7 yards for the score that put the Stags up 14-6, and while the Mariners continued to battle, they never were able to get any closer than 10 points.
“They definitely earned the victory,” departing Manistee coach Troy Bytwork said after all the hugs and well-wishers had thinned out. “In the end, it was a hell of a ballgame decided by a couple of plays. Two very similar offenses, and two kinds of very similar defenses with how aggressive we both are. They made a couple more plays than obviously we were able to. I have great respect for Tim (Wooer, the Stags head coach) and their program. I told the kids at halftime that only the good teams are left.”
Kingsley’s lead grew to 22-6 despite the Stags having to go 98 yards for the score after recovering a Manistee fumble inside their own 10.
Graves punched in his second touchdown of the game to finish off the drive, busting through from 1 yard out.
Manistee senior running back Nick Hornkohl, who finished the season with 1,000 yards rushing, clicked off a nifty 33-yard scamper to draw the Mariners within 10 at 22-12 at 8:23 of the third.
But the Stags would score twice more, and Manistee just once before the night was over.
“We knew right from the onset 11 weeks ago that our goals were loftier than probably anybody thought was possible for Manistee football,” Bytwork said. “But, we’ve been building towards that for years. Sometimes little by little, and sometimes a lot by a lot. This particular group it all came together, and came together the right way.
“It was interesting how it came together, but it didn’t surprise me. When you’re in the midst of it for 11 years, you see the kids coming and, more importantly, you see how much they’re working to be great.”
Hornkohl enjoyed a big night, rushing for 151 yards on 14 carries.
Senior fullback Isaiah Davis bullied his way for 57 yards and a TD on seven attempts while Kott carried 11 times for a gain of 44 yards.
Braydon Sorenson was the defensive leader with 18 tackles and finished with 102 for the year, followed by Hornkohl with 15 and Trevor Haag finished with three tackles and a fumble recovery.
Manistee was making its second straight appearance in the district finals, and has made the playoffs four straight years.
This was Bytwork’s last game as the coach, after announcing his retirement prior to Week 1.