North Central senior Lane Godzinski, 6, drags Forest Park’s Dax Fooki, 13, onto the field on Oct. 25, 2024, at Dick Mettlach Field in Crystal Falls. (Sean Chase/Daily News)
CRYSTAL FALLS — Whenever the North Central and Forest Park eight-man varsity football teams meet, it’s always a big deal.
Add in a Great Lakes Eight Conference West Division title, a perfect season, and the added pressure of being the No. 1 sportscaster and sportswriter in the Upper Peninsula, and everyone gathered at Dick Mettlach Field is looking forward to the next Classic. I was sitting on the edge of my seat. Friday.
Thanks to all of this, the game did not meet expectations, and the Jets escaped Crystal Falls with a 45-34 victory over the No. 1-ranked Trojans.
“Before everyone gets too excited, we’ll be playing against each other again in a big game in a few weeks.” North Central head coach Leo Godzinski said. “But what a great football game. Over the past few years, this has been the most competitive game we’ve had in a long time. The fans got their money’s worth.”
After an 8-0 record, Forest Park head coach Brian Fabbri took the blame for the Trojans’ slow start.
“North Central was a very good soccer team, very well-coached and ready to play.” Fabbri said. “I take full responsibility for this. Our players weren’t ready. I think my ego got in the way a little bit. They said, ‘This is our year.’ I will tell you. Now it’s our turn. ”
“They came and punched us in the mouth. That’s the result.”
Despite this, Fabbri was proud to see the children stand strong in the face of adversity.
“My kids didn’t quit.” Fabbri said. “There’s a lot of emotion that comes up as a coach after the game, and it shows that they care. That’s what I strive for, to get the kids to understand something. , that’s the atmosphere in our family. This is going to hurt. It’s going to hurt until we get back on the field.”
Facing a chilly October night, both teams got off to a slow start, with North Central holding a 12-6 advantage at halftime. Senior running back Lane Godzinski ran for two touchdowns for the Jets, and sophomore Vic Giuliani scored as a quarterback keeper for the Trojans.
“We were pretty critical of them because we gave up an easy score on two plays before the first half and they gave up two one-play runs.” Coach Gorzinski said.
For Forest Park, the message at halftime was all about looking forward.
“(Our) message at halftime was we didn’t play very well, we dropped a few interceptions, we had too many penalties, but we held them to 12 points.” Fabbri said.
In the second half, both teams were evenly matched and scored points.
In the third quarter, Lane Godzinke picked off a pass from Giuliani and set up the Jets’ offense. After a false start for the Trojans, Lane Godzinski connected with Austin Farley for a 26-yard TD pass. North Central led 19-6.
On the first play of Forest Park’s next drive, Giuliani broke through the line and ran 48 yards for a TD.
North Central took the ensuing kickoff to Cayden Malone, who took it 80 yards to the house, giving the Jets a 25-12 advantage.
Giuliani added a 19-yard TD to cut into North Central’s lead and set up an onside kick. Forest Park came back and Dax Fuki ran the ball 37 yards for a score. Suddenly, the Trojans held a 26-25 lead.
Before the game, Coach Gorzinski had no intention of overusing Lane Gorzinski. However, things changed when the game became interesting.
“I’m mad at myself because I said I was only going to give him seven to 10 carries because this game wasn’t supposed to matter.” Coach Gorzinski said. “But that’s what happens when you start getting competitive. The boys didn’t want to let one go. It wasn’t just Lane (Godzinski).
