Four-peat: Onaway boys outlast Inland Lakes to earn another district basketball crown

ROGERS CITY – What better way to open March than with a district title showdown between a pair of M-68 rivals.

Friday was that night, as the Onaway Cardinals and Inland Lakes Bulldogs battled during a MHSAA Division 4 title clash at Rogers City. While the Bulldogs gave Onaway all it could handle, it was the Cardinals claiming a fourth consecutive crown by outlasting Inland Lakes in an 83-77 victory.

“(Inland Lakes) played a heck of a game, they brought everything tonight, and I figured they would,” Onaway coach Eddy Szymoniak said. “This one means a lot. There was only one option, and that was leaving (Rogers City) with a district title and sending these seniors out the right way."

After another thrilling clash between the two rivals, here’s some takeaways.

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Responding like champions

After a back-and-forth first half that saw the Cardinals (19-5) holding a 31-28 lead, the Bulldogs (14-10) threw a huge punch by going on a run and building a 49-42 advantage in the third.

But the Cardinals, as they’ve done throughout the years, countered in a huge way. Keyed by seniors Jadin Mix and Austin Veal, they exploded with a 15-0 blitz to take back the lead for good.

By the end, Onaway was once again celebrating a district title in front of its many supporters.

“These guys don’t show panic, and they can’t expect me to show panic,” Szymoniak said. “I’ve got to believe in them, they’ve got to believe in me, and we just missed a few assignments, some miscommunication, and (Inland Lakes) got some open looks, and we just got careless with the ball. We knew that if we could make them work for it, that they couldn’t handle the pressure for four quarters straight.”

Mix’s big night included a team-high 28 points and Veal scored 26 for the Cardinals, who received 11 from fellow senior Justin Kramer-St. Germain, and eight apiece from Mason Beebe and Jackson Chaskey. Luke Lovelace added two.

One costly stretch

Prior to Onaway’s 15-0 spurt, the Bulldogs, behind a sensational display from senior Sam Schoonmaker (28 points), were taking it to the Cardinals. But as soon as Schoonmaker was called for a fourth foul that sent him to the bench in the third, is when things unraveled for Inland Lakes, which committed several turnovers that Onaway capitalized on.

“I thought we were on a nice run – and then fouls tallied up really fast,” Inland Lakes coach Lee Nash said. “The players played hard, I went there deep to the bench to try to weather the storm of the last minute and a half, and that one was a coaching mistake on my part you could say."

Sophomore Cash DePauw had a strong night for the Bulldogs, knocking down four 3-pointers and finishing with 16 points, while Connor Wallace had 13, Aidan Fenstermaker tallied 12, Mason Green registered five, and Noah Shugar chipped in with three.

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A program that keeps rolling

Following another big-game triumph, a fourth straight title helped the Cardinals maintain their program momentum throughout what's been a stellar five-year run.

“This is huge because there’s so many little guys (watching),” Szymoniak said. “Even last week, we had little guys in a tournament that want to play, they want to play this now, and my boys are going be here in a couple years when they’re old enough, and it just keeps pushing and pushing. You don’t ever want to drop that too far because you don’t want them to lose this excitement. They see this, they see the crowd, and everyone wants to be a part of it."

Onaway advances to face St. Ignace in a 7 p.m. regional semifinal at Inland Lakes on Tuesday.

Saying goodbye

Friday marked the end of an exceptional career for Schoonmaker, who delivered in his last game as a Bulldog. In addition to Schoonmaker, Nash praised each of his seniors for a job well done.

“Sam had a great end of the season, he ended with 28 tonight despite foul trouble," Nash said. "Him being able to adjust was one of the best things about him over the last four or five weeks. Payton (Teuthorn) was injured all year long and still found ways to adjust his game and show that he could make contributions. (Noah Shugar), nobody ever doubts that guy’s heart, he flies around, willing to put his body on the line. Connor Wallace means a lot to me. I always pushed him to become a better leader and he’s done that, and Jake (Willey) coming back this year. We missed him tonight. He’s probably one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached.

“I’m going to miss those seniors.”

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: Onaway boys basketball holds off rival Inland Lakes, claims fourth straight district title