**ARTICLE BY MICHAEL MARKOCH**
Forest Hills Central remained unbeaten in 2022 and claimed a district championship with a convincing 33-21 victory over Mona Shores on Friday. After being tied at halftime, the Rangers outscored the Sailors 26-14 in the second half.
Jonathan Pittman got things started for the Sailors with a 62-yard touchdown pass to KeWaun Farnum that put the Sailors up 7-0 late in the first quarter. The Rangers would respond before half with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Justin Osterhouse to Roman Brummel to bring the game back even, but the first half would have more in store.
In the final minutes of the half, the Sailors drove down the field and were set up with a first-and-goal at the Ranger 1-yard line, determined to take a lead going into the break. Unfortunately for the Sailors, they would be stood up on four consecutive plays by the Rangers’ defense held scoreless. The two teams entered the locker rooms knotted up, 7-7.
On the opening drive of the second half, Mona Shores found the end zone again on another touchdown pass from Pittman to KeWaun Farnum to give the Sailors a 14-7 advantage. This score would be the last real momentum the Sailors would have the rest of the night.
Osterhouse ran the ball in from 17 yards out to bring the Rangers within one with a missed extra point keeping the Sailors ahead. A little over three minutes later, Osterhouse threw his second touchdown pass, this one 47 yards to JT Hartman, giving the Rangers a 19-14 lead that they would never give back.
The Rangers pushed the lead to 26-14 before the Sailors scored again. A final touchdown run by Osterhouse iced the game in the fourth quarter to help the Rangers advance to the regional round.
Osterhouse led the way, completing 10-of-15 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns and adding 84 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. Hartman rushed for 87 yards and had 57 yards receiving out of the backfield.
On defense, Nolan Hertl dominated for the Rangers, collecting 10 tackles. Ray Cargill was right behind him with eight.
Mona Shores’ season ends at 8-3, with the Sailors losing two out of their final three games down the stretch. With the win, the Rangers move to the regional final next week, where they will face the East Lansing Trojans.
