After getting a week off because its opponent was forced to forfeit a game, the Munising High School football team had the opportunity to return to action last Friday. The ninth-ranked Mustangs came back with a bang, taking down host Newberry 50-18 in Great Lakes Eight Conference East action.
“Newberry is a very scary team. They have some very good athletes and some huge size on their offensive line,” Munising head coach Matt Mattson said. “Going into the game, we really wanted to possess the ball as much as possible. Another key to the game was going to be how they guarded Jack Dusseault. They put their best athlete on Jack in the first half and double- teamed him in the second half, so we went with other options. To Jack’s credit, he didn’t get frustrated and continued to do what we asked of him, and we still got him deep for a 67-yard touchdown in the second half.”
Munising led the game 16-6 after the first quarter and padded that to 24-12 at the half. The Mustangs led 36-12 entering the fourth, when they scored two more times.
Carson Kienitz had another big night on offense. He was 9-of-14 passing for 164 yards and one touchdown and ran for 266 yards and five touchdowns on 37 carries. Zack Lindquist carried the ball 18 times for 120 yards and a score. Dusseault finished with two receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown; Carter Deatsman had four grabs for 40 yards; and Lindquist had two receptions for 41 yards. Trevor Nolan added one reception for 13 yards.
“We knew we were going to run the football. Our offensive line did a great job,” Mattson said. “We ran the ball 58 times for 385 yards. That’s over 6 yards a rush. Kienitz had a huge night — 266 yards rushing with five TDs — and Zack Lindquist was over 100 yards with a TD. Again, these big numbers don’t happen without some great blocking. The offensive line consists of Conner Eisenhardt, Dylan Adkinson, Nolan Connaughton, Dimetri Balko, Avery Murk and fullback Carter Deatsman.”
Mattson also liked seeing what his defense was able to do against a good Newberry offense that is led by standout Matthew Rahilly.
“Defensively, with Newberry’s size up front and such a good athlete in Rahilly, it was going to be tough to control them,” he said. “I thought our defense played very well and disciplined. Newberry had scored 40 points each of the last two weeks, so to hold them to 18 was huge.”
Munising (5-0 overall) returns home at 7 p.m. tonight to take on 15th-ranked Norway (4-1). The Knights are coming off a 60-22 victory over St. Ignace last week and also have wins over Ironwood, Gogebic and Stephenson.
“This week will be a huge challenge. Norway is very, very good,” Mattson said. “They have one of the better quarterbacks in the U.P., a fantastic offensive line and nice running backs and receivers. Defensively, they are very aggressive and pursue well to the ball. They are very wellcoached. We’ll have to play our best to get a win.”
