PORTAGE – A pair of 5-1 freshmen football teams squared off on Thursday night.

When the smoke cleared, visiting Niles was defeated by Portage Northern 14-6.

The game was a defensive struggle and neither team found the end zone in the opening half.

In the fourth quarter, the Huskies took the lead and scored again to open up a 14-0 advantage.

Anthony Bice then returned the kickoff for 65 yards right into the end zone.

The extra point failed and the game ended 14-6.

The team was led by the offensive line, and Alex Gamso and Dakota McDonald worked hard in the trenches.

The defense was led by Aaron Pierce, Troy Casey, John Franklin and Rodney Applewhite.
Applewhite stated that he felt that the defense stepped up and made great plays, but it was a tough lost because we played so hard.

The Niles freshmen are 5-2 and play Benton Harbor next Thursday.

JV football
The Niles junior varsity football team also suffered a narrow defeat on Thursday night as Portage Northern posted 24-22 victory.

The Vikings led 22-6 with about three minutes remaining in the third quarter, but was unable to hold off a late Huskies rally.

Prescott Smith scored a pair of touchdowns for Niles, which also got a score from quarterback Logan Harpenau.

“Our goal is to rebound, keep playing with the intensity that we have been, but try and get better at doing the little things that it will take to close out our remaining games,” Niles coach Josh Bourne said. “We have all the confidence in the world in our kids that they can finish the season on a high note, it will start in practice and we will go from there.”