Austin Hemmingson | Daily Press North Central’s Noah Gorzinski (7) breaks it outside for a big run as Forest Park’s Timmy Bendick (74) gives chase during the second half of Friday’s playoff game at North Central.

POWERS — Earlier this week Noah Gorzinski was selected the Upper Peninsula’s Offensive Player of the Year for eight-man football.

The senior quarterback showed why here Friday night as he led the top-ranked North Central Jets to a harder-than-it-looked 46-28 football triumph over the Forest Park Trojans in a Division 2 regional opener.

North Central (10-0) hosts second-ranked Pickford in a regional final tentatively scheduled for Nov. 9. The Trojans finished 7-3.

Gorzinski completed 9-of-17 passes for 253 yards and ran 19 times for 192 in this matchup.

The Jets led 22-14 at halftime, then opened the second half with a 10-play drive, climaxed on Gorzinski’s 12-yard TD run around left end for a 30-14 cushion.

“That touchdown really set the tone for us,” he said. “That enabled us to take them out of their comfort zone. They had to pass a little more. We tried to stop them at the line of scrimmage and pull their two guards. I’m so thankful for Luke (Gorzinski), our linemen and our coaches’ calls. I was able to use my vision when I got to the line of scrimmage. They’re a real good team. Tommy Showers, Tommy Peltoma and Evan Hedtke are very good players.”

Forest Park trimmed its deficit to 30-20 five seconds into the fourth stanza when Peltoma scrambled to his right and heaved a 12-yard pass to Showers.

The Jets extended their lead to 38-20 on Gorzinski’s 14-yard keeper to the right side with 7:42 remaining.

Forest Park closed within 38-28 on Peltoma’s nine-yard pass to Hedtke with 3:51 left to play.

Moments later, Hedtke recovered his own onside kick on the North Central 47-yard line. A fourth-down tackle by Gorzinski, however, ended the threat at 2:14.

On the next play, Gorzinski concluded the scoring on a 58-yard dash and the final 18-point advantage.

“The onside kick is something we worked on in practice and you have to know when that’s coming,” said Jets’ coach Leo Gorzinski. “Fortunately, we got the stop. I think every player gave it everything they had. Hats off to (Forest Park coach) David Graff and his staff. They gave us all we wanted. We knew what they wanted to do, but we found a way to get more hats (helmets) at the point of attack.”

Forest Park took an 8-0 lead on Peltoma’s six-yard burst up the middle with 2:53 left in the opening frame.

North Central tied the score on Noah Gorzinski’s 48-yard aerial to Luke Gorzinski early in the second frame, set up a short time earlier when the same combo converted on a third-and-26 situation from the Jets’ 18.

“As a coach, you’re so close to making a play, but good players make good plays,” said Graff. “In the second half when Noah was able to break contain, we got fatigued. His athleticism was just too much. When you don’t have speed and you’re down by two scores, you can’t score without using up the clock.”

Noah Gorzinski also completed 80 and 72-yard bombs to Luke Gorzinski in the second stanza and the Trojans forced a 14-14 tie midway through the quarter on Peltoma’s 30-yard run around left end.

“In the first half, we were able to go over the top,” said coach Gorzinski. “We just put it in Noah’s hands. They were blitzing and getting to the quarterback (in the second half) and that’s when Noah’s speed saved the day. Although, it’s always a team effort.”

North Central outgained Forest Park 445-305 in total offense. Peltoma was 10-of-18 passing for 91 yards and ran 36 times for 208.

“The first time we played them (in a 34-8 loss Oct. 5) we weren’t able to establish what we wanted to do,” said Graff. “Tonight, we were able to establish our ground game. We just weren’t able to match their athleticism. We played well down the stretch. The kids and coaching staff, especially Gerard Valesano, really stepped up.”