Sentinels hold off Petoskey to win Big North outright

PETOSKEY, Mich. — Marquette went to Petoskey on Friday night needing a win to keep the Big North Conference title to itself. In wind, rain and cold, it got one.

The Sentinels beat the Northmen 19-10 for their sixth straight win and finished 6-0 in the conference, clinching the outright title. A Petoskey win would have created a three-way tie with Cadillac.

Landen Faccio scored on a 2-yard run on the opening drive, and Marquette added a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for a 13-3 halftime lead. Jace Shaw had kicked a 40-yard field goal for Petoskey.

Petoskey came back in the third quarter. Braden Fralick intercepted a Marquette pass on fourth-and-goal, and the Northmen drove for Luke Pike’s 7-yard touchdown run, which made it 13-10 late in the quarter.

Marquette answered with two fourth-quarter field goals. The second, a 28-yarder by Winston Leonard with 1:04 left, followed a fourth-and-2 conversion on a Leonard throw to the flat. Marquette intercepted a pass on the game’s final play.

Petoskey ran the ball on nearly every down. Quarterback Lukas Nemec ran but threw only a few passes, and Pike threw most of the rest.

Marquette (6-2, 6-0 Big North) plays at Kingsford at 7 p.m. Eastern on Friday to close the regular season. Kingsford is 8-0. Petoskey (5-3) plays at Clare.