OGEMAW HEIGHTS - Sep. 4, 2009 - There was a lot to like for Ogemaw Heights on Friday despite a 24-15 loss to Petoskey.

The Falcons, despite falling behind 24-7 in the third quarter, fought to keep things interesting in the fourth quarter. And were it not for the Petoskey defense's ability to stand strong inside its own 10-yard line on several occasions, Ogemaw might even have been celebrating a victory against a team with big aspirations.

"When you've got two good football teams playing -- I think that's what we had tonight, two good teams -- you've got to execute," said Ogemaw coach Andrew Pratley. "Tonight they did that. The team that makes the fewest mistakes is going to win, and Petoskey did that."

The Falcons did a solid job of containing the vaunted Petoskey rushing attack, holding the Northmen's Mike Suter to 72 yards on 18 carries and Kelsey Heinrich to 59 yards, also on 18 carries.

But the constant pounding inside and around the outside edge did just enough to pull the Falcon defense in when it counted. Quarterback Mike Pattullo -- Petoskey's backup who was forced into action after a pre-season injury to Petoskey starter Hunter Keiswetter -- caught the Falcons flatfooted on a 26-yard touchdown pass to Suter late in the first quarter.

The hole got deeper for the Falcons when Suter connected with Vince DeAgostino for a 62-yard touchdown pass on a halfback option play -- the second and final Petoskey pass of the night.

"That first one we weren't in the right coverage," Pratley said. "On the halfback pass, the kid just made a great play.

"We have a very good defensive group. They played well, other than on a couple of plays."

The Falcons put together a 15-play, 74-yard drive just before the half, highlighted by John Hughes' 34-yard pass on 3rd-and-13 to Kyle Bellor. That set up Dylan Jackson's 1-yard touchdown run with seven seconds in the half.

Suter, Heinrich and the Northmen clicked on their first drive of the third quarter, taking a 21-7 lead on Suter's 1-yard run that capped a 50-yard drive. An interception by Matt Rapelje that he returned to the Ogemaw 14-yard line had Petoskey poised to put the game out of reach, but the Falcon defense held the Northmen to a 25-yard Anthony Bear field goal.

The Falcons lost a golden opportunity to cut into the lead when they fumbled on the Petoskey 8-yard line, but took just one play to score on their next possession on a 30-yard pass from Hughes to Alex Jennings.

"The team with the fewest turnovers usually wins," Pratley said. "And that was true again today.

"It's all about execution, execution, execution."

Ogemaw held Petoskey to three-and-out for the second straight possession and drove as far as the Petoskey 6-yard line with two minutes left before Suter knocked away a fourth down pass intended for Jennings at the goal line.

Hughes was 6-of-18 for 152 yards, with Jennings (60 yards) and Bellor (58) each catching two balls. Jason Immel had 49 rushing yards on 15 carries, with Jackson adding 42 yards on six carries.

John Forney and Tyler Brindley were each in on 11 total tackles, with Jennings and Jarritt Orlando adding 10 each.

The Falcons (1-1) open North East Michigan Conference play Friday, Sep. 11 at Standish-Sterling.