Football: Huron’s win brings “good spirits, good vibes” to the program
As the final seconds ticked off the clock of Huron’s 63-14 victory over Ecorse last Friday night, the PA announcer repeated several times: “Fans, do not storm the field! Do NOT come onto the field!”
While security was able to prevent fans from storming the field, a party scene erupted at Riverbank Stadium.
Gatorade poured down on Ann Arbor Huron head coach Antaiwn Mack as fans rushed up to greet the Huron football team, which had won its first football game since 2014, snapping the state’s longest losing streak of 39 games.
Huron quarterback Tyson Edmondson said after the game that the team embraced the losing streak and was determined to stop it. “We believed that if we kept our heads high, we could end the streak, and we went out and did it together, as a family,” Edmondson said.
Mack was proud of his team, not just because they won but because how they won.
“The kids truly deserved it. They worked their butts off,” Mack said. “They were dedicated, and no guys quit, even when we put them through a challenging camp. They deserve to know what it feels like to win, to go back to their family over the holiday weekend and enjoy it.”
Mack said that the team got solid contributions from all the players.
“I think that Tyson (Edmundson) really had a good game. Aaron Winston, Brandon Rawls, Jaylin Matthews, Torrence Greene, (Balint) Shannon, we had several guys that had great games, several guys that can play,” Mack said.
Mack, who became the program’s sixth head coach in the last eight years in April, said that the victory goes a long way in changing the stigma surrounding the program.
“It brings good spirits, good vibes to the program. This is big for the school, we’re definitely changing the mentality. This moment is a great time,” Mack said.
Mack said that despite the dominating victory, the team still needs to make improvements going forward. “There’s still a lot of things that we’ve got to clean up. We’ll go back, watch the film, and coach the kids up,” Mack said.
The River Rats (1-0, 0-0 SEC Red) will travel to Flint to take on Flint Kearsley in Friday’s game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Kearsley High School. Kearsley (1-0) also won its season opener, defeating Bay City Western 41-21.
“It’s going to be a hard game. They’ve got a good football team,” Mack said. “Great quarterback, big up front, so we’re going to have to put in some work this week.”
