MUNISING – The varsity football program is alive and well in Munising. After 15 years of being absent from the postseason, the Mustangs have made the playoffs two of the last three years.

Munising is playoff bound again this season. They’re currently 6-1 with two games left.

The Mustangs are coming off a statement win, a 42–0 shutout victory at Bark River–Harris last week, in which quarterback Austin Kelto accounted for six touchdowns, five through the air and one on the ground.

With quarterback Austin Kelto completely healthy, the Mustangs lighting quick offense and powerful defense give them a shot to win their first state title since 1980.

“It’s been nice to not just be one dimensional,” said Mustangs head coach Jeff Seaborg. “We’ve got the size and strength up front to be able to run the ball in our power game. We’ve got good pass protection and we’ve got a heck of a quarterback and a stable of receivers. It definitely makes game planning a lot easier to be able to use both.”

“It’s really nice. They overplay our run game a lot,” said Munising quarterback Austin Kelto. “We have good running backs, a good (offensive) line, a big line. Then when we go to pass, we have a great offensive line and our receivers are tough to stop.

“What would it mean to this team, this program, this community to make a nice little run come October/November?”

“It would be huge for everyone in this community. A lot of people come up and our sitting in the stands. It would just be awesome for us and this team to make it at least downstate,” said Mustangs wide receiver Andy Cooper.

“Since we’re an I (I–Formation Offense), teams probably think we just run it a lot. Then once we throw in the passes, it catches them off guard,” said Munising defensive back Colin Immel. “We’ve got (Andy) Cooper and Hillsy (Alex Hill) are the fastest two kids on the team; they can out run people.”

“We’ve always been known as a football school, years ago, but that hasn’t been the case as of late,” said Seaborg. “The community is really behind the kids and they’ve worked hard for this. It’s a goal of theirs to make it as far as they can and hopefully make it to the finals.”

As good as Munising’s offense has been, the Mustangs defense has allowed just three touchdowns in their last five games. They’ve pitched three straight shutouts.

Munising has not allowed a single point since Sept. 19 against Newberry. The Mustangs are at home Friday against Stephenson.