By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | Fraser-Clinton Chronicle | Published September 19, 2023
FRASER — There’s new expectations for Fraser football, and this is not the squad that finished 1-8 last season in the basement of the Macomb Area Conference Blue.
So when Fraser suffered a 26-20 loss to Warren Woods Tower on Aug. 31, a now 1-2 MAC Gold team, coach Jon Skladanowski made sure his guys took that loss personally.
“I’ve never been so distraught after a loss,” Skladanowski said. “We played very well in the first half against Tower, and then it just crumbled. I give a lot of credit to Tower, but that woke us up that we’re not as good as we think we are.”
So how did Fraser respond in their league opener against Sterling Heights? How about with 35 unanswered points in the first half behind the dynamic duo of senior quarterback Jack Tury and junior wide receiver Corshaun Williams.
Tury and Williams connected for touchdowns of 16, 11 and 6 yards in the matchup, and Tury said the game plan offensively set them up for success.
“We knew we were going to have some things open, and I think that our coaches did a great job of game planning for that,” Tury said.
A point of emphasis for Fraser was finishing, which Skladanowski felt his guys failed to execute against Tower.
When an offense is in the red zone, it’s expected to cash in on that opportunity, and when your defense creates a turnover, the same rules apply.
With that in mind, Fraser came out with a different type of mindset, and they executed on the majority of opportunities that were in their hands.
“The biggest thing was finishing,” Skladanowski said. “We had many opportunities in the Tower game to get in the end zone that we did not get in the end zone or did not make that big play on third and two. That was the focus of this week’s practice, which was to finish everything we start.”
Fraser’s offense was efficient in the red zone and scored three touchdowns off turnovers in the matchup. Senior running back Keonte Riley rattled off a 43-yard touchdown run off a fumble recovery by junior Ryan Carney, Tury and Williams connected for the second time off an interception by junior Jackson Sines, and Tury rushed for a 9-yard touchdown off an interception by junior Jaiden Kitching.
The Fraser scoring barrage would come to a complete halt in the second half, while Sterling Heights would tack on two rushing touchdowns behind senior Devin Zyczynski.
Fraser would suffer a 35-7 loss in their following matchup against Port Huron on Sept. 15 and will look to rebound on Sept. 22 at Warren Mott High School.