PELLSTON – As the Inland Lakes offense trotted out for its first possession on Saturday, a dream came true for one Bulldog.
Playing quarterback since third grade, Ty Kolly got the start for the Bulldogs on the road against the Pellston Hornets.
A few plays later, he had Inland Lakes in the end zone by throwing a touchdown pass to junior Andre Bradford. It ended up being a strong display from Kolly, who threw for three scores in a dominant victory over the Hornets.
“It’s something you work for,” Kolly said. “It’s something I’ve been dreaming about since I was young, so it felt good.”
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In addition to his nice offensive day, Kolly was one of the standout Bulldogs on defense. With this being the final year for superstar signal-caller Aidan Fenstermaker, somebody’s going to have to take the reins next season. That appears to be Kolly, who has shown that he’s more than capable of being a potent performer under center.
As for what Kolly has to his advantage, his teammates know, especially Bradford, one of his junior classmates.
“I’ve played with Ty forever, ever since peewee – he’s really smart,” Bradford said. “He makes the right throws when he needs to make them, and he knows when to tuck it and run. He’s smart when it comes to football and that’s what I like about him. He might not be the fastest, but he’s smart.”
Echoing Bradford was Inland Lakes coach Travis Meyer, who’s been highly impressed with Kolly throughout his time in the program.
“He’s got a great understanding of the game,” Meyer said. “His athleticism has started to catch up in the last year, and he’s become a heck of a player on defense, and obviously he managed our offense well. He always knows what’s going on, and he knows more than just his job, and so he’s able to kind of direct kids in case there’s questions in the huddle.”
Late in the first half, Kolly threw a TD pass to Fenstermaker, somebody he’s learned under. After Saturday’s win, Kolly delivered praise to one of the best players in I-L history.
“It’s the leadership he gives off,” Kolly said of Fenstermaker. “He’s always working hard and always striving for everybody else to be better, too.”
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While Fenstermaker is still QB1, Kolly could be the next man up. At the same time, he knows he’ll have to earn it.
“You don’t want to embrace (being the starter) too much because you never know what’s going to happen next – you’ve just got to keep working hard,” Kolly said. “If you keep working hard, it’s going to happen.”
For Meyer, he’s more than thankful he’ll have Kolly for at least one more season. He’s also confident Kolly will deliver just like he’s doing now.
“Ty’s been a part of our program for a while as a manager and as an athlete, so it’s always fun to watch those kids grow up and get involved at a whole new level,” Meyer said.
Undefeated Inland Lakes (7-0, 3-0 Ski Vallley 8-Player Conference) hosts Bellaire at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf atjgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter@sportsCDT
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