By Josh Staloch
Correspondent
SUAMICO – In a well-played, but ultimately disappointing season finale May 7, the Bay Port football team was defeated 34-28 by Appleton East to finish its alternate fall season campaign with an overall mark of 2-5.
The Pirates began the season 2-0 but then dropped their final five games.
“I told them ‘I love them,’” said Bay Port head coach Gary Westerman when asked how he dismissed his team for the season following the game. “They’re a great group and fun to coach, especially given what we’ve gone through this year with some tight losses and injuries down the stretch. I’m impressed with them.”
The Patriots were first on the board with a quick score from quarterback Aaron Jones, who kept one for himself and carried it 43 yards to the end zone.
East converted a two-point attempt to jump out to an 8-0 lead.
The Pirates weren’t able to pick up a first down on their opening possession, but the defense came up big on the Patriots’ second drive by forcing and recovering a fumble on a third-and-five play.
The Bay Port offense then went to work deep in East territory.
Quarterback Eli Frank pulled off a big run on a third-and-six play to pick up a fresh set of downs before Matt Grzybowski barreled his way across the goal line to get the score to 8-7 following the Cole Deppeler extra point.
The Pirates’ defense came up with another huge play in the second quarter as Hunter Lorbeck stopped Jones on fourth down inches from the goal line.
Unfortunately, the Bay Port offense couldn’t capitalize and the Patriots would get another crack at scoring before halftime.
The visiting team made the most of the chance by moving the ball on the ground before Jones again carried it in himself for a 15-7 East lead.
In the third quarter, the Bay Port offense looked spot-on as Frank connected with Joel Preston to convert on a third-and-nine play before Grzybowski erupted for a 54-yard scoring run, pulling the Pirates to within one at 15-14 following the extra point.
The Patriots would score on their ensuing possession, but Bay Port’s Logan VanLaanen blocked the extra point to keep the margin at seven, 21-14.
The VanLaanen block proved crucial as Bay Port turned that momentum into a score moments later when Frank connected with Nate Forystek, who refused to be taken down on his way to a 20-yard score that tied the game 21-21 late in the third quarter.
East turned a couple of Bay Port’s defensive miscues in the fourth quarter into easy scores to jump ahead 34-21.
With under two minutes to go, the Pirates, showing some fight to get back into the game, got another great pass out of Frank to Sam Breider to take the ball to the Patriots’ 11.
From there, Frank took it in himself from six yards out on a tough run that saw him plow through two defenders and barely cross the goal line for a 34-28 scoreboard readout after the extra point with 30 seconds left.
A big special teams play by Bay Port got it the ball back on an onside kick, but the magic ran out moments later when a long pass attempt by Frank was picked off in the end zone.
“You can point lots of things and a lot of reasons why we’ve had a tough year,” Westerman commented. “But when we underperform, that’s on the head coach. So, we’re going to continue to work hard as a program to build ourselves back up to compete for championships.”