PETOSKEY -- Traverse City West took control of the Big North Conference race and also put itself within a win of the playoffs with a 35-7 victory over previously undefeated Petoskey on Friday.
The Titans used their superior depth to wear down the Northmen, pulling away in the second half after tightly-contested first half that saw Petoskey trailing by seven.
In the process, West avenged a surprising loss to an 0-6 Petoskey team in last year's homecoming game by handing the Northmen a loss in front of a huge crowd at their homecoming.
"They were a good team last year and we looked by them because of their record," Titans tight end Greg Forrester said. "This year, we stayed focused. It sets us up for the BNC outright, but we can't look past our last two games. We want to continue playing past nine games."
Petoskey (5-1, 2-1 Big North) hadn't lost a game since beating West a year ago, and has already qualified for the playoffs, something the Titans (5-2, 3-0) can do next week with a win over Alpena.
The Northmen had more percussion players in their band than players in uniform, and it became a major factor in the game.
"They got tired at the end," Titans cornerback Anthony West said. "It was all discipline. They were a great team, but we played our game and did what we had to do."
The Titans went up 21-7 with 6:37 left in the third quarter when Forrester caught a pass at the first-down stick from John Purdy, spun between two Northmen defenders and outsprinted the Petoskey defense down the middle of the field for a back-breaking touchdown.
"As soon as I caught the ball, I looked up field and saw two guys," Forrester said. "Somehow, I got between them and ran for the end zone."
The score seemed to take the wind out of Petoskey, which was forced to play numerous players two ways. West, meanwhile, used only three starters on both sides of the ball and rotated 11 offensive linemen in and out of the game.
Petoskey had forced a Titans three-and-out to open the second half, but had a 36-yard screen play to fullback D.J. VanSlembrouck negated by a penalty and ended up punting three plays later.
"When we came out and stopped them in the second half and had a big pass play called back on a holding call, that was a big play," Petoskey coach Kerry VanOrman said. "It was a matter of them doing a good job on the offensive line and controlling the line. Their defensive line played well, too."
On the next drive, West forced a punt on a Mark Zywicki sack, and Forrester set up his team by blocking Mike Suter's kick.
"I saw a gap and they stepped out on a different guy," Forrester said, "and I got open."
Starting at Petoskey's 29 -- ironically Forrester's number -- the Titans went down the shortened field in six plays, extended by Cody Scheuerman's defender-dragging 11-yard run and capped by a 12-yard touchdown run up the gut by Jon Flynn.
West's defense forced a turnover on downs in the waning seconds of the third quarter as Anthony West and Morgan Tolle stopped Suter on fourth-and-5 and Flynn hit paydirt again 11 plays later for a 35-7 lead after Cody Hamilton's extra point with 7:34 remaining.
"I was expecting it to be closer, but we found some things we were able to exploit," Forrester said. "We were able to wear them down."
TC West led 7-0 just 1:48 into the game after Petoskey fumbled on its first offensive play, allowing the Titans to set up shop at the Northmen 19. Four plays later, Jay Meyers powered in from 5 yards out behind the blocking of Britton Shink and Steven Alpers.
The two teams then traded defensive stands, as six of the next eight possessions were three-and-outs before the Northmen were able to put together a five-play, 45-yard drive started by a 20-yard pass from Hunter Keiswetter to tight end Nick Moore and finished by a VanSlembrouck 15-yard burst up the middle. Grand Reed's extra point tied the game at 7-7 with 4:53 left before halftime.
It wouldn't stay that way for long, however, as the Titans rallied with a nine-play, 69-yard drive finished by a Scheuerman 18-yard rumble up the middle, juking the last Petoskey defender at the 10 on his way to paydirt. Michael Barboza's extra point made it 14-7 with less than two minutes to intermission.
The victory leaves TC West as the only undefeated team in BNC play with two conference games remaining.
"A lot of people were making this out to be a championship game -- and it might've been -- but we're just looking to play another week and get into the playoffs," West coach Tim Wooer said.
Both defenses played very well, as 17 of the game's 23 drives lasted 2:20 or less. Both punters -- Petoskey's Suter and West's Craig Wilson -- were booming 40-plus-yard kicks all evening.
Petoskey limited the Titans to 289 total yards, 186 of which came on three drives. The Northmen were held to 214 yards of total offense by a TC West led by linebackers Cam Howard and Zywicki.
"We wanted to mix it up and do some things out of the spread, give them multiple formations," Wooer said. "But they did a good job with pressure. So at halftime, we liked what we had with the T set and the kids executed it nearly perfectly."
Petoskey star offensive tackle and defensive lineman Ken Provost -- who was selected homecoming king at halftime -- said the game was a stark contrast to last year's 25-22 upset in Traverse City.
"The motivation was flip-flopped," the senior said. "There wasn't much of an underdog team this time, but otherwise it was the opposite of last year.
"I think we needed a loss like this, as hard as it is to say. These juniors haven't lost a game for a long time and it might be a good thing for them."
Petoskey's junior class went undefeated as sophomores, suffered only one setback as freshman and was 6-0 this season entering Friday's game for a sparkling 23-1 record.
"It was a hard taste (for the juniors)," VanOrman said. "For our seniors, they've won nine in a row (since beating West), so it's a different taste for them -- and it's a terrible one."
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