Advertisement

Scoring early and often, the Forest Area varsity football team dismissed any concerns coach Don Crossley might have had that they'd come out flat for their game with Onaway.

The Warriors had never beaten St. Mary in their short football history, and the 27-20 victory before their home fans no doubt was an emotional experience. But it was evident from the opening whistle last Friday night that the Warriors had brought their "A" game with them for the Cardinals, and they never let up in cruising to a 52-12 route on a pleasant but breezy evening.

The game wrote another chapter in the team's history as well, since it was their third victory of the seasonÑ surpassing last year's win total by oneÑand lifting them above .500 for the season at 3-2. Forest Area hadn't won a game before last year and finished with only two.

Now, they have a twogame winning streak to take on the road to Pellston this week.

What's more, the Warriors improved to 2- 1 in the Ski Valley Conference and are still very much in the hunt for a share of the league title.

Mancelona has sole possession of first place right now with its 4-0 conference record following last Friday's 51- 13 thrashing of Pellston. The Ironmen are 4-1 overall, with their only loss coming at home against Elk Rapids in the season opener.

The Elks, meanwhile, won their fifth straight game of the season with a 45-7 whipping of East Jordan and lead the Lake Michigan Conference with a 4-0 record. Forest Area's offense continues to improve with each game, and it was firing on all of its cylinders against Onaway.

Justin Gordon and Ben Wyatt combined for 488 yards, and the Warriors amassed an amazing total of 615 yards on the ground behind another strong performance by the offensive line.

Gordon, who has the speed to break outside and get into the secondary, led the Warriors in rushing with 268 yards and five touchdowns, while fullback Wyatt punishes teams inside and piled up 220.

A.J. Freeman, unavailable for the St. Mary game because of an injury, returned to the Warriors' backfield and contributed 123 yards rushing.

Freeman scored two rushing touchdowns, while Gordon found the end zone five times in the game -including electrifying runs of 95 and 71 yards.

Tyle Denike, a defensive standout as well as a clutch reciever, hauled in an 80-yard scoring strike from quarterback John Ricketts.

Forest Area travels to Pellston for its next game on Friday night.