MUNISING — The more physical team ended up to be the winning team Friday night, as the host Munising Mustangs powered their way to a 58-12 victory in the eight-player MHSAA Division 1, Region 1 playoff matchup with Norway.

“They are physical,” said Norway coach Scott Popp of the undefeated Mustangs (10-0). “They are, by far, the most physical team we’ve faced this season.”

That would include defending state champion North Central, which pushed its record consecutive win streak to 33 by beating Stephenson 54-6 on Friday.

“North Central has that speed,” Popp added. “Munising is just more powerful.”

Though, at first, Friday night’s playoff clash looked as though it could turn into a shootout, as the Knights (6-4) marched down on their opening drive for a score. The Mustangs matched that with a scoring drive of their own.

While the game was still within reach at 28-12 at halftime, Munising was able to pull away in the second half.

“We couldn’t tackle,” Popp said. “We had kids in the right position. We just didn’t wrap them up.”

“They just kept pounding, pounding and pounding the ball,” he added about the Mustangs.

Norway free safety Ian Popp led the effort in trying to stop Munising with 19 tackles. Kyle Napientek chipped in 15 tackles, while teammates Blake Dishaw and Hayden Amundson added 11 and nine, respectively.

Tyler Neuens also had a fumble recovery in the endzone to stop a Mustang scoring drive.

Offensively, Coach Popp said the wind along Lake Michigan proved to be a factor, with several throws by quarterback Cole Baij sailing high.

Still, Baij connected on 16 of 22 passing attempts for 127 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 73 yards on six carries.

Both Wyatt Spade (8 catches, 82 yards) and Michael Peterson (3 catches, 31 yards) hauled in TD passes from Baij.

Neuens rushed for a team-best 101 yards on 17 carries.

“The last four games of the season is not how you want to go out,” Coach Popp said, referring to the team’s late-season losing streak. “The pain doesn’t go away.”

He added positive from the playoff loss is some of the Knights already showing they want to put Friday’s loss behind them and look forward to 2023.

“Back to the drawing board and get ready for next year,” he said. “There is a lot of kids that are asking already to do the off-season stuff, so we are headed in the right direction.”