Fenstermaker, Inland Lakes football storm back to stun Munising on road, 26-24
MUNISING – Everything looked lost in the third quarter for the Inland Lakes Bulldogs.
Trailing 24-0, a comeback didn’t seem possible.
Well, the Bulldogs delivered one of those great rallies they’ll remember for a very long time.
Spearheaded by the exceptional play of junior quarterback Aidan Fenstermaker, the Bulldogs fought back in a huge way, overcoming the deficit and shocking the Munising Mustangs with a 26-24 road victory on Friday night.
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“We made some really minute changes at halftime that gave us the opportunity to play our way back into it,” said Inland Lakes head coach Travis Meyer. “The kids really just challenged each other and held each other accountable for how things had gone. Our offensive line did very little in the first half but figured a few things out and really shared information during halftime that changed our game plan a bit. From there, the guys just kept their composure, and went to work, and didn't stop until all was said and done.”
After the Mustangs (1-4) made it 24-0 following a long touchdown pass in the third quarter, the Bulldogs (4-1) needed to get right in a hurry.
That's when Fenstermaker started to fuel the I-L comeback, as he scored on a run from two yards out to get the Bulldogs on the board at 24-6. Fenstermaker added another TD pass later to slice the deficit in half at 24-12, then the Bulldogs got to within six in the fourth quarter when he hooked up with senior teammate Payton Teuthorn on a 13-yard TD pass.
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Fenstermaker’s incredible evening continued when he broke loose for a 40-yard TD run that tied the game with 1:20 left to play. Then, he hammered his way into the end zone for a two-point conversion to give the Bulldogs a 26-24 lead. From there, the Bulldogs held on and earned a hard-fought road win.
“Aidan is a special kind of athlete that wears his heart on his sleeve,” Meyer said. “There is no hiding it when he feels like he messed something up or missed an opportunity. What he's really done for us this year is keep his head, and shown an ability to keep making plays, especially when things are hard. His performance Friday really summed that up. He just kept grinding like a warrior, and finally punched some in the end zone.”
For the game, Fenstermaker rushed for 176 yards and passed for 125 yards, while senior wide receiver Jake Willey added 42 yards receiving. Teuthorn finished with 33 receiving yards.
If anything, the huge triumph showed a ton about the character and mental toughness of the Bulldogs.
“Our guys played three hours from home, without some starters, with freshmen playing key roles at crunch time, against a team that was a semifinalist less than a year ago, and it looked exactly like that for more than a half,” Meyer said. “They composed themselves and just continued to pick away at it until there were opportunities, and then they did a great job of capitalizing.”
Inland Lakes hosts Morenci in a 1 p.m. non-conference clash on Saturday, Sept. 30.
Pellston Hornets shut out by Mesick at home
PELLSTON – Key mistakes ended up haunting the Pellston football team, which failed to hang with Mesick in a 38-0 shutout home loss on Friday.
“Tough game,” said Pellston head coach Vince DeAgostino. “We played better defensively. The game was closer than the score indicates. We just allowed a punt return and had a fumble recovered for a touchdown when we were on offense. We dealt with an hour-long lightning delay at the end of the first quarter, but our guys finished strong once again.”
Sophomore running back Connor Keller had a big night for the Hornets (1-4), carrying 27 times for 131 yards.
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Brach Taylor caught five passes for 70 yards and recorded seven tackles and a sack on defense. Jacob Rizzardi also had a solid defensive game, registering 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
“Connor Keller ran his butt off,” DeAgostino said. “He fought until the very end and played as well as he has to this point in his young career. I’m extremely happy with how these guys carry themselves through the tough moments — a lot of high-character young men on this team that will serve us well as we move forward and try to take down Gaylord St. Mary this week.”
Pellston hosts Gaylord St. Mary in a 7 p.m. Ski Valley game on Friday, Sept. 29.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Inland Lakes football comes back to earn road victory at Munising
