The Kingsford boys varsity team poses with the MHSAA Division 3, District 48 championship trophy after beating Grayling 5-1 at Grayling High School on Wednesday. The Flivvers advance to the regional tournament that starts Monday in Big Rapids. (Courtesy photo)

GRAYLING — The Flivvers’ run in the MHSAA Division 3 boys soccer playoffs isn’t done yet as the Kingsford varsity soccer team secured the District 48 championship trophy after beating the host Grayling Vikings 5-1 on Wednesday.

The Flivvers also picked up a win over Elk Rapids on Monday to advance to the district title clash.

With the district trophy in hand, Kingsford advances to the Regional 12 round, where it will play the District 46 winner Monday in Big Rapids at 6 p.m. EDT.

However, the Flivvers won’t know who their opponent is until Fremont and Manistee battle for the District 46 title Saturday.

“Great win for our team,” Flivvers coach Jeff Gordon said. “Winning districts was exciting for our team. We’re excited to play our next opponent in regionals at Big Rapids.”

The match will be available to stream on nfhsnetwork.com.

While able to celebrate advancing to regionals now, the district title matchup got off to somewhat of a shaky start for the Flivvers.

“Our team didn’t play well in the first half,” Coach Gordon said of Wednesday’s tournament game against the host Vikings. “We played our old-style soccer and tried to force the ball with little control.”

Both teams went into halftime tied at 1-all with senior Jaxon Buckley recording Kingsford’s only goal.

The Flivvers, however, found a spark in the second half and took control as 10 minutes into the second half Buckley added another goal to put Kingsford ahead 2-1.

He wasn’t finished, though. Fifteen minutes later, Jett Buckley sent a through pass past the Vikings defense and directly to Jaxon Buckley’s foot. He turned and buried a shot, his third of the game, pushing the lead to 3-1.

Lucas Engman and Gavyn Laydon joined in on the action, each netting a goal as Kingsford grabbed a 5-1 win.

“The second half we stepped up and controlled the ball with better shots at the goal,” Coach Gordon said.

“We had great passes that ended up with tap-in goals. We controlled the ball on Grayling’s side most of the game and forced them to put eight or nine players in front of the net,” he added.

FLIVVERS 3, ELKS 2 (OT)

Kingsford kicked off its district run with a 3-2 win after penalty kicks over Elk Rapids in Grayling on Monday.

“Our defense kept our team in the game and helped our team win,” Coach Gordon said. “They played very well.”

At the end of 80 minutes, the Flivvers and Elks found themselves locked in a 1-1 tie with Jaxon Buckley scoring Kingsford’s lone-goal.

Elk Rapids added a goal in the overtime period to take a 2-1 lead.

With time expiring, the Flivvers weren’t running on fumes and kept the pressure on Elk Rapids.

It paid off after Ben Fornetti took a 60-foot shot that struck the left bar. Instead of bouncing out of play, it landed in front of Jaxon Buckley who tapped it in to tie things at 2.

“Elk Rapids made it difficult for us to move the ball by being very aggressive coming after the ball on our possessions,” Gordon said. “We wore them down in overtime with better ball control and scored our second goal with 56 seconds left in overtime.”

Time expired with the score still tied and both teams looked to win it in penalty kicks.

The Elks went 3 for 5 while Kingsford’s Gavin Moore, Gavyn Laydon, Lucas Engman and Jett Buckley connected on their penalty shots as it grabbed the win.