Special spark

• Weston Bohnet

Mott-Regent senior Weston Bohnet tries to evade Beach senior Justin Maus in their 9-man, Region 6 game Friday at the Mott-Regent High School football field. Mott won 44-17.

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MOTT — Special teams are often overlooked.

Not in Mott-Regent.

The second-ranked Wildfire (5-0) blocked a punt, recovered an onside kick and even converted on a fake punt in a 44-17 victory over Beach in a pivotal 9-man, Region 6 contest Friday at the Mott-Regent High School football field.

“This is definitely the best we’ve played all year, no doubt about it,” Mott-Regent coach Ron Benson said.

Mott-Regent senior Weston Bohnet scored on a 10-yard run after the Wildfire blocked a punt and junior Ethan Keller scampered for a 67-yard touchdown to put Mott-Regent up 16-10 with more than 8 minutes remaining in the first half.

Then, Mott-Regent recovered what was not an onside kick, but a bad squib kick.

“Coach wanted us to keep (the kick) on the ground to make it as hard as possible for them to return it,” Mott-Regent senior Nick Kautzman said.

With the ball and good field position, Bohnet busted a 46-yard TD run to give the Wildfire a 24-10 lead.

A 3-and-out on Beach’s next possession set Mott-Regent up for another score before halftime, which wound up being a 3-yard hookup from quarterback Luke Honeyman to senior Dylan Poehls. The Wildfire had a comfortable 32-10 halftime advantage that was never threatened.

Junior tailback Ethan Keller racked up a game-high 128 yards on 13 carries and a TD. He also had two catches for 31 yards and a receiving TD.

Honeyman finished with a season-high three TD passes, completing 13 of 16 passes for 191 yards and an interception. Sophomore wide receiver Chad Mosbrucker caught five balls for 118 yards and a TD.

The Wildfire had 427 total yards.

“The passing game was good. Mosbrucker had some big catches, Honeyman had good throws … everyone contributed,” Benson said.

Beach had momentum right away, capping the game-opening drive with a 6-yard TD run from Justin Maus. The Bucs held Mott-Regent to a three-and-out, but a muffed catch gave the Wildfire the ball with good field position. It went down hill from there.

“The credit goes to Mott-Regent.,” Beach coach Mike Zier said. “They kept hammering and hammering.”

Maus had a team-high 78 yards on the ground and senior fullback Jordan Tescher had 106 offensive yards.

“They’re a solid team,” Benson said. “They are. This was a good test for us. … It’s a confidence builder.”

Beach 7 3 0 7 — 17

MR 10 22 6 6 — 44

B–Justin Maus 6 run (Devin Steele kick)

MR–Safety, Weston Bohnet sacked Tanner Tescher in end zone

MR–Bohnet 10 run (Chad Mosbrucker pass from Luke Honeyman)

B–Devin Steele 24 FG

MR–Ethan Keller 67 run (pass failed)

MR–Bohnet 46 run (Honeyman run)

MR–Dylan Poehls 3 pass from Luke Honeyman (Poehls pass from Honeyman)

MR–Keller 16 pass from Honeyman (pass failed)

MR–Mosbrucker 19 pass from Honeyman (pass failed)

B–Jordan Tescher 60 pass from Tanner Tescher (Steele kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING: B, Maus 16-78, J. Tescher 8-42, T. Tescher 6-31. MR, E. Keller 17-128, Bohnet 13-86, Honeyman 5-13, Jacob Greff 2-6, Logan Haberstroh 3-(-1), Aaron Keller 1-(-3).

PASSING: B, T. Tescher 5-14-2 97. MR, Honeyman 13-16-1 191, Jon Carlson 1-1-0 7.

RECEIVING: B, J. Tescher 2-66, Trevor Sime 1-25, Maus 2-6. MR, Mosbrucker 5-118, E. Keller 2-31, Poehls 3-18, Bohnet 3-15, A. Keller 1-9.

Tags: mott-regent, sports, wildfire, preps, football