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By BURT ANGELI

Sports Editor

KINGSFORD - Chalk up a playoff victory for the gritty, gutty Kingsford Flivvers.

Kingsford, playing through illness and overcoming mistakes usually not found in the 10th game, turned back Cheboygan 28-6 in a Division 4 football pre-district Saturday at Flivver Field.

Winston Larson's three touchdowns and 107 yards rushing on 15 carries propelled the Flivvers (8-2) into the district final against once-beaten Big Rapids.

"We had a few guys playing sick," said Flivver coach Chris Hofer. "We hung in there but it's a playoff game

"It definitely wasn't a pretty win, especially the first half. We got it done. That's important."

Poor Flivver field position along with mishandled footballs gave Cheboygan (6-4) hope. But the Chiefs could muster just a 20-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter from quarterback Derek Ferris to Joe Scheele.

"We just couldn't take advantage of their early mistakes," said Jack Coon, Cheboygan's hall of fame coach. "That was a big part of it. Getting up on them would have been to our advantage."

That Cheboyan score sliced the margin to 7-6. Kingsford answered in a big way.

With Flivver Field never looking wider, Justin Heupel tightroped the sidelines for an 80-yard kick return.

"He made a nice play, broke a few tackles and got in the end zone," Hofer said.

The Flivvers, who carried a 14-6 lead into halftime, turned up the defensive pressure in the second half. They kept a closer eye on wide receiver Trevor Closs, who caught five passes in the first half and one in the second.

"They tried to double cover Closs and we tried to go away from it," Coon said. "But their defensive front is real solid. It just didn't work often enough."

Ferris-to-Closs did click for 45 yards to the Flivver 32 in the second half, but the Flivvers responded with a 10-yard sack from Andy Carpenter, Andy Ross and Ben Carr.

Kingsford buried Ferris four times in the second half.

"That was a good quarterback who could throw the ball," said Hofer, equally impressed with Closs. "We had to change things up a little bit. Closs was hurting us. We were a little undermanned back there today due to a couple of factors. We had to get two people around him."

Larson, U.P. Class ABC Defensive Player of the Year, also proved his offensive mettle. Running frequently from shotgun formation ("Wildcat" if you must), the senior plowed 10 times in the second half for 62 yards including fourth-quarter TD jaunts of 41 and one yards.

Like the 41-yarder, Larson rumbled 36 yards past a packed-in Cheboygan defense for a first-quarter score. That drive covered 96 yards.

"He (Larson) comes to play," Hofer noted.

Kingsford gained 225 yards total offense - all but 19 (a first-period pass from Kyle Sexton to Larson) - coming on the ground.

"I thought we played great defense and they did as well," said Coon, spotted congratulating Larson and other Flivvers after talking to his team. "We knew they had an excellent defense.

"They are one solid football team and great sports."

On the Chiefs' first series of the second half, Heupel and Larson teamed up to stop Mike Pegish on third and short from midfield.

Dylan Tengesdahl, who missed practice Friday with the flu, picked off a Cheboygan pass at the Flivver 18 in the third quarter.

Cheboygan tallied 205 yards total offense - 59 rushing.

"This was a tough game," Hofer said. "We battled the whole time. We just kept hanging on and stopping them."

The Flivver offense also did its part in containing the Chiefs, holding the football for nearly 14 minutes.

"Part of the success in the second half was they controlled the ball," Coon said. "We needed to hang onto the ball a little more."

NOTES: Flivvers own a 5-1 advantage in the sixth straight playoff meeting between the two schools ... Flivver Field, outside of a couple early slips, fared well after the rain that mucked up last week's game with Escanaba. "The conditions were pretty good," said Hofer, who didn't consider a strong cross-wind a big factor ... Illegal procedure nullified a 51-yard touchdown pass to Closs in the second quarter. "That kind of took some wind out of our sails," Coon said ... Starting Flivver senior linebacker Trey Adams suffered a leg injury early in the second quarter and watched the second half with the aid of crutches ... Depending on one's source, Ian Wienke (84) or Jim Joski (74) recovered a Chief fumble in the game's final minute ... Larson, Heupel, Carpenter and Jimmy Rice each posted nine tackles.

Kingsford - 7 7 0 14 - 28

Cheboygan 0 6 0 0 - 6

First quarter

K - Winston Larson 36 run (Chase LaFave kick), 1:22.

Second quarter

C - Joe Scheele 20 pass from Derek Ferris (kick failed), 4:03.

K - Justin Heupel 80 kick return (LaFave kick), 3:50.

Fourth quarter

K - Larson 41 run (LaFave kick), 9:32.

K - Larson 1 run (LaFave kick), 2:44.

Statistics

Total offense - Kingsford 225 (206 rushing, 19 passing), Cheboygan 205 (59 rushing, 146 passing).

Rushing - Kingsford, Tengesdahl 2-3, Sexton 3-3, Heupel 11-60, Conard 3-22, Larson 15-107, Adams 2-1, Carpenter 3-9, Crosson 1-1, Deyaert 1-2; Cheboygan, Pegish 7-35, Ferris 16-zero, Crusoe 4-12, Scheele 3-23, Hancock 1-minus 11.

First downs - Kingsford 10, Cheboygan 9.

Passing - Kingsford, Sexton 1-4-0-19; Ferris 10-17-1-146.

Receiving - Kingsford, Larson 1-19; Cheboygan, Trevor Closs 6-108, Scheele 1-20, Currie 2-13.

Penalties - Kingsford 6-40, Cheboygan 10-60.