FUTBOL, NOT FOOTBALL! Flivvers Making Push

Click the audio button to hear from Jett Buckley, Ben Fornetti, Jake Crockford, and Gavyn Laydon. Photo by Coleton Mihelich.

KINGSFORD---
For many decades, the Kingsford High School football team has been one of the top teams in all of Michigan.

 

And while the Flivvers are having another great season with an 8-1 record and a home game in this week's state tournament opener, there's another football team making noise at Kingsford.

 

Futbol, that is. The Flivvers boys soccer team has put together the best season in school history, running up a 22-1 record and winning three state tournament matches. The guys are confident as they head below the Mackinac Bridge on Tuesday to battle Fremont High School in the MHSAA Division Three regional semifinals.

 

“We have been watching a lot of film,” Kingsford captain Ben Fornetti said. “As a defenseman, the only concerns I have is they have two very good wingers. I think we'll be able to handle them defensively, and hopefully, come out with a W. We've been preparing for games like this all season, and I hope it goes well.”

 

The Flivvers opened their tournament run with an easy win over Iron Mountain, but then, were heavy underdogs as they went downstate to face the eighth-ranked team in the state, the Elk Rapids Elks.

 

Kingsford fell behind in overtime, but Fornetti assisted on the game-tying goal by Jaxon Buckley, and then four Flivvers players, including Jett Buckley, converted their penalty kicks to send shockwaves around the state in high school soccer.

 

Jett Buckley says his team is taking nothing for granted in Tuesday's match against the Packers, who are 21-1-1 on the season.

 

“If we stay sharp, be humble, our team knows what we're capable of to get the job done and keep moving forward,” Buckley said. “I think we can win states. This a great opportunity and we've just got to fight for every ball, play to the end, play together, and have fun out there.”

 

“It's obviously gonna be a tough one,” Flivvers' Jake Crockford said. “I think we've got a real good chance of beating them. I think that us making this run in soccer shows that the UP has more talent than they think, and we can prove it a lot more if we beat them.”

 

This is the first time in more than 15 years that the Upper Peninsula has even been allowed to participate in the statewide tournament. And the Flivvers, along with Marquette in Division Two, both won district championships and are looking for more.

 

“If we play our game, play how we usually do, we've played some hard teams, we can definitely beat them and move on,” Kingsford junior Gavyn Laydon said. “Coming from a small school in a small town in the UP, I don't think these downstate teams were ready for us. I think that's helped us move on so far in this tournament.”

 

Laydon also had a penalty kick goal in that stunner over Elk Rapids, and he scored another goal in Kingsford's 5-1 win over Grayling in the district championship game.

 

“If we stay strong and play our game, we can beat any team, and probably win the whole thing,” Laydon said. “These downstate teams don't know what we're about. They're not used to how we play up here. But all this hype, and us winning all these games, we can't let it get to our heads. We've got to stay mentally-focused, stay prepared, and come out ready and strong, no matter who we're playing.”
 

The regional semifinal game will be played Tuesday night at Gaylord High School. It will start at 6:00 CT/7:00 ET and you can watch it live on the NFHS web site and apps, through www.mhsaa.tv.

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