BIG RAPIDS — Before the boys soccer postseason even began, there was a pretty solid feeling that the next Division 4 state champion just might come out of the region 13 bracket.
It had the potential to house the No. 2, No. 3, No. 5 and No. 10 ranked teams in the final state rankings of the regular season, not to mention the three-time defending Division 4 state champs.
When Harbor Springs punched its ticket to the Big Rapids hosted region and then met up with North Muskegon on Tuesday, Oct. 21, Harbor coach Jeff Suffolk still had that feeling.
Unfortunately for Suffolk and the Rams, his team won’t be it. A 4-1 loss to the Norsemen ended the 2025 campaign for Harbor Springs.
“It’s not the way we thought the season was going to end, but it’s such a tough region,” Suffolk said. “We thought the next state champ was coming out of this region. North Muskegon is a great team, we knew they were going to be. The whole season I thought they should have been ranked one or two and tonight they proved it.”
The Rams had tried to challenge themselves throughout the year, meeting defending Division 2 champion Warren De La Salle and defending Division 3 champion Pontiac Notre Dame Prep early, to go with Leland late in a non-conference test.
So a question of not knowing what to expect was off the table.
“We had a tough schedule,” Suffolk said. “It was a big accomplishment for the boys to stay focused in every game. Seeing two state champions early in the season, then we tried putting a couple tough ones at the end. The boys were ready.”
It showed early with Harbor and North Muskegon playing to a 1-1 draw at the half, the Rams getting a score from junior Henry Juneau.
Then, the wheels fell off a bit late, as a 2-1 game for the Norsemen turned to 4-1 within minutes and the Rams needing to take chances late.
North Muskegon advanced to meet Leland in a Big Rapids regional final at 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23. For Harbor Springs, it closed out a 16-9 season, including their third consecutive trip into the regional round.
“There was a weird calm amongst the boys,” Suffolk said. “It wasn’t just a calm, it was confidence. Historically, we used to have to ask these kids to run through a brick wall to compete for every ball, but tonight our plan was just to play our game. We wanted to possess and do what we’ve done all season.”
The conditions on the night – a steady rain throughout much of the game – may have played a part, though Suffolk knows there were two teams playing through it.
Still, the conditions didn’t play to the Rams’ strengths.
“We do like a dry soccer ball and can really kick the ball around,” Suffolk said. “This is a pure soccer team. We have some of the best soccer players in the state, but tonight wasn’t our game.”
That happens to teams at any given time, it’s just tougher when it ends a season, or in the case of six seniors, a career with the Rams.
Harbor’s group of vets included plenty that have been around the program for years, from Greyson Rife in net, to Ryan Novak up top and Ben McShannock in the midfield. There was also Aaron Sowles, Henry Larson and Anthony Atkinson.
“We’re going to miss someone like Ryan who started day one as a freshman,” Suffolk said. Ben was core in the middle of the field and he left it all on the field tonight. Then you can’t look past Greyson. He’s one of the best goalies in Michigan and he showed it tonight.
“The seniors just made everyone believers. The one thing they can look back on with a lot of pride is they built a program.”
The seniors may have built what the Rams have become, but it’s up to 14 underclassmen, including Juneau, to carry on that success. Suffolk is looking forward to their time.
“At one point tonight we had majority freshman and sophomores on the field,” he added. “That says a lot about the program and trust we have in all of our players. Every day going to training was something I looked forward to. When we do look to the future, the sky is the limit for this group.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Harbor Springs soccer sees season close in one of state’s toughest regions
Reporting by Drew Kochanny, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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