The Frankenmuth football team traveled to New Lothrop to battle against the Hornets, a perennial powerhouse in Division 7. After falling behind, Frankenmuth rallied for a 28-14 victory.
The Eagles were forced to punt on the opening drive of the game, pinning the Hornets down on their 1 yard line. On the first play, New Lothrop’s Jake Kulhanek tossed a short screen pass to Garrett Mangino who raced downfield for a 99-yard touchdown. Late in the first quarter, Frankenmuth tied the score at seven when Cole Jankowski rumbled across the goal line from 3 yards out.
The second quarter produced a number of turnovers by both teams, as Travis Brenner intercepted a Hornets pass and Michael Carter recovered a fumble for the Eagles. New Lothrop did take the lead with fifty seconds remaining in the half when Kulhanek powered into the end zone on a 3-yard run, taking a 14-7 lead into halftime.
The Frankenmuth defense tightened in the second half forcing a Hornets punt on their first drive. On the ensuing Eagle drive, they went 53 yards on 8 plays with Cole Lindow going the last 18 yards for the score. Seth Malmo‘s extra point tied the score at 14.
Early in the fourth quarter, Frankenmuth took a 21-14 lead on a Jankowski 1-yard sneak. The defense continued to pressure the Hornets offense forcing them to turn the ball over on downs. At the five minute mark of the fourth quarter, Jankowski added his third touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run to up the score to the 28-14 final.
The defense limited New Lothrop to 34 yards of offense in the second half. Ashton Benkert led the defense with 11 tackles, followed by Dayne Reif with 8 tackles and Drew Titsworth with 7 tackles. The offense totaled 406 yards, with 392 yard rushing. Lindow ended up with 229 yards on 30 attempts and Jankowski 130 yards on 24 attempts. The Eagles ran 68 plays to New Lothrop’s 40 plays, dominating the time of possession 29:55 to 18:05. The win ends the Eagles regular season with a 9-0 record, the 17th undefeated regular season in program history. Both Frankenmuth and New Lothrop will be selected for the playoffs, with their opponents announced on Sunday.
