Petoskey hoping playoff turnaround comes out of experience, offseason work

PETOSKEY — In as short of a season as high school football can be, it’s amazing how only a handful of plays can determine an outcome.

A year ago, Petoskey's 3-6 final record will of course be what's remembered, but perhaps more than anything, no playoff trip attached with it.

But, the Northmen were only a few plays away from a 6-3 regular season and first playoff trip earned since 2018.

The margin was that thin for Petoskey a year ago, as the season came with an overtime loss in the opener – concluded on a stop at the goal line – a three-point loss across the bridge in week three and just a 7-0 loss back across the bridge in week seven.

All three came as a learning experience for a young team that was starting multiple sophomores and first-time varsity players. It also came with that cost of missing the playoffs.

“Last year, we didn’t have a lot of players on the field that had any game experience,” said Petoskey head coach Jim Webb. “This year is a totally different story. Last year we had a total of three players, both offensively and defensively, that started the year before. This year, we’ve got quite a few that started the year or played the whole season.”

Webb certainly won’t make any excuses about a year ago. He’s been around long enough to know that’s how seasons play out sometimes and he’s been on both ends.

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What he will do is light up when talking about the amount of work his 2023 group put into fixing the areas that needed fixing.

Now in his second season leading the Northmen, gone are the slow practices of implementing an offensive and defensive system. Now, it’s guys playing fast and physical all around, which first came highlighted for Webb when Petoskey met Mount Pleasant and a couple other programs in a preseason scrimmage.

“We were pleased,” he said. “We really liked the physicality that we had. Some of the things that we addressed for individuals, you could see they really took it to heart. The things we’ve been working on have been showing up.”

For Petoskey senior running back CJ Hibbler, who is now fully healthy from an injury that sidelined him a season ago, the special thing early has been the chemistry among teammates.

“I just feel like just our bond,” said Hibbler. “We’ve just got a really good bond this year. We want to win every play."

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Hibbler leads on offensive attack that returns starters throughout the field. He’s also one of the more electric players in the state and Webb is happy to have him back healthy and on the field.

“He is one of the most dynamic runners that I’ve ever had,” Webb said. “He’s definitely up in the top two or three. He’s been nursing some injuries, so we’ve limited him some early here. It’s just a matter of keeping him as healthy as we can.”

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Quarterback Joe McCarthy also returns, as do wideouts Seth Marek and Brian Pike. There’s also Brendan Swiss and Devin Marvin in the backfield, along with Haden Janes and Sam Mitas as available offensive threats. Webb also has a new tight end who has embraced his final year on the field.

“Lucas O’Donnell at tight end, he’s been very physical," said Webb. "He played about five different positions last season and we couldn’t do that again. He’s really embraced (tight end) and has been stronger and a wrecking ball out there.”

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There’s also starters back along the line in Brody Shaw and JD Cantrell, while Rohan Dohm steps into center and others compete around the line, which has grown in all the best ways.

“We definitely have improved our strength quite a bit,” said Webb. “We had a lot of athletes in the athletes class lifting during the day and we had a really good turnout over the winter.”

Defensively, the unit is built around a core returning group of junior starters and a few other seniors who put in a lot of offseason work.

Junior linebacker and end Korbin Sulitis started every game as a sophomore a year ago and transformed himself during the offseason into a bigger and faster player, as did guys like senior Tyler Ray and junior Logan LaHaie, both linebackers.

“They’re the mainstays of any defense,” said Webb on his linebackers. “Korbin has gotten bigger, stronger and faster. They all did a solid job last year. They’ve worked really hard in the weight room.”

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Hibbler has noticed as well and feels it being chased by those three ‘backers.

“(Korbin’s) a monster among men,” said Hibbler. “It’s scary to go against him in practice. He just makes us better athletes, the same with Tyler Ray and Logan LaHaie. They’ve just all put in so much work to keep us on our game.”

Up front, Shaw will get some work on the interior defensively, while Lucas Matelski has taken a jump defensively in his final season. The secondary also returns a key starter in Janes, though he’ll move back to safety in 2023. There’s also young players like Mason Fralick and Drew Olson stepping into starting roles on the outside.

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The schedule shakes out like much of last season, with only Clare replacing Kingsford as the change. The big adjustment will be much of the schedule containing conference games, with the addition of Marquette, Escanaba and Sault Ste. Marie into the Big North.

The season opens this Thursday, Aug. 24 at Ludington – that team that the Northmen took to overtime a year ago.

In Hibbler’s eyes, as long as the intensity stays at what it’s been like through practice so far, there’s no reason a playoff season can’t be in sight.

"My favorite quote is, ‘Play in practice like you’re in a game, so that the games feel like practice,'" he said. "If we can keep that up and our intensity that we’ve been having in practice, there’s nothing that’ll stop us this season.”

Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey football hoping playoff turnaround comes out of experience, offseason work