The Packers closed the 2023 season with a 40-7 loss against a tough Manistee team.  Manistee came out in the first quarter and took the ball down and scored to open the game with an 8-0 lead.  The Packers answered right back and drove the ball down the field and found the end zone with a little trickery as Owen Hertel connected with Kyler DeKuiper on 33 yard halfback pass and Ben Mellema added the extra point to bring the score to 8-7 at the end of the first.  Then it was all Manistee from then on, outscoring the 32-0 over the rest of the game to bring the final score to 40-7.  Leading the way for the Packers was Talen Reichert-Slater 5/8 for 65 yards and an interception.  Owen Hertel was 1/1 passing for 33 yards and a touchdown and had 3 rushes for 7 yards and 1 reception for 8 yards.  Khai Noordyk had 7 rushes for 31 yards and Asa Barnhard had 6 rushes for 16 yards.  Kyler DeKuiper had 1 reception for 33 yards and a touchdown.  Jacob Burns had 2 receptions for 28 yards.  Daniel Romero had 1 catch for 17 yards and Ben Mellema had 1 catch for 2 yards.  Defensively the Owen Hertel and Noah Hansen both had 8 tackles, Connor Pettis had 7 tackles, Kyle Nagel had 6 tackles, Preston Hunt had 5 tackles and Quin Farrell had 3 tackles and an interception.

The Packers had lots of positive moments this season and a bright future to look forward to in 2024.  The Packers have a lot of Juniors that got a lot of playing time and an experienced quarterback coming back  and some good sophomore class looking to make their mark on the 2024 season.