Suttons Bay football had to wait eight long weeks for its first win of the season, coming in the last game with a 44-38 win over Alcona.
“We just kept fighting through and got stronger week to week; it was a really special night. I’m so proud of our boys,” Suttons Bay coach Tony West said.
The Norse traveled as they had every game this season, to play Alcona on the east side of the state.
Suttons Bay entered the contest with only nine players and one mission. Win.
Elijah Kiessel led Suttons Bay with a touchdown reception and scored the go-ahead touchdown with under two minutes remaining. The Norse recovered an ensuing onside kick to seal the win.
Suttons Bay has dressed the most players all year, 13, and had two games where only eight players were dressed.
“We had a good sized Sutton's Bay crowd that followed us for our last game,” West said. “When I stepped onto that field, before the game started, it was like the field was buzzing. There was just this energy that I could feel something special was going to happen. When I got back in the locker room to give my pregame talk, I was shaking with excitement, and when it was over and done, it all made sense … To put an exclamation point on the season, to watch my entire team after the victory, to go over and hug, and high-five and encourage the Alcona kids who were on the other side of it. Made everything worth it. That's what life's about. You're going to win some, you're going to lose some, but it's important to have the support group around you, other people to lift you back up when you feel those things.”
Suttons Bay junior Easton West scored twice and stepped in to play quarterback multiple times.
Olin Chandler also scored twice and nearly had a third, but the drive stalled at the 2-yard line before the Norse scored.
“I got to engage in the happiest of tears with our entire team, but more importantly, our seniors haven't given up all year. They are a testament to what our program is,” coach West said. “(The seniors) knew what the task at hand was this year and that it was going to be tough. For them to show up at every practice and engage and encourage the underclassmen. For people that don't play football and realize the grind from every practice to putting the pads on to the running … The seniors were on the field all the time for the team to keep going. Where in today's culture a lot of people want to give up and they just didn't, I'm so proud of them.”
The Norse played every game away and hosted senior night at Glen Lake last week.
Suttons Bay has traveled over 2,000 miles this season.
The Suttons Bay youth programs have held steady despite the low number at the high school.
The Norse Pop Warner program went 7-0, and the Norse reported nearly 20 athletes at the middle school level.
The Norse forfeited the first game of the season but managed to field a team for the rest of the season, playing two games with only eight players.
West thanks Alcona for their hospitality and for providing a meal after the game.
