News File Photo Rogers City’s 2021 team includes: front row: Ciara Bellmore, Jaymison Fleming, Spencer Whitford and Hayden Hentkowski; second row: head coach Jesse Fenstermaker, Caden Fenstermaker, Dillon Cook, Anthony Paull and assistant coach Corey Brege; back row: Mason Bowden, Gus Bellmore, Dylan Lafleche, Patrick Mulka, Joe Brado and Caden Brege.

ROGERS CITY — Rogers City came within just a few plays of finishing off its first season of 8-Player football undefeated. That wasn’t to be however, as the Hurons lost a seesaw battle with visiting Newberry last week, 44-36.

As far as Rogers City’s fourth-year head coach Jesse Fenstermaker is concerned, that loss may have been exactly what his team needed.

“Of course we didn’t like the results, no one likes to lose but for me, and I told the team this, I feel like it was kind of the gut punch that we needed,” he said. “It was kind of a wake-up call and now going into this week, the first round of the playoffs, the pressure is off. The pressure of trying to stay perfect is off of us, we can just go out here and play loose, play fast and have a lot of fun. Any team that is undefeated, they have to stay unbeaten, so now the pressure is on them to stay unbeaten and perform.”

The Hurons will attempt to pick themselves up off the mat from that loss as they face one of those undefeated teams Friday, ninth ranked Inland Lakes (9-0) in the opening round of the Division 1 8-player playoffs.

“They are heavily favored, but they have a lot more pressure on them than we do,” Fenstermaker said.

The Bulldogs, who won the Ski Valley Conference, have averaged 61 points a game this season, running a wing-T style offense, out of the pistol. In their 44-30 win over Gaylord St. Mary last week, they racked up 543 yards of total offense. Their offensive attack is keyed by senior quarterback Mason Blumke, who threw for 88 yards and ran for another 188 yards in that victory.

He has plenty of weapons too, handing the ball off to his younger, but bigger in size brother Grant Blumke, with Sam Mayer, Austin Brege, Payton Teuthorn, and Aidan Fenstermaker all seeing plenty of touches either carrying the ball, or receiving it as well.

“I have a great amount of respect for any undefeated team, any team that can withstand a season without a loss is obviously a very good team,” Fenstermaker said. “Yeah, in quite a few spots, they are bigger than we are but I feel that goes out the window because in the playoffs, it comes down to who executes better, who wants it more, who has the most heart; it is usually a slugfest. They have the edge on us in size, but I tell you what, the team that I have is ready to go.”

The Hurons are certainly a solid team in their own right. After giving up just one score in a 14-8 win over Brethren in the opener, they had shutout wins in four straight contests over Brimley, Onaway, Bessemer and Posen. In weeks 6-8 they survived scares from solid Alcona, Oakland Christian and Mio teams that all ended as one-possession victories.

They’ve been sparked by junior quarterback Spencer Whitford, who has thrown for 594 yards and nine touchdowns and ran for another 357 yards and four touchdowns this year.

Fellow junior Hayden Hentkowski enters with the team lead in both rushing and receiving, compiling 975 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground and has hauled in 22 passes for 439 yards and six more touchdowns. Senior running back and linebacker Dillon Cook has been a factor on both sides of the ball as well, running for 738 yards and 12 touchdowns and has consistently been in the top three in tackles each game, along with senior Anthony Paull and junior Dylan LaFleche.

“I feel like we are ready,” Cook said. “We have been practicing pretty hard and if we can play our game, we can beat them no problem. Being in those close games in the regular season definitely helps. It feels great that we are playing in a playoff game; we are very excited.”

This level of success isn’t exactly something this group of players is used to. In fact, Fenstermaker recalls a time when these juniors and seniors struggled to pick up wins.

“When they were in seventh and eighth grade, I think they only won maybe one game,” he said.

Fast forward a few years and here the Hurons are, sitting with eight wins and with a chance at claiming the programs’ first postseason victory since 2001 hanging in the balance.

“They are really relishing the fact that they are 8-1,” Fenstermaker said. “They saved the best for last.”